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Sports Recap
Andrew Wengert of the baseball team hit .389 (7-for-18) with a double, a triple, three runs scored and three runs batted in to lead the Bulls' offense in five games last week. The junior outfielder also was perfect in the field in 17 chances. Wengert finished the 2004 season with a .309 batting average (fourth on the team), 25 RBIs (tied for second), 60 hits (third) and a .991 fielding percentage.
Breanne Nasti of the softball team was one of three outfielders named to the 12-player NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) All-Mideast Region First Team. Nasti led the Bulls' offense in 2004 with a .336 batting average and 31 RBIs in 48 games. The senior earned All-Region honors three times in her four-year career. She also was named to the All-Mideast Region First Team as an outfielder during her sophomore season in 2002, and she was an All-Mideast Region Second Team honoree as a utility player as a freshman in 2001. Nasti finished her career with a .387 batting average and 113 RBIs.
Baseball
Niagara 10, UB 8
Duquesne 8, UB 5
Marshall 8, UB 4
Marshall 9, UB 2
Marshall 5, UB 1
The Bulls dropped a 10-8 decision at Niagara on May 18, scoring their eight runs on eight hits. UB scored three runs in the top of the second on an RBI double by John Boom and a two-run single by Brian Zelasko, and then scored two more runs in the top of the third to take a 5-2 lead. Joe Mihalics started the scoring in the third with an RBI groundout that plated Al Barbato. James Kingsley followed with a double to extend his hitting streak to 18 games. The sophomore first baseman scored on an RBI single by Chris McGraw.
However, the Purple Eagles used a five-run third inning to take a 7-5 lead. The key blow was a three-run home run by Andrew MacNevin.
Phil Vanhorne drove in Zelasko in the top of the fourth inning to cut the Niagara lead to 7-6, but the Purple Eagles tallied a run in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single by Paul Solini to extend their lead to 8-6. Niagara added a run in the sixth inning and another in the seventh inning to go ahead, 10-6. UB made it interesting in the eighth with an RBI groundout by David Amaro and an RBI single by Andrew Wengert to cut the lead to 10-8. However, that would be as close as the Bulls would get. Niagara took the season series, 3-2.
In a make-up game on May 20, the Bulls dropped an 8-5 decision at Duquesne in their final non-conference game of the season.
UB scored first on an RBI double by Chris McGraw that scored James Kingsley in the top of the first inning, and a solo home run by John Boom, his first of the season, in the fifth gave the Bulls a 2-1 lead. The Dukes, however, scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth—highlighted by a two-run home run by Derek Mechling and capped by a two-run triple by Corey Bugno—to take a 7-2 lead.
Kingsley hit his seventh home run of the season to cut the Dukes' lead to 7-3 before Duquesne added a run in the bottom of the sixth to go up 8-3. McGraw struck again in the eighth inning with a two-run single that scored Mike Connelly and Mihalics to cut the lead to 8-5. Mihalics reached base on his 173 career hit—tying the school record for hits in a career.
The Bulls ended the season with three losses at Marshall over the weekend. On Friday, the Bulls jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the top of the third inning when Wengert ripped a two-run double and later scored on a Marshall error. However, the Bulls fell victim to another big inning by the opposition. This time, the Thundering Herd tallied six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 7-3 lead and added a single tally in the fifth to go ahead, 8-3. An RBI double by Barbato scored Boom to lead to the 8-4 final. Wengert finished with three of the Bulls' eight hits in the game.
On Saturday, Marshall used a five-run first inning to cruise to a 9-2 win over the Bulls. UB finally got on the board in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Kingsley that plated Vanhorne to make the score 5-1. However, Marshall scored a run in the fifth inning, another in the sixth inning and a pair of runs in the seventh inning to go ahead 9-1. The Bulls scored their second run of the game in the eighth inning on an RBI single by Boom that scored Wengert. UB tallied 10 hits in the game, including two apiece by Kingsley, Wengert, Boom and Bryan Thrasher.
Sunday's series and season finale for the Bulls ended in a 5-1 score in Marshall's favor. In his first at bat of the game, Mihalics ripped a single to centerfield. It was his 174th career hit, giving him the school record for hits. He surpassed Brandon DiCesare who set the mark last season. Only a junior, Mihalics would collect two more hits on the afternoon to up his career mark to 176. Mihalics' 76 hits on the season is also a school record. The Thundering Herd held a 2-0 lead through five innings. David Amaro singled home Steve Legrett in the top of the sixth inning to cut the Marshall advantage to 2-1. However, the Herd scored three runs, all with two outs, in the bottom of the seventh inning to take a 5-1 lead. Despite being outscored by four runs, the Bulls did outhit the Herd, 9-6. Along with Mihalics' three hits, Vanhorne had two hits to lead UB.
The Bulls finished the 2004 campaign with an overall record of 15-39 and a 4-18 Mid American Conference mark.
Wrestling
McKnight competes in Olympic Freestyle Wrestling
Mark McKnight, who recently completed his freshman season at UB, competed at the U.S. Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Trials last weekend in Indianapolis. He was one of just 13 wrestlers within the 55-kilogram weight class to advance to the trials, having qualified with his mid-April title at the East Regional Trials. McKnight lost a 4-0 decision to current Penn State assistant coach and 1998 All-American Tim Dernlan on Friday in the Challenge Preliminaries to drop to the consolation bracket. He was eliminated on Saturday when he dropped another 4-0 decision to Mike Mena, the current assistant coach at Indiana and a former four-time NCAA All-American at Iowa.
McKnight was one of a few collegians who earned an invitation to the event. He had an incredible freshman season at UB, winning the MAC title at 125 pounds, being named MAC Freshman of the Year and falling just short of All-American status at the NCAA Championships after placing in the top 12 in the nation as a true freshman. He was 34-8 overall in his rookie campaign.