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Sports Recap
Kevin Nesteruk of the baseball team hit the first two home runs of his four-year career, knocking in six runs for the week. Nesteruk had the game-winning blast in the ninth inning of UB's 6-5 win at Central Michigan on Sunday to cap off the week. He also had a two-run homer in the 10th inning at Niagara. In league play, Nesteruk is second on the team with a .361 batting average and is third on the squad in overall hitting at .283. He is also third on the Bulls with eight doubles this season.
The varsity four crew team placed third in its race at the Metro Cup to lead the Bulls to an overall third-place finish. The entry, consisting of bow seat Mary Conniff, second seat Lauren Dunn, third seat Michelle Schwach, stroke seat Sara Sheffer and coxswain Katie Johnson finished the 2,000-meter course in 8:11.7 to finish about a boat-length behind first-place Delaware.
Baseball
UB 4, Duquesne 3; UB 13, Duquesne 3
Niagara 9, UB 8 (11)
Central Michigan 7, UB 4; UB 6, Central Michigan 5
UB closed out its home schedule in grand fashion with a doubleheader sweep of Duquesne on May 7 at Amherst Audubon Field. The Bulls came from behind to win game one, 4-3, and exploded for 13 runs to take the nightcap, 13-3.
In game one, the Bulls scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh and final inning to win, 4-3. Joe Mihalics ignited the rally with a single. Brandon DiCesare reached base when his sacrifice bunt was dropped by first baseman Andy Gallina. Bryan Sanchez followed with an RBI single that scored Mihalics. With runners on first and second, Duquesne pitcher Jon Smith was called for a balk, allowing the runners to advance. With one out,
David Amaro lifted a fly ball to center field that allowed DiCesare to tag up and score the game winner.
Tyler Balentine earned his first win of the season in relief of starter Chris McGraw. McGraw allowed two runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings before giving way to Balentine.
Adrian Daniels went 2-for-4 with a double and drove in two runs. Mihalics also collected two hits and scored three runs.
In game two, the Bulls scored five runs in both the second and fourth innings and pounded out 14 hits before cruising to the victory. Mihalics continued to swing a hot bat in the second game as he went 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a two-run home run. Phil Vanhorne collected three hits, including a double and a triple and scored three runs. DiCesare and Amaro each drove in a pair of runs for the Bulls.
James Mantzanis tossed a complete game, allowing two earned runs on three hits to pick up his second win of the season. Mantzanis got some defensive help as the Bulls turned a rare triple play in the sixth inning. With runners on first and second, Jonathan Kelly lined out to Daniels who flipped the ball to Vanhorne at second for the second out. Vanhorne then fired the ball to first baseman McGraw for the third out.
Prior to the game, the Bulls presented a check for $5,000 to Roswell Park Cancer Institute. The players raised the money selling team calendars.
In action on May 8, Niagara scored four runs in the bottom of the 10th inning to earn a come-from-behind, 9-8, win over the Bulls at Niagara's Bobo Field. The Bulls scored three runs in the top of the 10th on a three-run homer by Kevin Nesteruk, but the Purple Eagles stormed back in the bottom half of the inning and a two-out single by freshman Matt Fuller drove in the winning run to lift them to victory.
The Bulls then traveled to Central Michigan for a two-game, weekend series against the Chippewas. UB fell to Central Michigan, 7-4, on Saturday afternoon, but came back on Sunday with a two-run homer by Nesteruk in the top of the ninth inning to take a 6-5 win.
On Saturday, Central Michigan jumped out to a 5-0 lead before the Bulls scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning. Mihalics started UB's scoring by lifting a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Andrew Wengert. DiCesare followed with an RBI single that scored Vanhorne. Sanchez drove in the Bulls' third run with an RBI double that scored DiCesare.
The Chippewas quickly answered with two runs in the bottom of the seventh to extend their lead to 7-3. UB scored once in the top of the ninth inning on a sacrifice fly by DiCesare that scored John Boom but could get no closer.
Jeff Opalewski held the Bulls to two runs on five hits and struck out seven over 6 1/3 innings to pick up the win. Nick Bellacose allowed five runs over six innings and was charged with the loss.
