By: Jay Ashdown
Canisius baseball got a big home win to give the team back some momentum after a few losses to Niagara and Ohio. The Griffs won 10–8 over St. Bonaventure in exciting fashion, as a two-run shot from Jake Zurat walked the team off in the bottom of the ninth to bring the team back to .500.
The win was also a big personal milestone for head coach Matt Mazurek, who won his 100th game with Canisius, doing so in record time. Mazurek is the third head coach in program history to achieve this feat, along with previous coaches Mike McRae and Don Colploys. Mazurek only needed 197 games to get there, beating his predecessor McRae to the milestone by 35 games, as McRae reached it in 232 games.
“The milestone is great,” Mazurek told GoGriffs.com. “It's not a personal thing: it's good for the program. To keep the success going and be handed the torch from the coaches who came before me is special to me. I hope that it's something that continues to go no matter who is in the chair at Canisius College in the baseball program. As long as success is in the program, it doesn't matter who. Thank you to all the players that have helped me get to where I am.”
Max Grant went 4-for-4 at the plate for Canisius as he hit for a double, triple and three RBIs in his incredible performance. Mike DeStefano also had a double and triple while going 3-for-5. Zurat and Carlin Dick also drove in two runs each through the long ball.
“The resiliency of this group has been with us all year and is not something that will go away,” Mazurek said. “We're not deterred if we give up a bunch, because we know we can score a bunch. It's keeping them locked in, keeping them having good at-bats. Max and Vinny, to do that with two outs in the eighth, helped propel us get to victory.”
With the win, Canisius has now won 18 of their last 23 against the Bonnies. The team is also red-hot at home offensively, dominating at the plate. The Griffs have scored 112 runs over its last nine home games, scoring at least 10 runs in each of those games.
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