Baseball

UB defeats Canisius; loses 4 to Northern Illinois

UB defeated Canisius College, 5-1, May 1 in non-conference action in Dunn Tire Park.

Freshmen pitchers Mike Leslie and Nick Bellacose combined to scatter 11 hits and strand 10 Canisius runners in the contest.

UB christened its new home diamond, Audubon Park, Friday night with a heartbreaking, 12-5, loss to Northern Illinois in MAC action. The Huskies erupted for eight runs in the top of the ninth to snare the victory.

Bulls' pitcher Brendan Dunford struck out a season-high 12 in suffering the defeat, pitching 8.1 innings.

The Bulls also dropped a doubleheader Saturday afternoon to the Huskies, 10-1 and 4-3.

NIU broke open a 3-0 game with five runs in the sixth inning of game one. UB's lone score was an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth.

Game two turned into a nail-biter as UB rallied for two runs in the eighth and had the winning run on second in the bottom of the ninth. Kevin Nesteruk had led off with a single to left and moved to second when Dan Urban misplayed the ball. One out later, Rob Golemba walked. Eric Huber, who stroked his 65th hit of the season in the eighth inning, struck out. The Bulls then moved both runners into scoring position on a passed ball by NIU catcher Jim McArthur. The game ended when NIU closer Steve Hardman struck out Sanchez, snuffing out the rally.

UB and NIU completed their four-game weekend series at Audubon Park Sunday afternoon, with the Bulls dropping a 10-0 decision.

Northern Illinois lefthander Brad Gavelek struck out 12 Bulls and allowed three hits and one walk for the complete game, giving the Huskies the four-game sweep of the Bulls (11-38, 5-23 MAC).

Softball

Athletes of the Week

Kamau Halim of the men's track-and-field team won three events at the UB Open. Halim tied his school record in winning the triple jump with a Mid-American Conference-leading distance of 50-11 (15.52m). He also posted victories in the long jump, with a season-best and league-leading leap of 24-9.25 (7.55m), and the hammer throw, with a distance of 54.71 meters. Allison Round of the softball team went 9-of-18 (.500) in five games, leading the Bulls to three victories. She drove in six runs in UB's doubleheader sweep of Niagara, smacking a double, triple and homer in the nightcap. For the week, Round, a freshman, scored seven runs and also drove in seven, while adding a pair of home runs.

UB tops Niagara; splits doubleheader against Miami

UB took two games from Niagara University on May 2 at Niagara, defeating the Purple Eagles, 8-0 and 11-2. Both games ended in six innings as per the NCAA's eight-run rule, marking a vast improvement for the Bulls over last season when Niagara defeated them by eight or more runs on three different occasions.

Freshman Allison Round led the Bulls with six hits and six RBIs in the two games, including a double, a triple and a home run. Freshman Breanne Nasti and sophomore Jessica Kensy drove in three runs apiece in the doubleheader.

The 8-0 win in the opener was UB's first shutout win of the season. The Bulls scored in all but two of the 12 innings played on the afternoon, outhitting the Purple Eagles, 22-8.

However, the Bulls lost the opening game of a three-game series at Miami on Friday, 6-2. The RedHawks jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning and outhit the Bulls, 12-3, to earn the victory.

The Bulls concluded the 2001 season on Saturday by splitting a doubleheader with the RedHawks to finish the season with a 12-40 overall record and a 4-20 record in the MAC. The Bulls gave up a run in the seventh inning of the opener to drop a 5-4 decision, but came back to earn a 7-1 win in the nightcap.

Outdoor track and field

Teams compete in UB Open

UB hosted the UB Open on Saturday. There was no team scoring in the event that featured both American and Canadian squads.

Kamau Halim captured three events for the Bulls. The senior took the triple jump, tying his own school record with a leap of 50-11 (15.52m). Halim also won the long jump at 24-9.25 (7.55m) and hammer throw, an event not usually associated with the jumper, with a mark of 54.71m. Halim also competed in the shot put and 100 meters.

Biaunca McFarland set a personal best in the 200 meters, finishing in 24.77, while also leaping 11.97 meters in the triple jump.

Athletic Awards

Senior wrestler John Eschenfelder and senior women's soccer player Paula

Listrani were named Male and Female Athletes of the Year, highlighting the 2000-2001 UB Athletics Banquet held May 1.

Eschenfelder won his second MAC heavyweight title this year and qualified for the NCAA Division I National Championships for the second time in his career. Ranked among the top 10 heavyweights in the nation for most of the season, Eschenfelder compiled a 21-5 record this season and leaves UB with a career mark of 83-42.

Listrani rewrote the women's soccer scoring charts at UB in a record-breaking career. She was a four-year starter for the Bulls and led the team in scoring the past three seasons. This past season, Listrani became UB's all-time leader in career goals with 46, career assists with 24 and career points with 116. Listrani's play this year led UB to a 14-6-1 record and the first-ever MAC regular season championship by a UB team.

Other major award winners at the banquet included the women's soccer program, which earned the Athletic Director's Award for outstanding accomplishment; men's soccer player Brian McCallion, who claimed the Clifford C. Furnas Award; women's basketball player Deb Sellan, who earned the Skerker Scholar-Athlete Award; men's soccer player Chris Vinci, who earned the Unsung Hero Award, and women's swimmer Kristen Zimmerman , who earned the first Blue & White Club Community Service Award.