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As the schedule continues to wear on, teams continue to jockey for postseason positioning, and the Canisius baseball program welcomes Rider to town for a key conference matchup, Saturday and Sunday. The two programs will battle in a three game set, with a doubleheader on Saturday, and a single game on Sunday. The Griffs enter the series with a 20-15 overall record and a 4-5 conference mark, while Rider is 16-16-1 overall but is 8-4 in conference action.
The Griffs are coming off a successful weekend, when the squad took two-of-three from Siena in Loudonville prior to the Easter holiday. The Blue and Gold dropped the first contest, 8-4, but bounced back with a pair of victories, 4-2 and 7-2, to improve to 4-5.
Meanwhile Rider is coming off a three-game sweep of Niagara, defeating the Purple Eagles with a pair of 2-1 victories in game one and game two, followed by a 12-inning 6-5 win.
Offense continues to be one of the strengths for Canisius as the team is second in team batting average with a mark of .269, with 205 total runs and 308 hits. Fairfield is the only team in the MAAC with a higher average (.284).
Rider is middle of the pack when it comes to batting average with a mark of .261 and 278 hits.
Pitching as of late has been a rollercoaster for the Blue and Gold, with the squad ranking fifth in the league in team ERA with a mark of 4.88. The Broncs are behind the Griffs with a team ERA of 5.68.
Jake Lumley continues to lead the league in batting average with a .379 mark. He also paces the league in hits, with 53. Liam Wilson is sixth in the league in batting average with a mark of .341 with 46 hits.
Rider’s Lee Lipinski holds the best batting average on the team with a mark of .333, as he has notched 29 hits and 27 RBI.
Rider’s Nick Margevicius comes in as one of the leagues best pitchers, sporting a 2.10 ERA and a 4-1 record so far this season. Meanwhile Canisius sends J.P. Stevenson out to the hill as the Griffs’ top pitching option. Stevenson is 5-3 overall and holds a 3.32 ERA to go along with 40 strikeouts.
Following this weekend’s series the Blue and Gold have a pair of midweek contests, hosting Youngtown State on Tuesday at 3 p.m., before facing Niagara on Wednesday up at Sal Maglie Stadium in Niagara Falls at 3 p.m. Canisius will be on the road next weekend, taking on Quinnipiac on April 29 and 30.
