BUFFALO, N.Y- The Canisius baseball team, the 2015 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament champions, will play at No. 8 Missouri State on Friday, May 29 at 7 p.m., in the 2015 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. Missouri State, the three-time defending Missouri Valley Conference champion, will serve as a host venue for the regional round, with all games being played at Hammond Field in Springfield, Mo., and all games will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
The Golden Griffins claimed their second MAAC title in the last three seasons by winning five-straight elimination games last weekend at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, N.Y., capped with a pair of victories over Siena on Saturday in the championship round. Canisius (34-28), which enters the tournament having won eight of its last nine dating back to May 14, is led offensively by senior Connor Panas. Panas, the 2015 MAAC Championship Most Valuable Player, is hitting a team-best .379 with 17 doubles, seven triples, 10 home runs and 67 RBI. Junior outfielder Brett Siddall, the 2015 MAAC Player of the Year, ranks second on the team in batting average at .353, and he enters the national postseason tied for 10th nationally with 24 doubles to go with 12 homers and 63 runs batted in.
Senior pitcher Devon Stewart and freshman hurler J.P. Stevenson are tied for the team lead with seven wins apiece on the hill this year, with Stewart leading the way with his 3.65 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 93.2 innings of work. Junior closer Iannic Remillard had a team-high 10 saves this year out of the Blue and Gold’s bullpen.
Missouri State (45-10) enters the NCAA Tournament on a 16-game winning streak. The Bears are tied for 50th in the nation in runs per game average at 6.4 per game, and the team boasts a batting average of .292 for the year. Freshman Jake Burger leads the way offensively for Missouri State with his .333 batting average to go with 20 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 40 RBI. Senior Dylan Becker is hitting .318 with 42 runs scored, 13 doubles and 37 runs batted in and junior Tate Matheny, son of St. Louis Cardinals’ manager Mike Matheny, leads the Bears with his 12 stolen bases on the year. Junior Matt Hall leads Missouri State’s pitching staff with 10 wins this year to go with 152 strikeouts and closer Bryan Young is 7-0 with 14 saves and a 1.16 ERA in 27 appearances out of the bullpen.
Iowa and Oregon round out the four-team field in the Springfield Regional, and the Hawkeyes and Ducks will open up regional action Friday at 2 p.m. in Hammond Field. Iowa, which received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament out of the Big 10 Conference, is 39-16 this year. Oregon is 37-23 overall and the Ducks are the only team in the Pac-12 to claim a regular-season series win over top-seeded UCLA.