Arizona – 7 | Canisius – 5
2022 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship – Coral Gables Regional
ALEX RODRIGUEZ PARK AT MARK LIGHT FIELD | CORAL GABLES, FL
Box Score
Canisius went down 6-1 early in the top of the fourth inning but rallied back to score four runs combined in the fifth and sixth to make it a one-run ballgame. Throughout the MAAC Championships, the Griffs outscored their opponents, 33-1 in the middle innings and today saw more of the same. Canisius outscored Arizona, 4-0 in the fifth and sixth to get back into the game.
The Griffs got two back in the fifth by way of Mike Steffan and Dylan Vincent RBI singles. Canisius reliever Levi Abbott who came on to record the final out of the fifth pitched a scoreless top of the sixth to bring the offense back to the plate to do more damage. Carlin Dick walked to lead off the inning and advanced on a passed ball before Mike DeStefano drove him home on a single up the middle. The next batter Max Grant doubled down the right field line with two strikes to score DeStefano, but the Griffs were halted there.
Arizona got another run back via Blake Paugh’s second home run of the game, the only run Abbott allowed in his 4.1 innings of relief.
Carlin Dick led off the bottom of the eighth with a double into right center and would advance to third base on a ground out, but Quinn Flanagan would get DeStefano to line out to left and strand Dick on the bases.
The Canisius bats went down quietly in order in the bottom of the ninth as Arizona held on to advance in the Coral Gables Regional and eliminate Canisius from postseason play.
Canisius Notes and Notables
- Canisius finished the season 29-25 overall and 15-9 in MAAC play.
- The Griffs went 4-0 last week in the MAAC Baseball Championships to claim their fourth title in program history.
- Grant’s sixth inning double was his 90th hit of the season, which ties him for the third most in MAAC history.
- Abbott went 4.1 innings in relief allowing just one run, three hits, and struck out five on 76 pitches.
- DeStefano recorded his second fourth consecutive three-hit performance dating back to the Griffs’ MAAC Baseball Championships Semifinal matchup with Rider.
- Canisius returns both DeStefano and Grant next season. They combined for the second most hits in a season by a pair teammates in MAAC history. They finished one shy of the record of 177 set by Canisius teammates Connor Panas and Brett Siddall in 2015.
- Sophomore Matt Duffy returns next season after breaking the MAAC-single season strikeout record with 124 punchouts in 2022.
- The roster will not return six graduate students: Vinny Chiarenza, Jeff DeStefano, Gibson Krzeminski, Mike Mazzara, Mike Steffan, and Jake Zurat.
For more information regarding MAAC Baseball, visit
maacsports.com.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 41st year of competition during the 2021-22 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
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