BUFFALO, N.Y. (Interstat) — The Sacred Heart Pioneers and Canisius Golden Griffins meet Saturday afternoon at Demske Sports Complex in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference matchup, with the teams set to play under cloudy skies and temperatures near 52 degrees.

Sacred Heart (13-26) enters after a 6-3 loss to Canisius on Friday. The Pioneers have dropped three of their last four games. Canisius (17-23) has won two straight and four of its last five.

Right-hander Bryan Matuschat is expected to start for Sacred Heart. Matuschat took the loss Friday against Canisius, allowing six earned runs in seven innings despite not giving up a hit. The line — 7 IP, 0 H, 6 ER, 4 K — was puzzling, as he walked five and hit two batters. In his two previous starts, Matuschat threw 8 innings of two-run ball in a win over Siena and 6⅓ shutout innings against Merrimack.

For Canisius, catcher Thomas Zwirecki has been the offensive catalyst. Zwirecki went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs in Friday’s win, raising his average to .316 in MAAC play. Over his last 10 games, he has five multi-hit performances and a pair of home runs.

The Golden Griffins got a strong start Friday from Felix Morin (6⅔ IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 5 K) and 2⅓ scoreless innings from Sam Staerker. Sacred Heart shortstop Gavin Donohue had two hits and an RBI in the loss.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 6-4 Canisius victory.

The series continues Sunday with another game at Demske Complex. Sacred Heart then hosts Fairfield for a three-game set, while Canisius welcomes Siena for a three-game series starting Wednesday.

This is the second of a three-game weekend series. Canisius has won three of the last four meetings between the teams.