In Sunday's finale against the Chippewas, the Bulls scored four runs in the top of the third inning to take a 4-0 lead. Vanhorne ignited the scoring with a solo home run. Jordan Alcott ripped a two-run double and Nesteruk followed with an RBI single that scored Alcott for the Bulls' fourth run.
The Chippewas answered with four runs in the bottom of the third inning, all with two outs, to tie the contest.
Central Michigan went ahead in the bottom of the fourth inning by scoring a run on a suicide squeeze bunt off the bat of Chase Welker that scored David Latour. The score remained 5-4 until the top of the ninth inning.
Daniels led off the ninth with a walk. Nesteruk came to the plate with one out and slugged a two-run homer, his second of the week, to give the Bulls a 6-5 lead. McGraw pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, including two strikeouts, to slam the door on the Chippewas and pick up his third win of the year.
UB was to conclude the season on the road this week with a doubleheader at Northern Illinois on Tuesday and a four-game weekend series at Kent State.
Crew
Bulls bag bronze at Metro Cup races
UB concluded its season, one of the most successful in school history, with a third-place finish among 10 Division I teams at the Metro Cup in Camden, N.J. The Bulls scored 43 points using the NCAA's rowing points system standards. Massachusetts won the team title with 59 points while Rhode Island placed second at 46.
Only the varsity races-the Bulls reached the championship round in all three-were scored for points. The novice eight race-UB won the consolation race-did not factor into the scoring.
UB's varsity four crew made the strongest finish among the four entries. The team, consisting of bow seat Mary Conniff, second seat Lauren Dunn, third seat Michelle Schwach, stroke seat Sara Sheffer and coxswain Katie Johnson placed third in the Grand Finals (the championship race). The UB boat crossed the finish line in 8:11.7, just behind first-place Delaware (8:06.8) and second-place Massachusetts (8:09.0). The difference of five seconds between the first- and third-place finishes equates to just a little more than a boat length. Those three boats also finished well ahead of fourth-place Rhode Island, which trailed UB by eight seconds. UB turned in the third-fastest time in the qualifying heats of 8:20.6, again behind Massachusetts and Delaware.
The varsity eight boats both reached the Grand Finals, finishing fourth in their respective races. The A boat of bow seat Jessica Ecke, second seat Tracy Clarke, third seat Victoria Kolomiets, fourth seat Kathleen Dorn, fifth seat Deanna Knighton, sixth seat Kali Spoto, seventh seat Tara Celestini, stroke seat Kasey Hansen and coxswain Tina LaFountain, won its heat in 6:59.2. The team then went on to the championship race, where it turned in a 7:05.2 to finish fourth. Massachusetts won the race in 6:52.7.
The second varsity or JV eight squad also placed fourth in the Grand Final, behind Massachusetts, Delaware and West Virginia. UB's entry consisted of bow seat Stephanie Spinella, second seat Karen Corey, third seat Bonnie McVicker, fourth seat Amy Aldridge, fifth seat Kat Vossler, sixth seat Natalie Pugliese, seventh seat Marla Hardin, stroke seat Chandra Hazey and coxswain Dawn Kavanaugh.
The novice eight team was the lone entry that did not reach the Grand Final. The four slowest teams in the heats were placed in the Petite Final or consolation race, which UB won to place seventh overall. UB's entry consisted of bow seat Caitlin Logue, second seat Katie Jones, third seat Kristin Bender, fourth seat Georgia Maloney, fifth seat Michelle Heller, sixth seat Joanne Olsen, seventh seat Maggie Cote, stroke seat Emilee Norris and coxswain Kaitlin Buccheit.
Softball
Breanne Nasti named to All-MAC First Team
Junior Breanne Nasti earned accolades from the Mid-American Conference, being named to the All-MAC First Team for the second year in a row.
Members of the All-MAC teams were chosen by the league's head coaches
Nasti finished the season with a batting average over .400 for the second year in a row, batting .402 overall (fifth in the MAC) and .404 in conference games only (eighth in the MAC). Nasti is leading the league in on-base percentage (.496), and she also finished the year with a .542 slugging percentage, 18 runs scored and 14 runs batted in.
Nasti was one of just eight honorees on the first and second teams who also earned All-MAC accolades last season and just one of three to repeat as an All-MAC First Team honoree.