Canisius Dispatches Fairfield 6-2 To Advance
MAAC Sports
LAKEWOOD, N.J. – The top-seeded Canisius College baseball team received six strong innings from starting pitcher Alex Godzak and the Golden Griffins pounded out 10 hits to score a 6-2 victory over No. 3 seed Fairfield University on Friday in the winner’s bracket of the 2014 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship at FirstEnergy Park.
Canisius raised its record to 40-14 with its Division I best 18th straight victory, and the Golden Griffins advance in the championship round. Fairfield, now 31-23, moves into the elimination bracket after sustaining its first loss in the championship.
The Golden Griffins scored single runs in the each of the first four innings. They took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when a single by Connor Panas, the MAAC’s Player of the Year, scored Anthony Massicci, who reached on a single.
Canisius added to its lead in the the second when Ryan Coppinger scored on Ronnie Bernick’s single to right. The Golden Griffins made it 3-0 in the third when Jimmy Luppens led off with a walk, advanced to second on Brett Siddall’s base hit and after an infield fly out, scored on Jesse Puscheck’s RBI single.
Fairfield cut the lead to 3-1 in the top of the fourth inning as Sab Salvo delivered a two-out single to score Jake Salpietro, who had singled and advanced on Jack Gianinni’s base hit.
Canisius came right back to up its advantage to 4-1 in the bottom of the fourth when Ronnie Bernick scored on Brett Siddall’s sac fly to center field.
The Stags cut the Canisius lead in half, 4-2, in the top of the sixth when Billy Zolga’s sacrifice fly to center scored Salpietro, who had walked.
But the Golden Griffins tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the eighth when Jimmy Luppens doubled home Steve Massicci. Luppens eventually scored on a wild pitch to up the Canisius lead to 6-2.
Godzak, a first team All-MAAC pitcher who was the MAAC’s Rookie of the Year last season, raised his record to 10-3 throwing 6.1 innings, scattering six hits and striking out two. Iannick Remillard closed out the win for the Griffs throwing 2.2 of shutout relief, allowing just three hits.
Luppens was 2-for-2 with two runs and a RBI. Bernick added two hits and run and RBI, and Panas had two hits for Canisius.
Salpietro collected two hits, and scored twice for the Stags. Mac Crispino also had a pair of hits for Fairfield.
Aaron Howell took the loss for Fairfield, allowing nine hits and four runs.