College Baseball
Canisius College 13, Rider University 2
BUFFALO, NY-The Broncs lost a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game at first place Canisius Sunday. "We played a little better yesterday (Saturday)," said Rider head coach Barry Davis. "Today (Sunday) we got into a hole right off the bat."
Playing in 45 degrees and a slight rain, Canisius (27-14, 11-1 MAAC) scored six runs in the third inning on four walks, a double and a grand slam to take a 7-0 lead. "The weather was not ideal," Davis said. "The mound was a mess. We started the game in the rain and we finished it in the rain."
The Golden Griffins added five runs in the seventh inning to take a 13-2 lead before a rain delay which ended the game.
Rider (19-18, 7-8 MAAC) broke the shutout in the fourth inning with two runs on one hit, two walks and an error.
For the Broncs, senior Nick Wojnowski (Baldwin, Md./Calvert Hall) had two of Rider's four hits. "Nick has been playing consistent for us," Davis said.
Juniors Steve Galella (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./G.A.R. Memorial) and John Ralston (Annandale, Va./Paul VI) also collected hits for Rider.
"We had some opportunities but didn't capitalize," Davis said. "We had bases loaded and hit into a double play. We had two runners on and hit into another double play."
Freshman Chris LeRoy (Freehold/Colts Neck) pitched two and two-thirds scoreless innings of relief, allowing two hits. "Chris threw well," Davis said, "but as a team we are not pitching too great right now."
Canisius took a 1-0 lead in the second inning with two outs on a single, a walk and a double.
With the win Canisius sweeps the three game series.
Last year Canisius won two out of three at Rider and eliminated the Broncs from the MAAC tournament before finishing runner-up.
Rider hosts Saint Joseph's Tuesday and Princeton Wednesday, starting a nine-game home stretch. "We have a big home stretch coming up," Davis said. "We certainly are not out of the playoff picture. We just need to play better than we've been playing.".
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