STAFF REPORTS
news@allwnynews.com
BUFFALO — The Canisius baseball team, which has played its first 23 games of the season on the road, hosts its first home series of the year on Saturday, welcoming Monmouth for a three-game set. The slate begins with a doubleheader beginning at 2:15, while the two teams wrap up the series with a Sunday noon matinee.
Canisius ends its 23 game road swing having tallied a 14-9 mark, going 7-8 on a team’s home field, while a 7-1 mark on neutral sites.
Recently the Blue and Gold split a four-game series with Kennesaw State, winning games two (15-7) and four (8-5).
Offensively the Griffs have been led by their veterans, with Jake Lumley leading the way with a .383 batting average, posting 36 hits in 94 at bats so far this season. Joining him is fellow senior, Christ Conley who paces the team in RBI with 17.
Redshirt Junior Liam Wilson also has a batting average over .300 with a mark of .333, belting 31 hits in 93 at bats.
The pitching as a whole has been another source of strength for Canisius as the Griffs are ranked 44th in the country with a team ERA of 3.55. That pitching mark is the lowest average in the MAAC. Likewise the team is ranked 68th in the nation in WHIP, with a tally of 1.34.
J.P. Stevenson has pitched like the staff ace, owning a 4-2 record to go a long with a 2.12 ERA and 29 strikeouts in his junior campaign. Zachary Sloan (1-1 and 7.31 ERA) and Andrew Kneussle (2-0 and 1.35 ERA) have also seen a fair number of starts for the Griffs.
Andrew Sipowicz has been a reliable reliever for Canisius having thrown the most innings of anyone out of the bullpen and has the lowest ERA on the team with a 2.12 mark. He also leads the team in strikeouts with 34.
Following in the mold of his predecessor, Tyler Smith has embraced his role as the closer, boasting a 0.87, 14 strikeouts and four saves so far this season.
The Griffs are 4-2 all-time against Monmouth, having faced them in back-to-back years in 2014 and 2015, but not meeting last season. In 2015, a championship year for the Blue and Gold, the Griffs won the opening game 6-0 but dropped the next two, 3-1 and 10-9.
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