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Sports Recap
Tony Kurtz of the baseball team picked up a win and a save in UB's five games last week. Kurtz, a freshman right-hander, pitched 5.1 innings in his two appearances without allowing a hit. He earned the win over Canisius with a pair of strikeouts. At Bowling Green, he earned his first career save with a four-strikeout performance in the final 2.1 innings against the leading offense in the MAC.
Chandra Hazey of the women's rowing team powered UB crews to a pair of victories in their home meet against Bucknell and Colgate. Hazey moved into the lineup for the varsity 8 crew after the Bulls were short a rower, handling the stroke seat and helping the Bulls to a 6:09.21 clocking. She then took her regular spot in the bow of the second varsity 8 shell, as UB finished nine seconds ahead of Colgate.
Baseball
UB 16-4, Canisius 0-8
Bowling Green 7, UB 1
UB 6, Bowling Green 4
Bowling Green 1, UB 0
Junior first baseman James Kingsley proved to be a one-man wrecking crew in the first game of UB's Big 4-opening doubleheader at Canisius, hitting two home runs to lift the Bulls to a 16-0 win. In game two, Canisius launched two third-inning homers to beat UB, 8-4, on April 6 at the Demske Sports Complex.
Kingsley started the damage in the first inning when he launched a one-out, two-run screamer over the right-field fence. From there, the Bulls started to punch away at the scoreboard, scoring one in the second. They added two in the third when senior left fielder John Boom hit a two-out double to right center that scored two runs.
UB exploded for five runs in the fourth to take a 10-0 lead, as Kingsley bashed a solo homer—the 13th of his career to put him in a tie for fourth in UB history—that landed in the net above the left-center-field wall. Sophomore Al Barbato added a two-run single with two outs and the bases loaded and Boom followed with a line drive down the line that scored two more runs.
The Bulls' stampede wasn't done, though, as they scored six in the sixth inning, taking advantage of two walks and five hits. Senior center fielder Phil Vanhorne hit a two-run, ground-rule double over the right-center-field fence with one out and Kingsley followed with a two-run single in the inning.
Kingsley paced the Bulls, going 4-for-5 with a double, two home runs, three runs and five RBIs. Every Bull in the starting lineup added a hit—pounding 18 in the game—with sophomore Dan Quinn posting a 3-for-5 game and Boom going 3-for-3 with a run, two doubles and five RBIs.
Canisius was held to one hit, a first inning single from Eric Schefski. After that, sophomore starter Adam Ruszkowski was in control for the Bulls, tossing three innings and striking out two before giving way to freshman Tony Kurtz, who earned the win by tossing three hitless frames, striking out two and walking three. Junior Sean McWilliams pitched the seventh, hitting a batter, but allowing no other damage.
In the second game, a three-run home run from Matt Mazurek down the right-field line and a two-run blast from Gabe Baida in a six-run Griffin third inning lifted the Griffs to an 8-4 win. UB's Mike Folli provided the offense for the Bulls, going 2-for-3, including a triple, with two runs scored.
UB headed to Bowling Green for a three-game weekend series with the Falcons.
Despite 12 hits and three-hit efforts from Joe Mihalics and Quinn, UB managed just one run as it fell to the Falcons, 7-1, in the opener on Friday. Alan Brech (4-1) tossed six innings, allowing eight hits and striking out five for the Falcons. The lone UB run was a fifth-inning homer by Mihalics, his fourth of the season, as he was 3-for-5 and Quinn went 3-for-5 with a double.
Saturday, Ruszkowski tied a UB record held since the reinstatement of the team in 2000 with his fourth win of the season, as Buffalo held down the MAC's leading offense in Bowling Green, winning 6-4.
Ruszkowski (4-1) pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing nine hits, three walks and four runs, but only three were earned. He struck out two, as he managed to get out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the bottom of the sixth inning by inducing an inning-ending double play. Kurtz was just as effective, earning his first career save. Coming into the game with two outs and runners on first and second in the seventh, Kurtz got a fly ball. In the eighth, he struck out the side and again retired the side in order in the ninth. The righthander finished with four strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings. He is 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 18 innings this year.
The Bulls scored four runs in the second inning as Quinn, Aaron Otto, David Amaro and Boom crossed the plate to open a 4-0 lead. In the sixth, Amaro sent his second home run of the year over the left field fence to make it 6-1.
Folli led the Bulls with a 2-for-3, one-RBI game and Vanhorne also went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Sunday's finale turned in a pitching gem. In a series that featured two of the top six hitting teams in the MAC, the final game of the three-game set seemed an apt ending as Bowling Green scored its only run in the first inning and hung on to win, 1-0, in the rubber match between the two clubs.
