MERION STATION, Pa. – Senior Stefan Kancylarz went out in style, driving in five runs in his final game as a Hawk, but the Saint Joseph's baseball team ultimately fell short in a 14-8 loss to Saint Louis at Smithson Field on Saturday. Seniors Ryan Pater and Lansing Veeder also notched base hits in their final games in the Crimson and Gray.
Michael Bozarth led off the game with a home run for the second consecutive day to give Saint Louis (35-19 overall, 16-8 Atlantic 10) an early lead. The Billikens then added eight runs in the second inning on six hits to extend the lead to 9-0.
Saint Joseph's (21-28 overall, 11-12 Atlantic 10) scored a pair in the second as Deon Stafford led off with a walk and Kancylarz doubled him home. After a throwing error allowed Kancylarz to reach third, he would come in to score on a groundout by Charlie Coghlin.
Bozarth ripped his second home run of the game in the third inning to push the SLU edge back to eight, but the Hawks answered with a three-spot in the fourth. John Brue led off the inning with a single before Stafford walked to set up Kancylarz for his fourth home run of the year to make it a 10-5 game.
It would stay that way until the sixth, when Mike Vigliarolo singled and eventually came in to score on an error. The Billikens would then add a singleton in the seventh on an RBI single by Vigliarolo for a 12-5 lead.
The Hawks got back within five in the bottom of the seventh as a double by Stafford scored Matt Maul and a groundout by Kancylarz brought home Brue.
SLU added one in the eighth on a double by James Morisano, but Cal Jadacki drew a lead-off walk in the bottom half, went to third on a double by Veeder, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Pater to make it a 13-8 game.
The Billikens closed out the scoring with a run in the ninth on a single by Colton Frabasilio.
Connor Lehmann was credited with the win for Saint Louis, allowing two runs on five hits in three and a third innings of relief to improve to 3-3. Tim Ponto suffered the loss, ending the season at 2-6.
Kancylarz wrapped up his Hawk career with a .303 career average and 228 hits, good for fourth in program history. He also ends his career with a school-record 900 plate appearances, and ranks second in school history in at bats (753), walks (120), and triples (12), fifth in doubles (46), seventh in runs batted in (122), and tied for fifth in games played (202). His 34-game on-base streak that spanned from late 2014 into 2015 is also the top mark in SJU history as well.
Veeder graduates with the fifth-lowest career earned run average in school history (2.92), tied for second in career saves (10), and tied for sixth in appearances (66).
Maul also set a record in the first inning on Saturday, notching his 149th assist of the season. He finished the year with 152, breaking the previous record of 148 set by Anthony Cirillo in 2011.
The Hawks conclude the 2015 season with 21 wins, their fifth consecutive 20-plus win season, the longest such stretch in program history. SJU has also reached double-digit victories in conference play for six consecutive seasons; prior to 2010, the Hawks had reached the plateau just five times in total.
In addition, the Class of 2015 graduates as one of the two winningest four-year classes in Saint Joseph's history; the classes of 2014 and 2015 were each a part of 107 victories in their time on Hawk Hill.
