May 25, 2017

Late surge leads Marist past Griffs

Courtesy: Canisius College Athletics
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. – Marist College scored three times in the sixth, twice in the seventh and then once more in the eighth to overcome an early 2-0 deficit, as the second-seeded Red Foxes defeated Canisius 6-2 in the second round of the 2017 MAAC LifeStorage Baseball Championship at Sal Maglie Stadium in Niagara Falls, N.Y. With the win, Marist improves to 30-21 overall, while the Golden Griffins fell to 35-21 with the loss.

The victory moves Marist to a meeting with top-seeded Fairfield Friday at 1:30 p.m., while Canisius will play in the 5 p.m., elimination game.

The Griffs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top-half of the first thanks to an RBI-double to right center by junior Christ Conley. Canisius got their scoring started when junior Gage Lanning reached via a one-out error, and then later advanced to third on a single to right by fellow junior Ryan Stekl. Conley ended an 11-pitch at-bat by driving an offering from Marist starter Sean Keenen into the gap in right center, pushing Lanning and Stekl across the dish.

Canisius led 2-0 until the home-half of the sixth, when the Red Foxes took advantage of two Griffs’ errors to score three runs. In the seventh, Marist’s Frankie Gregoire banged a two-run homer to left, and then the Red Foxes added an insurance run to make the score 6-2 in the eighth after an RBI-single to left by Marist’s Matt Pagano.

The six runs were enough for Keenan, who moved his record to 6-0 on the season with the win after he went six innings and allowed two runs on four hits while fanning seven and walking two. Canisius starter J.P. Stevenson (New Glasgow, PEI) took the loss on the bump for the Griffs after he gave up five runs -- two earned -- on eight hits and one walk, while striking out six. Marist’s Tony Romanelli came on in relief of Keenan in the seventh and picked up his seventh save of the season after he held Canisius scoreless in on two hits.

Lanning and Stekl each had two hits in the losing effort, with Lanning collecting a pair of doubles for Canisius, his first two career doubles in a Griffs uniform.

GAME NOTES
• Canisius and Marist have now met in three-straight MAAC Championships.

• Lanning’s two doubles extended his hitting streak to four-straight games.

• In his first two career MAAC Tournament games, Lanning leads Canisius with eight total bases.

UP NEXT
Canisius will play in an elimination game Friday at 5 p.m. The opponent of that elimination game will be determined through play on Friday. Friday’s schedule will feature a total of four games, with action starting at 10 a.m.