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The Canisius baseball program seems to be hitting its stride at the right time, having reeled off five-straight MAAC wins, including a series sweep of Rider at the Demske Sports Complex.
Canisius appeared to be in a bind earlier in the season, after suffering a series sweep at the hands of Marist, to drop its record to 2-4 in the MAAC, however the team has gone 5-1 in its last six conference contests, vaulting the team into a three-team tie for second place (7-5).
Canisius enters this critical weekend series with a 24-16 and 7-5 MAAC mark, while Quinnipiac is 14-24 and 7-8 in conference action.
Canisius’ offense has been among the best in the conference, holding a .278 batting average, which is second only to Fairfield (.290). Canisius has plated the most runs in the conference with 221.
The difference over the last five games has been the team’s pitching. On the season the Griffs have posted a team ERA of 4.29, however during the five game stretches, Canisius hurlers have dropped that to 1.54. Likewise in the the five game span, the Griffs have allowed only 31 hits and seven runs.
Jake Lumley continues to put together a All-MAAC season, leading the league with a .378 batting average with 56 hits, and 32 runs. Liam Wilson is ranked sixth in the conference in batting average with a mark of .354. However he’s second in the league in hits with 51 knocks.
The Griffs have been middle of the pack when it comes to pitching as a whole but a few Canisius hurlers hold prominent spots in the MAAC rankings. Tyler Smith, who was named to the Stopper of the Year midseason watch list on Wednesday, leads the league in saves with seven, while Andrew Sipowicz is ranked fourth in the league in strikeouts, 50 in 49.1 innings.
Following the three game set, beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday (noon) and the single game Sunday (noon), Canisius will face Kent State in a midweek matchup, before heading to Iona next weekend.