Baseball

Rider, Mount St. Mary’s, and Marist Advance on Day One of the 2024 MAAC Baseball Championship

POMONA, NY (May 23, 2024) – The 2024 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Baseball Championship opened up on Wednesday, May 22 at Clover Stadium in Pomona, NY. No. 3 Rider University, No. 4 Mount St. Mary’s University, and No. 6 Marist College, each advanced to day two of the championship following wins on opening day.
 
No. 3 Rider 12 | No. 6 Marist 2 (8 innings)
Clover Stadium | POMONA, NY
Box Score
 
For the third-consecutive season, the MAAC Championship opening game began with a 10-run rule decision, this time with the contest ending in the bottom of the eighth inning, with the No. 3 Rider Broncs (28-21) toppling No. 6 Marist College (17-34), 12-2. Tied at 2-2 through seven and a half innings, the Broncs would open up a 10-run lead over the next two innings to stop the Red Foxes and send them into the elimination bracket. Rider’s scoring outburst was spearheaded by 10 runs (nine in the eighth), 10 RBIs, 10 hits, and a three-run bomb by Joe Tiroly which extended the Bronc’s lead to 11-2 at the time of it.
 
Rider Notes and Notables
  • All nine starters got on base at least once in the win, highlighted by four hits apiece from Tiroly (4-for-5) and Matt Leahy (4-for-4).
  • Tiroly had three RBIs behind his three-run dinger and added one run.
  • Leahy also batted in a trio of runs, while crossing home plate three times himself.
  • Kyle Neri went 3-for-4 at the plate, scoring a run and drawing a pair of walks, while Brian Skettini was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and one run.
  • This was the eighth time this season that the Broncs have scored 12 or more runs.
  • Although Rider plated 12 runs, they still left a total of 15 runners on base in the contest.
  • Christian Aiello (4-3) picked up the decision in relief, pitching 2.0 shutout innings, striking out four, while only allowing one hit and one walk.
  • The Broncs advance in the winner’s bracket of the championship and will face No. 2 Niagara University at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon.
Marist Notes and Notables
  • Lewis Rodriguez was the offensive leader of the Red Foxes and the only player on the Marist lineup with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with a solo homer and one RBI.
  • Ethan Conrad was 1-for-4 with an RBI, and Colin Mackle hit 1-for-3 at the plate, logging the team’s only extra base hit outside of Rodriguez’s home run with his double.
  • Relief pitcher, Riley Orr (3-7), received the loss after giving up three hits and three earned runs in 1.0 innings.
No. 4 Mount St. Mary’s 4 | No. 5 Canisius 3
Clover Stadium | POMONA, NY
Box Score

In the second game of the first day, No. 4 Mount St. Mary’s (21-32-1) got past No. 5 Canisius University (18-29), 4-3. Both teams scored runs in the third but the Mountaineers kept their feet on the accelerator, adding one run over the next two innings to go ahead 3-1. One of the tallies by the Mount was courtesy of an opposite field solo home run by Shane Wockley. In the top half of the seventh with bases loaded and two outs, Trent Rumley hit a ground rule double to right field, sending Howie Stuckey and Jackson Strong home, knotting the game at 3-3. Still tied up, the go-ahead run would cross the bag in the bottom of the eighth when David Stirpe advanced home following a wild pitch. The Mount closed the deal with a 1-2-3 ninth inning defensively.
 
Mount St. Mary’s Notes and Notables
  • The Mount St. Mary’s pitching trio of Luke Pryor, Kyle Speas, and Deven Sheerin combined to toss all 9.0 innings, allowing zero earned runs and combining to strike out eight hitters.
  • Sheerin (6-4) was awarded the win, in 3.2 innings of work, with three strike outs.
  • At the plate, Wockley and Scott Seeker went an identical 2-for-4, each accounting for one RBI and one run scored.
  • Wockley’s solo blast was his 10th on the year.
  • In addition to Stirpe’s game-winning run, Evan Meier also crossed home one in the winning effort.
  • JT Landwehr set the NCAA Division I single season record for times hit by a pitch in a single season, when he was struck in the third inning, marking the 38th time this season he was hit by a pitch.
  • The postseason win for the Mount was the first in program history as members of the MAAC and the first for the program in 16 years, last earning a tournament win in 2008 as members of the NEC.
  • The Mountaineers will take on No. 1 Fairfield University in the winners bracket tomorrow morning, with first pitch set for 11:00 a.m.
Canisius Notes and Notables
  • Rumley had the best overall performance for the Griffs, hitting .500 (2-for-4) with two RBIs, two doubles and a stolen base.
  • Stuckey led the team with three hits, also recording two doubles, and scoring one run.
  • Josh Niles had a hit, a run, and double.
  • Canisius used a quartet of pitchers in the defeat, with the third pitcher to take the mound in Bryan Aduddle (1-1) getting the decision after tossing 2.2 innings, where he gave up one unearned run, a pair of hits, one strike out and one walk.
No. 6 Marist 8 | No. 5 Canisius 4
Clover Stadium | POMONA, NY
Box Score
 
In the championship’s first elimination contest, Marist defeated Canisius 8-4 in the win-or-go home game. After the Golden Griffins’ Michael Kelly hit a solo shot over the Clover Stadium “Short Porch” in right field, to give Canisius a 2-0 lead through two innings, the Red Foxes would respond by scoring four runs over the next three innings to take a 4-2 advantage. With the score static in the top of the ninth, Marist’s Ethan Conrad sent a rocket to right center, adding to the Red Foxes lead. Three more insurance runs would bring Marist’s run margin to six, late in the meeting at 8-2. The Griffs tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the ninth, to cut the deficit in half, but that would be all they could rally as the contest came to an end.
 
Marist Notes and Notables
  • After only compiling six hits in their first game, the Red Foxes more than doubled up their hit total in the elimination game win, earning 14 hits as a unit.
  • Eight out of the nine starters got at least one hit, with five players garnering multiple hits.
  • Justin Kapuscinski had himself a night, hitting 3-for-5, with a homer, three RBIs, two runs, and a team-high seven putouts in the field.
  • Marco Ali accounted for two RBIs and one run scored.
  • Bayram Hot and Lewis Rodriguez both went 2-for-4 at the plate, with Hot earing one RBI and one run.
  • Danny Moshie also had two hits in five plate appearances, safely making it home twice.
  • Starting pitcher, Jack Wren (2-2) nearly went the distance, tossing 8.1 innings, with six strikeouts, zero walks, and four runs.
  • Jack Keenan faced the final two batters of the game to earn the save.
  • Marist resumes play tomorrow evening at 7:00 p.m. and will take on the lowest non-advancing seed from games 4 or 5 in the winner’s bracket.
Canisius Notes and Notables
  • The Canisius trio of Kelly, Carlin Dick, and Jackson Strong combined for six of the team’s nine hits, each going 2-for-4.
  • Kelly led the way with his home run, three RBIs, and one run scored.
  • Dick had a double, with a RBI and a run.
  • Strong also successfully reached home in the game one time.
  • Starting pitcher, Justin Guiliano (3-6) went 3.2 innings, allowing three runs (all three earned), with two strikeouts in the defeat.
For all information regarding the 2024 MAAC Baseball Championship, please visit maacsports.com/baseball.
 
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 43rd year of competition during the 2023-24 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan College, Marist College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College. Merrimack College and Sacred Heart University will join the MAAC as full members in the 2024-25 academic year, expanding the conference to 13 institutions.
 
Stay up to date with the MAAC on social media by following @MAACSports on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Threads or visit MAACSports.com for all the latest MAAC news.