Baseball 5/9/2009 4:00:00 AM Canisius College Athletics

Baseball Sweeps Doubleheader from Fairfield, Extends Win Streak to Seven

Breaking open a 4-4, seventh-inning tie with 18 runs in the final two innings in game one and getting a walk-off single from senior Branson Joseph in the nightcap, the Canisius College baseball team swept a doubleheader from Fairfield at the Demske Sports Complex on Saturday. Canisius took the first game 22-5 and won the second game 9-8 in eight innings.

Canisius improves to 30-19 overall and 13-7 in the MAAC, moving into a tie for second place with Niagara. The Golden Griffins have won seven straight, their longest winning streak of the season.

Five Golden Griffins had at least four hits on the day, led by a 6-for-9 effort from senior Kevin Mailloux. Senior Alec Cabello was 4-for-5 while Shayne Willson, Joseph and Kevin Mahoney each had four hits as well. Canisius combined for 11 home runs on the day, including a school-record nine homers in the first game. Mailloux, Ian Choy each had two homers in the doubleheader.

Game one stayed close through the opening six innings, featuring starting pitchers Shane Davis and Fairfield's Rob Gariano. A leadoff homer by Brian Gibbs tied the game at 1-1 in the third. Fairfield (19-24, 9-11 MAAC) scored three times in the top of the fourth, but a homer from Joseph made it 4-2. In the fifth with two outs and runners on second and third, Mailloux beat out a groundball to score a run, with the wild throw allowing Gibbs to score and tie the game at 4-4.

Davis pitched out of trouble in the sixth, not allowing any runs to score despite runners being at the corners with no outs. Gariano pitched out of his own jam in the sixth, not allowing a run to score despite loading the bases with no outs.

Canisius broke open the game with back-to-back nine-run innings. Canisius hit six homeruns in the seventh ? getting two from Choy and one each from Mahoney, Willson, Steve McQuail and Mailloux. The Griffs added nine runs in the eighth, highlighted by the first career home run by Andrew Russo ? a grand slam to left.

Davis (8-2) earned his sixth consecutive victory by allowing four runs on nine hits while striking out five in seven innings of work.

In the second game, Canisius trailed 3-2 entering the fifth inning, but scored six runs in the bottom of the frame to take an 8-3 lead. Mailloux was hit by a pitch to force in the first run while McQuail would score on a wild pitch. Mahoney hit a three-run homer while Burton had an RBI double to put Canisius ahead by five.

The Stags rallied for five runs in the top of the seventh, getting an RBI single from Chris Horning, RBI double from Ryan Furbeck and bases-loaded walk to Tucker Nathans to make it 8-6. Carmine Devito's two-RBI double tied the game at 8-8 and put runners at second and third with one out. Willson, who earlier in the inning had relieved Canisius starter Alex MacKenzie, got a groundball to short that Cabello threw home to get the lead runner. Willson then got a pop out to end the inning.

Choy led off the eighth with a single, followed by another single from Mailloux to put runners at first and second. Mahoney sent a grounder to first that was bobbled, allowing Mahoney to slide into first and beat the tag to load the bases. Joseph followed with a single to left to end the game.

MacKenzie allowed eight runs in 6.1 innings, allowing nine hits and walking three while striking out four. Willson (2-2) earned the win by not allowing a run in 1.2 innings of relief.

Canisius and Fairfield wrap up the three-game set on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m. The team will honor its 10 seniors prior to the game, with Senior Day ceremonies scheduled to begin at 11:40 a.m. Canisius will also hold its third annual Kid's Day, which will take place following the game.

Game Notes: The seven-game winning streak is the longest since Canisius won seven straight from April 30-May 11, 2008... Canisius has now won eight straight against Fairfield and nine of the last 10... The walkoff win was the first of the season for the Griffs and first since April 26, 2008, a 9-8 win over Manhattan... The walkoff hit is the second of Joseph's career, as the senior had a walkoff three-run homer against Siena on April 20, 2008... Canisius wins 30 games for the second consecutive season and for the second time in program history... Davis improves to 20-3 in 24 career starts... Canisius broke the program record for homers in a game, which was five and last happened on April 20, 2008... Canisius scored 18-plus runs for the fifth time this season, which have all come in the last 25 games... The 22 runs are the most scored by Canisius since the Griffs scored 24 against St. Bonaventure on April 9, 2008... The six home runs by Canisius in the seventh inning are one off the NCAA record for most home runs in any innings, which is seven and was set by Southern Utah on April 22, 2001.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#22 Alec Cabello: SS; 5' 10"; Senior

#17 Ian Choy: OF; 5' 9"; Junior

#32 Shane Davis: P; 6' 0"; Redshirt Sophomore

#25 Brian Gibbs: 1B; 6' 1"; Senior

#2 Branson Joseph: OF; 6' 0"; Senior

#35 Alex MacKenzie: P; 6' 0"; Senior

#4 Kevin Mahoney: 3B; 6' 0"; Senior

#12 Kevin Mailloux: 2B; 6' 0"; Redshirt Senior

#1 Steve McQuail: IF; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#11 Andrew Russo: C; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#9 Shayne Willson: OF; 6' 2"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#22 Alec Cabello
: 5' 10"; Senior
: SS

#17 Ian Choy
: 5' 9"; Junior
: OF

#32 Shane Davis
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Sophomore
: P

#25 Brian Gibbs
: 6' 1"; Senior
: 1B

#2 Branson Joseph
: 6' 0"; Senior
: OF

#35 Alex MacKenzie
: 6' 0"; Senior
: P

#4 Kevin Mahoney
: 6' 0"; Senior
: 3B

#12 Kevin Mailloux
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Senior
: 2B

#1 Steve McQuail
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: IF

#11 Andrew Russo
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: C

#9 Shayne Willson
: 6' 2"; Junior
: OF