Box Score
Trenton, NJ - Drew Pettit delivered a two-run double in the top of the 7th to give Canisius a 4-3 win over second-seeded Rider in the first elimination game of the 2011 MAAC Baseball Championship at Waterfront Park in Trenton.
The No. 4 seed Golden Griffins (26-31) advance and will play at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon in another elimination game. Canisius will play the loser of tonight's winners bracket game between No. 1 Manhattan and No. 3 Siena.
The Golden Griffins had a golden opportunity to score multiple runs in the top of the first, loading the bases with no outs after senior Will Chomicki and freshman Jose Torralba singled and senior Sean Jamieson was hit by a pitch. Senior Nate Eppley then got three strikeouts, but sophomore Chris Gruarin struck out on a wild pitch and everyone advanced 90 feet with Chomicki scoring to give Canisius the 1-0 lead.
Rider (33-18) tied the game in the bottom of the first on an RBI groundout from senior Mason Heyne to make it 1-1. The Griffs would take the lead again in the top of the fourth as freshmen Shane Zimmer and Ryan Coppinger drew one-out walks. Torralba then came through with the two-out RBI single to give Canisius the 2-1 lead.
Rider took its only lead of the game in the bottom of the fifth, getting an RBI single from Steve Galella and, Galella eventually came around to score on a balk. Freshman Garrett Cortright then buckled down and retired the next eight batters he faced to keep Canisius in the game.
The Griffs took the lead for good in the seventh as Torralba led off with a single, his third hit of the day. After Jamieson was hit by a pitch for the second time, Pettit had would proved to be the game-winning hit with the one-out, two-RBI single over the third-base bag that went all the way to the left-field corner. Torralba scored easily and Jamieson came around to score from first and give Canisius the 4-3 lead.
Cortright pitched into the eighth, giving up and single and then the first out of the inning before being lifted for redshirt sophomore Nathan Linseman. The lefty struck out Karl Johnston and after a walk to A.J. Albee put runners at first and second, Linseman got Heyne to hit a grounder to the right side. Burton made a diving stop into the hole, got up and flipped to Linseman who beat a head-first slide from Heyne by a half-step to keep Canisius in the lead.
In the bottom of the ninth, redshirt sophomore Billy Martin allowed a one-out double to Nick Crescenzo but then got Galella to fly out to left and struck out pinch hitter Ryan Murphy to end the game and pick up his second save of the season.
Cortright (4-4) went 7.1 innings, allowed six hits and three runs, walked zero and struck out two to earn the victory.
Post-game interview with Canisius head coach Mike McRae and Pettit.