BIG 4 BASEBALL CLASSIC
Canisius, UB to meet for baseball title
Griffs down NU; Bulls top Bona
This year’s Big 4 Baseball Classic championship will feature host Canisius against the University at Buffalo as both teams won their opening-round games Tuesday afternoon.
The teams will meet in the title game at 6 tonight at the Demske Sports Complex while St. Bonaventure and Niagara will play the consolation game at 3 p. m.
The Golden Griffins improved to 24-19 overall with a 13-7 win over Niagara at Demske in the first meeting between the programs this year.
Niagara (16-28) took a 4-0 lead in the second inning on three hits. Matt Wietlispach forced in a run when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Jason Cramer had a two-run single and Wynton Bernard added an RBI ground out.
The Griffs answered with three runs in the top of the third, then took advantage of five Niagara errors during the next two innings to build a 9-5 lead.
Canisius collected 18 hits, led by a career-high four from junior Perry Silverman. Silverman also scored three runs while junior Ian Choy went 3 for 5 with a career-high five RBIs.
Freshman Benson Merritt picked up his second straight win, giving up five runs on six hits with six strikeouts in seven innings.
Cramer drove in four runs for the Purple Eagles, going 2 for 5. Mark Sikorski took the loss, giving up five earned runs on seven hits in 3c innings.
Meanwhile, the Bulls (17-25) knocked out defending champion St. Bonaventure, 14-5, in a first-round game moved to Audubon Field to accommodate weather concerns.
Buffalo took a 1-0 lead in the first then plated five in the third to take a 6-0 lead and control of the game.
Chris Ciesla went 3 for 4 for the Bulls, driving in two runs while scoring three. Brian Randazzo went 3 for 4 with two doubles, driving in four runs, while Kevin McCall went 2 for 5 with three RBIs. The Bulls had 16 hits.
Bona (20-17) didn’t get on the board until the fourth inning. The Bonnies added three in the fifth inning when Brad Steinbach scored on a passed ball followed by a two-run single from Anthony Randich.
Randich was the only Bona player to have multiple hits, going 2 for 3.
Dan Francis recorded the win for Buffalo in relief, giving up one hit in two innings with three strikeouts and one walk.
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