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Sports Recap
James Kingsley of the baseball team hit .478 (11-for-23) with three doubles, two runs scored and three RBIs in UB's five games during the week. The sophomore first baseman had two three-hit games against Kent State over the weekend and raised his batting average from .294 to .322. Kingsley has also hit safely in last seven games and leads the Bulls in doubles (13), home runs (five) and RBIs (30).
Allison Laske of the women's track-and-field team earned a B standard time for the upcoming U.S. Olympic Trials with her 2:04.81 finish in the 800-meter run at Stanford's Cardinal Invitational. Laske also shattered her previous school record in the event by nearly five seconds, placing fourth in the race against some of the country's top competition. Her time also is the fastest 800-meter mark in the Mid-American Conference and the NCAA's East region this season.
Baseball
Niagara 11, UB 10 (Big Four Classic)
UB 10, Canisius 7 (Big Four Classic)
Kent State 11, UB 2
Kent State 11, UB 2
Kent State 11, UB 4
The runs came in bunches as UB split a pair of contests at the inaugural Big Four Classic April 27-28 before being swept at Kent State over the weekend. The Bulls are now 11-28 overall, 3-10 in the Mid-American Conference.
UB rallied, but fell to Niagara, 11-10, in the opening game of the Big Four Baseball Classic on April 27 in Dunn Tire Park. Trailing 10-2 after seven innings, the Bulls scored four runs in the eighth inning. After the Purple Eagles scored a run in the bottom of the eighth, the Bulls scored four more runs in the ninth inning, but it wasn't enough to prevent Niagara from advancing to the championship game.
A six-run fourth inning helped lift UB to a 10-7 win over Canisius in the consolation game on April 28. The Bulls got a solid pitching performance from Adam Ruszkowski, who allowed three earned runs and struck out four over seven innings to pick up his second win of the season.
The Bulls broke open a 1-1 tie in the top of the fourth inning when they erupted for six runs. The six-run outburst began when David Amaro scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of Brian Zelasko. Bryan Thrasher next reached on an error that scored Phil Vanhorne. Joe Mihalics and Andrew Wengert followed with back-to-back RBI singles. Thrasher crossed the plate when James Kingsley grounded into a double play and Mihalics scored following a Canisius' error to cap the scoring in the inning.
The Golden Griffins rallied for a run in the bottom of the sixth and a pair in the bottom of the seventh to cut the Bulls' advantage to 10-4. In the last of the ninth, Canisius made it interesting by scoring three runs and had the tying run at the plate. However, Sean McWilliams entered the game and got the final two Canisius batters to fly out to earn his second save of the season.
In the opener of the series at Kent State on Friday, a seven-run eighth inning helped lift the Golden Flashes to an 11-2 win over the Bulls. The Golden Flashes pounded out 18 hits, including 4-for-4 performances by both Chuck Moore and Joe Tucker. Thrasher and James Kingsley each collected three hits for UB with Thrasher accounting for UB's lone RBI.
UB dropped another 11-2 decision to Kent State on Saturday.
The Bulls scored two runs in the top of the fourth inning to cut into a 3-0 Kent State lead compliments of a two-run double by Steve Legrett that scored Wengert and Amaro. However, that would be the extent of the Bulls' scoring. Kent State scored a run in the fourth, four runs in the fifth and three runs in the eighth inning to pull away for the victory.
UB suffered an 11-4 loss on Sunday to end the series. The Bulls got on the board in the top of the first inning when Kingsley doubled home Joe Mihalics to give UB a 1-0 advantage. However, the lead was short-lived as Kent State answered with two runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a 2-1 lead. The Bulls cut the lead to 3-2 in the top of the third inning when Thrasher scored on an RBI groundout by Wengert. Kent State scored twice in the fourth inning and three times in the fifth inning to take a 6-2 lead. In the bottom of the seventh inning, an RBI single by Will Vazquez and a two-run double by Andrew Davis extended the Kent State lead to 11-2. Buffalo scored twice in the top of the eighth inning when an RBI single by Kingsley scored Thrasher and Wengert later crossed the plate on a fielder's choice. However, it wasn't enough to top the Golden Flashes.
UB will conclude its final homestand of the season with a three-game series with Toledo over the weekend at Amherst Audubon Field.
Softball
UB 7-5, St. Bonaventure 4-1
UB 5-5, Marshall 0-2
Marshall 5, UB 3
UB swept a doubleheader from St. Bonaventure, 7-4 and 5-1, on April 28 to give the Bulls 20 wins, the most they have had in a single season in their five-year Division I history.
In game one, UB jumped out to a 4-0 lead with two runs in the second, one in the third and one in the fourth. Senior Allison Round drove in two runs with a double in the second, while a triple by senior Breanne Nasti in the third and a single by senior Dominique Jones in the fourth drove in one run apiece. Another double by Round and a two-run single by junior Melissa Pace gave the Bulls a 7-0 lead in the top of the seventh before the Bonnies finally got on the board in the bottom of the inning scoring their four runs.
In game two, St. Bonaventure struck first as Kristin Brunetto came in to score on a Bulls' error in the bottom of the first inning. The Bulls put three runs across the plate in the top of the sixth, with Jones, Round and freshman Shannon Prochaska recording RBIs. After the Bonnies left the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning, a double by sophomore Lisa Wheat drove in two more insurance runs in the top of the seventh. Sophomore Theresa Gugger earned her second win of the year, allowing just six hits and no earned runs and striking out two.
