MERION STATION, Pa. – The Saint Joseph's baseball team fell in both ends of a doubleheader at Smithson Field on Saturday, as Canisius came away with victories by 2-1 and 4-3 scores.
In the opener, a low-scoring affair saw the Golden Griffins come away with a 2-1 win.
Canisius (5-13) started the scoring off in the top of the second, stringing together two singles and a double to get on the board. Liam Wilson led off the inning with a single, moved to second on a double by Ryan Stekl, and scored on a single by Jake Lumley.
Saint Joseph's (6-9) equalized in the third. Taylor Boyd led off the frame with a single before stealing second base. After a pair of hit batsmen loaded the bases with one out, John Brue hit a liner to right that was caught, but Boyd scampered home with the tying run.
The tie would be short-lived, however, as Stekl led off the fourth with a double and eventually came in to score on a groundout by Jake Walter.
In the seventh, the Hawks had runners on the corners with two out, but Tyler Smith notched one of his five strikeouts in relief to end the threat.
J.P. Stevenson earned the win for the Golden Griffins, his first of the season, after allowing a run on two hits in five innings. Lucas Rollins was solid in defeat for SJU, allowing two runs and scattering six hits while striking out eight and walking none across seven innings. Iannick Remillard notched his third save of the season with a perfect ninth.
A three-run eighth inning gave the Golden Griffins a 4-3 victory in the nightcap.
The Hawks started off strong, taking a 2-0 lead in the first. Marc Giacalone led off with an infield single, stole second, and went to third on a single by Deon Stafford, Jr. Brue followed with a sacrifice fly to score Giacalone, and two batters later, Charlie Concannon ripped a triple to right to plate Stafford and double the lead.
Giacalone then tripled home Peter Sitaras with two down in the second to make it a 3-0 game.
Neither team scored again until the sixth, when Alex O'Donnell led off with a walk and Tim Kensinger doubled him home to get Canisius on the board.
After two quick outs in the eighth, a walk and a single brought Wilson to the plate, who doubled home both runners to tie the game. Stekl followed with a double of his own to put the Golden Griffins on top for good.
Mike Elwood (1-2) earned the win for Canisius, allowing just a single base runner over four and a third innings of hitless relief. Ryan Otero took the loss for the Hawks, falling to 0-3 on the year after allowing three runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning. Tim Brennan was strong in his home debut, allowing a single run on three hits while striking out seven in seven innings.
Saint Joseph's wraps up its brief homestand on Tuesday, when the Hawks host Villanova at 3:00 p.m. SJU opens Atlantic 10 play at Richmond on Thursday.
