College Baseball
Canisius College 9, Rider University 8
TRENTON?As a baseball fan, you could not have asked for a better game to watch. As a Rider fan, you were asking for a better ending.
Trailing 7-3, the Broncs came back to score five runs to take an 8-7 lead in the eighth inning, only to see it disappear in the bottom of the ninth.
The 2009 baseball season came to an end for Rider Friday afternoon in the second round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship Tournament, held at Waterfront Park. “We battled against a quality team,” said head coach Barry Davis. “Our guys did a hell of a job getting back in it. We could have folded and we didn't.”
Canisius right fielder/relief pitcher Shayne Wilson hit a two-run single with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, his third hit of the game, for the game winner. Wilson also pitched the final one and one-third innings for the win, his third of the season.
Rider senior Sean Olson (Vineland, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) hit a three-run home run, the 30th of his career, to give Rider an 8-7 lead in the eighth inning. “We had our big RBI guy get the runs for us,” Davis said.
Olson was named to the MAAC All-Tournament team.
The three-run blast gave Olson 58 RBI for the season, breaking the single season mark of 57, set in 2002 by Kevin Riley, and 168 career RBI, breaking the mark of 166 set by Scott Rich in 2004. “After two sliders he gave me a high fastball,” said Olson, the New Jersey Division I Player of the Year and a First Team All-MAAC selection. “It felt good. My swing was nice and short with two strikes.”
Unfortunately, it was Olson's last collegiate swing. “I'll remember that, but right now I'm still down about these last two games,” Olson said. “The accomplishments are great and I'll be able to appreciate them later, but to lose these two games by one run, that's hard to take.”
Olson also singled in the third inning and ends his Rider career with 221 career hits, fourth most ever at Rider. He also finishes fourth in career home runs.
Canisius (34-21, 16-8 MAAC), the second seed, scored three runs in the sixth inning on four hits to take a 7-3 lead.
Rider sophomore A.J. Albee (Ashley, Pa./Hanover Area) and sophomore John Ralston (Annandale, Va./Paul VI) had singles in the fourth inning, were sacrificed to second and third by junior Matt McCollum (Tabernacle, N.J./Shawnee), and Albee scored on a sacrifice fly by freshman Brandon Cotten (Wiconisco, Pa./Williams Valley). Ralston then scored on a double by senior James Hayes (Sunrise, Fla./Piper) to give Rider a 3-1 lead.
The double by Hayes was career hit number 264, making him Rider's all-time hit leader, breaking the record of 263, also set by Scott Rich in 2004. Hayes added number 265 with a bunt single in the eighth inning.
Hayes pitched the final two and two-third innings for the loss. “We had our best guy going,” Davis said, “and he did a great job. He came in and threw two scoreless innings, got us out of the sixth and pitched well in the seventh and eighth. We brought him in early because at that point we had to try to win the game. He's done a lot for us.”
In addition to his career records for hits (265), runs scored (179) and stolen bases (96), Hayes is the Rider career saves leader with 33.
Sophomore Mason Heyne (Shrewsbury, Pa./Susquehannock) extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a solo home run in the second inning, giving the Broncs a 1-0 lead. Heyne also singled in the third inning and again in the fifth.
Albee and Ralston also had three of Rider's 16 hits. Ralston had two of Rider's five hits in the first round loss to regular season champion Manhattan, and now has 96 for his career.
Rider senior Maurice Williams (Tinton Falls, N.J./Monmouth Regional) entered the game in the sixth inning when Hayes moved from right field to pitch and hit a solo home run, cutting the lead to 7-4. Williams also made a spectacular catch on a fly ball at the wall in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Williams graduates with 197 career hits, eighth most ever at Rider.
Rider senior Mike Petrowski (Hamilton Square, N.J./Steinert) pitched into the sixth inning, allowing four earned runs on eight hits and a walk with two strike outs. “I thought Mike threw well,” Davis said.
Petrowski did not allow a base runner in the first two innings, but in the third gave up an unearned run on a bunt, a pass ball, a balk and a sacrifice fly. “Mike did a great job,” Davis said.
Last year Petrowski defeated Canisius in the first round of the MAAC Tournament and came back two days later to save the Title Game against Siena. This year Petrowski entered the tournament with a 3-6 record with 13 career wins. Petrowski graduates with the Rider single season (96.2 in 2008) and career (298) records for innings pitched.
Also for Rider freshman Ryan Murphy (Yardville, N.J./Steinert) hit a pinch hit RBI single in the four-run eighth inning, his third RBI pinch hit of the season and the second against Canisius this season.
Golden Griff Perry Silverman hit his fourth home run of the season on a full count pitch with one out in the fifth inning to cut the lead to 3-2. A pair of two-out, RBI singles by Ian Choy and Kevin Mailloux followed to give Canisius a 4-3 lead.
Rider, the fourth seed and the defending champion, finishes the season 26-23, Rider's second consecutive winning season. The last time Rider had consecutive winning seasons was the mid-?90s when Rider had four consecutive winning seasons in 1993, ?94, '95 and '96.
The Broncs won the 2008 MAAC Title as the fourth seed. “We were fortunate enough to win it last year, and this year we weren't,” Davis said, “so you have to take the good with the bad. But it wasn't all bad.”
For a baseball fan, it was anything but bad. For a Rider fan, it could have been better.
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