Returning home for a MAC series against Marshall, the Bulls swept Saturday's doubleheader from the Thundering Herd. UB posted a 5-0 shutout in the opener before overcoming a 2-1 deficit in the nightcap to take a 5-2 decision.
In the opener, freshman Mary Russell led off the bottom of the first inning with a double to left field, and junior Julie Hibner followed with a double down the left field line to drive Russell in with the first run of the game. Pace and Hibner each drove in another run later in the game to give the Bulls some insurance. In the fourth, sophomore Lauren Picciano led off with a triple to right field and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Hibner. In the fifth, Round walked and scored on a double to center by Pace. Pace and Hibner each finished the game 2-for-3 with two RBIs. A leadoff home run to center in the bottom of the sixth by Nasti, her ninth homer of the season, ended the scoring.
Bulls' pitcher Stacey Evans improved to 11-9 overall and recorded her seventh shutout of the season. She pitched the complete game, allowing just three hits and striking out eight.
UB's offense did not let up in game two as the Bulls pounded out four hits in the first inning, including an RBI-single by Ann Magur to take an early 1-0 lead. The Thundering Herd came alive in the top of the fourth, thanks to a pair of slap bunts and a pair of wild pitches. Jessica Williams led off the inning with slap bunt single to short, then moved to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a slap bunt single to second by Sierra Davenport. After Davenport stole second, another wild pitch allowed Williams to score and Davenport to move to third. Davenport then caught the Bulls off guard and ran home while the ball was still live to give Marshall a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, Pace led off with a walk and was replaced by pinch-runner Colleen Greene. A double to right center by Magur moved Greene over to third, and she then scored on a single to right by senior Jessica Labella to tie the score at 2-2. UB then broke things open with a three-run sixth inning. A single to center by Labella scored Nasti with the go-ahead run, and a fielding error on a two-out grounder to first by Jones allowed both Labella and Round to cross the plate. Jones was called out for leaving first base early to end the inning with the Bulls up 5-2. Marshall threatened in the top of the seventh—putting two runners on base as a result of two Buffalo errors—but did not score.
A pair of seniors—Round and Marce Ross—made the final home game of their careers memorable by hitting home runs on Sunday. However, it wasn't enough as Marshall came from behind to beat the Bulls, 5-3, in the series finale.
The Bulls will close out the regular season with a doubleheader at Toledo on Saturday.
Outdoor Track and Field
Laske establishes Olympic Trials mark; squads face MAC foes at Akron Quad
Allison Laske earned an Olympic Trials qualifying standard with her fourth-place finish in the 800-meter run at the 2004 Cardinal Invitational at Stanford University on Saturday.
Facing some of the top athletes in the country, Laske, a senior, turned in a 2:04.81 clocking, good enough to attain a "B" standard for July1s U.S. Olympic Trials, to be held in July in Sacramento. The time shattered her school record in the event by nearly five seconds. Laske raced to a 2:09.63 showing at March's Raleigh Relays to establish the previous record.
In a tight race, Laske was among a group of five runners that crossed the finish line within less than 1.25 seconds of each other. Frances Santin of Santa Monica Track Club won the race in 2:03.73. Tamika Williams of the Nike Farm Team, an elite training group based in Palo Alto, was second in 2:04.40 while Kentucky's Beth Heimann was the only collegian to finish ahead of Laske in 2:04.69.
Laske's time also is the fastest turned in by a MAC runner this season in the 800-meters as she moved ahead of Akron's Beata Rudzinska, who clocked a 2:07.92 at the Drake Relays on April 24.
Meanwhile the remainder of the squads competed in the Akron Quad meet on Saturday, establishing a pair of school records. In the team competition, UB's women scored 151 points to finish second to host Akron's 211 points. Kent State (149) and Toledo (82) rounded out the women's field. In the men's meet, the Bulls finished fourth with 97.50 points, trailing Penn State (192.50), Akron (182.50) and Kent State (181.50).
Women's weight thrower Sarah Vance earned regional qualifying marks in both the shot put and hammer throws to lead the team. Vance won the hammer throw at 173-7 (52.90m), more than 12 feet better than the second-place finisher. She also broke the school record in the shot put, finishing second at 48-5.50 (14.77m). The throw surpassed Faith Thompson's record of 46-8 (14.22m) set last season.
The UB women had two additional first-place showings. Jenny Koeppel won the 1,500-meter run in 4:37.0, bettering her season-best finish by more than five seconds. Laura Olson easily won the pole vault at 12-9.50 (3.90m), a foot better than the second-place finisher.
For the UB men, freshman Dan McKenna took the 1,500-meter run in a team-best clocking of 3:55.7. The time shaved almost two seconds off his previous best mark from March's Raleigh Relays. Men's pole vaulter Dan Simpson extended his school record in the event with a height of 15-11 (4.85m) to take fifth overall. The vault by Simpson bettered his old mark set at the 2003 Chancellor's Cup meet at UB by one inch.
Both squads will return to Akron on Saturday for the Campbell/Wright Open. The Mid-American Conference Championships will begin May 13.