Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

NEWARK, Del. -Freshman D.J. Long extended his hitting streak to 17 games, but the University of Delaware baseball team suffered a 10-5 setback to Canisius during a non-conference bout at Bob Hannah Stadium on Friday afternoon.

Every batter in the Blue Hen lineup recorded at least one hit, including Long (top right) who punched a one-out single to right in the fifth inning. With that hit, he continued his outstanding season and topped Delaware’s record for the longest hitting streak by a freshman. The previous mark of 16 was established by Brian August in 1995.

Among other top performers, Carlos Alonso, Dave Anderson, and Pat Dameron (bottom right) all recorded two hits including a home run for Delaware (11-11).

In the early going, Canisius (16-9) jumped out quickly. During the top of the first, the Griffs tossed three runs on the board, highlighted by a two-run triple by Steve McQuail. Later, after Blue Hen ace Michael Londino settled in and fired two spotless frames, Canisius came back for more.

Despite two quick outs in the fourth, a defensive miscue proved costly for Delaware. Following a Blue Hen error, Jarred Flock kicked off the rally with a two-run blast to left. Soon after, Perry Silverman added an RBI double before Sean Jamieson and Ian Choy each knocked in a run to give the Griffs an 8-0 advantage.

Although the Delaware lineup continued to put runners on base, the squad could not quite bring one home. The Hens ripped at least one hit in each of the first five innings, but Canisius starter Shane Davis looked strong and remained unscathed.

Finally, in their sixth trip to the plate, the Delaware bats finally broke through when the squad pieced together a nice two-out rally. After Davis struck out the first two hitters of the inning, Josh Dean started the surge with a double to deep centerfield. Dameron followed with a monstrous two-run blast that clanged high off the scoreboard behind the rightfield fence.

With two runs in, the Hens kept up the attack. Anderson lined a single to left before Hank Yates smacked a hit to right. Todd Menchaca came through next with an RBI single to left that chased in Anderson and brought the Hens within five at 8-3.

While the Blue Hen bats were beginning to do damage, Devon Pearson looked excellent on the mound. After taking over in the fifth, the sophomore southpaw pounded the strike zone, allowing just one hit while striking out six in his first three innings of work.

In the eighth, Canisius finally got to Pearson, plating two runs highlighted by another Flock homer. Although the Hens responded with a pair of solo shots from Anderson and Alonso in the next two innings, their deficit was simply too much to overcome in the end.

Davis (4-2) picked up the victory after allowing four runs in eight innings of work. Londino (4-2) took the loss despite surrendering only three earned runs in his four innings on the mound.

The two teams will wrap up their three-game series tomorrow with a doubleheader beginning at noon.