Baseball 5/14/2009 11:00:00 PM Canisius College Athletics

Baseball Clinches MAAC Championship Berth with Sweep of Niagara

Using big innings in both contests, the Canisius College baseball team swept a doubleheader from rival Niagara and clinched a spot in next weekend's MAAC Championship. The Golden Griffins defeated the Purple Eagles 11-10 and 12-8 at the Demske Sports Complex on Thursday.

Canisius improves to 32-20 on the season and 15-8 in the MAAC. The Griffs are currently in second place and need a win in the series finale on Friday, or one loss by Marist in its three-game series against Fairfield to secure the No. 2 seed in the MAAC Championship.

Senior Kevin Mahoney had four hits on the day, along with seven RBI and two home runs, including the game-winning, three-run homer in the opener. Senior Branson Joseph led the Griffs with five hits in the doubleheader, including a 4-for-4 performance in the second game, while sophomore Steve McQuail was 4-for-8 with four RBI. Junior Shayne Willson reached base in all five of his plate appearances while senior Brian Gibbs reached base in five of his six plate appearances.

In the first game, Niagara (20-34, 14-9) jumped out to 3-0 lead by scoring three runs with two outs in the first inning. The Griffs chipped away and took a 4-3 lead on an RBI double from Paul Panik in the fourth.

Niagara tied the game in the top of the fifth and took an 8-4 lead after a three-run homer from Brian Deering in the sixth and a sacrifice fly from Deering in the seventh.

The Griffs mounted their rally in the eighth by scoring seven runs on just two hits. Canisius loaded the bases after Willson was hit by a pitch and Gibbs and Alec Cabello drew walks. After Andrew Russo popped out to short, McQuail chopped a ball over third base to score two runs and make the score 8-6. Ian Choy drew a walk to load the bases again.

Kevin Mailloux hit a ball in front of the plate with the throw going off the catcher's glove and rolling to the backstop ? scoring Cabello and McQuail to tie the game. Mahoney followed with a fly ball to left-center that the wind carried just over the left-center field fence.

Willson came into the game with a three-run lead and allowed three doubles, with the one-out double from Deering making the score 11-10. Willson struck out Matt Lucchesi and after a wild pitch advanced Deering to third, Willson got Stephen Smith to pop out and end the game for his fourth save of the season.

In the second game, Niagara held the lead after scoring four in the third and two in the fourth to take a 7-4 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth. The Griffs then scored eight runs, sending 11 batters to the plate to take command of the game. Cabello had an RBI single, Mailloux had an RBI single, Mahoney had an RBI double and Joseph had a two-RBI single while Gibbs hit a two-run homer and Perry Silverman hit a solo homer to round out the scoring for the Griffs.

Alex MacKenzie (4-3) earned the win for the Griffs, allowing seven runs, six earned, in six innings of work. The senior settled down after allowing seven runs through four innings by retiring the final eight batters he faced on the day.

Canisius and Niagara wrap up the three-game series on Friday, with first pitch at the Demske Sports Complex set for 12 p.m.

Game Notes: Mahoney now has a home run in five straight games, passing Willson's streak of four games for the longest streak on the team this season... Josh Marshall earned the win for Canisius in the first game, his first win since March 9, against West Virginia... Joseph's second-inning triple in the second game gives him six on the season, setting a new program record. The senior had two triples in his first three seasons... Mahoney set the single-season RBI record and now has 56 on the season. Mahoney also tied the MAAC's career record for homers in a career with 47, matching Ryan Finn (1999-2002) from Siena... Ryan McGorman pitched the seventh inning of the second game, his first appearance since April 26, at Manhattan... Willson is 11-for-17 since April 25... The two wins gives Canisius two points in the Battle of the Bridge competition between the schools, making the final score 23-11 in favor of Canisius for the 2008-09 athletic season... Thursday's game will air on Time Warner Sportsnet (Channel 13 in Buffalo) at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, at 3 p.m. on Sunday, and at 7:30 pm on Tuesday

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#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

#30 Josh Marshall: P; 5' 9"; Sophomore

#15 Ryan McGorman: P; 6' 2"; Senior

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

#29 Paul Panik: C; 6' 0"; Junior

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

#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

#30 Josh Marshall
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: P

#15 Ryan McGorman
: 6' 2"; Senior
: P

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

#29 Paul Panik
: 6' 0"; Junior
: C

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