Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 BUFFALO, N.Y. – Canisius swept a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) baseball doubleheader on Friday. The Golden Griffins took the opener 9-3 and then won the nightcap 11-4 to complete the sweep in the league-opening weekend.
Jon Kristoffersen (Jefferson, N.J./Jefferson Township) paced the Peacocks (4-14, 0-2 MAAC) with four hits and an RBI. Rob Moore (Ridge, N.Y./Longwood) added three hits and two RBIs while Chris Hugg (Ironia, N.J./Randolph) added two hits and two runs scored and Ariel Ramirez (San Domingo, Dominican Republic/Babeque) posted a hit, two RBIs and a run scored on the day.
Jimmy Luppens posted four hits, five runs scored and two RBIs to power Canisius (13-7, 2-0 MAAC) while Shane Zimmer added three hits, three runs scored and two RBIs.
The Golden Griffins scored four times in each of the second and third inning to get off on the right foot in the first game and for a 9-3 win. Canisius won the first two games of the series after Saint Peter's took the first two games in the three game series last season.
The Golden Griffins scored the first two runs of the game in the second on an error before Ryan Coppinger hit an RBI single and Jake Lumley plated the fourth run on an RBI ground to take a 4-0 lead after two innings.
Canisius added four runs in the third to increase the margin to 8-0. Connor Panas tripled home the first run before Christopher Conley hit an RBI single and Zimmer capped the rally with a two-run single to center.
The Peacocks got on the scoreboard with three runs in the seventh. Hugg started the frame being hit with the pitch before Nick Henriquez (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) and Vinny Maietta (Franklin Square, N.Y./St. Mary's) followed with singles to load the bases. After an out, Ramirez plated Hugg and Henriquez with a double to left center before Kyle Grimes (Iselin, N.Y./John F. Kennedy Memorial) reached on a fielder's choice to bring home Maietta to trim the margin to 8-3.
Panas added a ground-rule RBI double to right center to seal the 9-3 victory.
Zach Hopf (Woodbridge, N.J./Woodbridge) took the loss in the opener.
The Golden Griffins continued its offensive momentum from the first game in the nightcap with five runs in the first inning en route to an 11-4 victory.
Jesse Puscheck got the scoring started in the second game with an RBI double to left field before Torralba plated two runs with a single down the left field line. Jessse Kelso and Ronnie Bernick each coaxed bases loaded walks to cap the five-run first to give Canisius a 5-0 lead.
Saint Peter's responded with a run in the second after Hugg doubled to left field and came around to score on Maietta's RBI single to center to trim the margin to 5-1.
Jose Torralba plated his third run in two innings with a run-scoring center to help the Golden Griffins reclaim a five-run lead with a 6-1 margin.
Canisius increased its margin to 8-1 after adding two runs in the third thanks to RBI singles by Zimmer and Luppens.
The Peacocks posted three runs in the fourth to trim the deficit in half to 8-4. After Maietta walked to start the rally and Sean Henry (Brick, N.J./Brick Township), Nick Cardamone (Freehold, N.J./Freehold Township) plated Maietta with a single down the third base line. With two outs, Kristoffersen singled home Henry and Moore plated Cardamone to bring home the fourth run of the game.
The Golden Griffins added two runs in the fifth on a Luppens RBI single up the middle and a Panas run-scoring triple down the first baseline before closing out the scoring in the sixth with a Brett Siddall sacrifice fly to set the final score at 11-4.
Frank Morris (Levittown, Pa./Harry S. Truman [Seton Hall]) took the loss for Saint Peter's.
It marks the second-straight year the two teams have opened up league play against each other in Buffalo.
The two teams will conclude the three-game series on Saturday at 1 p.m. Right-hander Mark Wilson (Clark, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) will take the hill for the Peacocks.
