BUFFALO, NY - The Iona University baseball team dropped both games in a doubleheader at Canisius on Sunday afternoon. The Gaels had leads in game one and two but the Golden Griffs managed to rally in both on their way to completing the weekend sweep at Demske Sports Complex.
GAME ONE: CANISIUS 7, IONA 4
Scoreless entering the second inning,
Luca Lotito led off with a double and
Jim Pasquale followed up with a single, giving Iona a scoring opportunity. With runners on second and third,
Nick Forney delivered a two-run RBI single to open up the scoring.Â
Nick Chiaia kept Iona's lead intact, retiring the side in the bottom half of the inning with two of his three strikeouts coming in the frame. Canisius offense broke through in the third, scoring four runs in the inning to take their first lead of the day. Dylan Vincent and Max Grant provided back-to-back RBI doubles to tie the game, and Mike DeStefano drove in the fourth run in the inning on a single.
Carl Kuentzel came in relief and got the final two outs, picking up a strikeout and fly-out.
After Canisius added a run in the fourth, Iona managed to get right back in the ballgame on one swing. The duo of Lotito and Pasquale provided the spark again, Lotito reached on a double and Pasquale launched a two-run homer over the right field fence, cutting the deficit to 5-4.Â
In the longest outing of his Iona career, Kuentzel kept the Gaels within striking distance after pitching a scoreless fifth inning, picking up two of his five strikeouts in the frame. After Canisius tacked onto the lead with a solo homer from Josh Niles, Kuentzel regained his control, retiring five straight hitters following the home-run.
The Golden Griffs added their seventh and final run of the game on an RBI double from DeStefano to put Canisius ahead by three-runs after seven innings. In their final two plate appearances, Iona didn't manage any baserunners as Canisius took game one of the doubleheader, 7-4.
GAME TWO: CANISIUS 7, IONA 5
Iona starter
Alex Hunt got the start in game two and made quick work on the mound in his first inning of work. Hunt retired the side, picking up two of his seven strikeouts, which tied a career best in the inning.Â
Hunt did find himself in some trouble in the second inning, surrendering a three-run homer to Carlin Dick, the first of three Canisius home-runs. Â
After Hunt retired the final two batters of the frame, the Gaels got a run back in the ensuing inning. After
Jake Field reached on an error, Pasquale picked up where he left off in game one, drilling a double and advancing Field to third base.
Jayson Gonzalez did his part, bringing in Field to score on a groundout to get Iona on the board.
Trailing 3-1 entering the sixth, Iona put together their best inning of the day, scoring four runs  to take the lead. With one out, Iona put together four consecutive hits that began on back-to-back singles from Gonzalez and
James Kemp.
Chris Mariani brought Iona within a run following an RBI single and Forney tied the game with an RBI triple in the ensuing at-bat. With the bases-loaded, Field got hit by a pitch to give Iona their first lead of the game and Lotito drew an RBI walk to give Iona a 5-3 lead.
Canisius managed to rally in the seventh inning as JT Ennen launched the go-ahead three-run homer to put the Golden Griffs back in front. Later in the inning Grant hit a solo homer to extend Canisius lead to 7-5.Â
After Iona went down in order in the eighth inning, The Gaels managed to bring up the tying run during their final plate appearance. Pasquale singled to center field for his fifth hit of the day but unfortunately Peyton Consigli got the final two batters to strikeout, securing the doubleheader sweep for Canisius on Sunday afternoon.
UP NEXT
The Gaels will look to avenge their one run loss to FDU from two weeks ago when they return to Naimoli Family Baseball Complex to take on Fairleigh Dickinson. The game is scheduled for Tuesday, April 4 at 3:00 pm.
Social Media
Be sure to follow Iona College athletics on all social media platforms:
ICGaels: Twitter, Facebook, InstagramÂ
and YouTube (Email Updates)
Iona Baseball: Twitter, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)