UB (11-14 overall, 1-3 MAC) managed to hold Bowling Green (20-8 overall, 5-4 MAC), which entered the weekend with a .308 team batting average, to just 12 runs in the three-game series, while Bowling Green allowed just eight Bulls runs. UB entered the weekend series sixth in the league with a .284 average.
Burke Badenhop was masterful for Bowling Green, allowing four hits and three walks while striking out nine for his first shutout of the year.
Junior Matt Johnson rebounded from a rough outing against Canisius by pitching a five-hitter, walking four and striking out three in eight innings of work.
Johnson ended up on the short end of the stick, however, as Eric Lawson led off the Falcons' first inning with a double to right. Johnson followed by walking Jeff Warnock and All-American candidate Nolan Reimold to load the bases. He also walked Hudak to allow Lawson to score. However, the 6-4, 230-pound righthander rebounded by striking out the next two batters and getting a groundout to end the inning with no further damage. After that, Johnson allowed four hits and one walk the rest of the way.
However, Badenhop performed just as well. After striking out the side in the first, the senior righty allowed only one runner to reach third base in the game. In the fifth inning, senior right fielder Andy Wengert singled to lead off. He was sacrificed to second base and after Boom walked, a groundout moved the runners to second and third. Badenhop settled down to get a strikeout to end the inning.
Softball
Kent State 1-4, UB 0-6
UB 2-2, Akron 1-0
Akron 3, UB 1
UB opened the week with a split at Kent State. The Golden Flashes took game one by a 1-0 score before the Bulls rebounded for a 6-4 win in game two. Ann Magur was a combined 3-for-6 with a home run, two runs scored and one RBI in the two games to lead the Bulls' offense.
UB then swept a doubleheader from the visiting Akron Zips on Saturday in the home opener at Nan Harvey Field. Junior Lisa Wheat drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Bulls a 2-1 win in game one, and sophomore pitcher Sophie Barstad threw her second shutout of the season in a 2-0 win in game two.
In Sunday's series finale, Akron overcame a 1-0 deficit and broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run sixth inning to earn a 3-1 win over the Bulls and avoid a series sweep. The Bulls are now 9-22 overall and 5-5 in the MAC.
The Bulls opened the scoring with a two-out rally in the bottom of the second inning. Senior Julie Hibner hit a single to center field, and sophomore Colleen Greene followed with an infield single, beating out a grounder hit deep into the hole at short to keep the inning alive. Junior Lauren Picciano then drove in Hibner with the game's first run with a double to right center.
Akron's Jaclyn Spirtos evened the score at 1-1 with a solo home run to center field in the fourth inning. The top of the Zips' order then put together the win in the top of the sixth inning when Kelly Quigley's double down the right-field line scored a pair of runs.
Tennis
WOMEN'S
UB 5, Northern Illinois 2
Western Michigan 6, UB 1
Buoyed by five victories in six singles matches, UB defeated Northern Illinois, 5-2, in MAC action on Friday to open the final homestand of the season. It was the third MAC victory of the season for the Bulls, the most since the program joined the league in 1999. Unfortunately, they couldn't keep the momentum and fell to league-leading Western Michigan, ranked 51st in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll, 6-1, on Saturday. UB is now 7-4 overall and 3-3 in league play.
After dropping the doubles point in the opener against the Huskies, UB came alive in singles play. Andreea Novaceanu got things rolling for the Bulls with a second-set comeback to down Cassie Drake, 6-2, 6-4, at first singles. Novaceanu trailed Drake 4-2 in the second set before rattling off four consecutive games to take the match.
At number two, Miglena Nenova needed a super-tiebreaker victory to down Ivonne Andrade. The pair split 6-4 decisions in the first two sets, with Nenova winning four of the final five games of the second set to force the super-tiebreaker. Nenova took control of the extra session, winning 10-8, to claim the match.
UB also picked up wins at third singles from Kristen Ortman, fourth singles from Katrin Fischer and sixth singles from Tina Jacob. Ortman defeated Christy Svetlic, 6-2, 7-6 (5). Fischer rolled past Daniela Martinez, 6-3, 6-2. Jacob knocked off Megan Brooks, 7-6 (3), 6-1. The lone UB loss of the singles matches was at number five as Sabrina Carmona (was downed by Dora Delgadillo, 6-1, 7-5.
Novaceanu and Ortman were the only Bulls to take a victory in the doubles as they downed Andrade and Svetlic, 8-5, at number one.
On Saturday against a strong Western Michigan squad, UB's lone win came from Nenova as she rallied to defeat Malena Remynse in a super-tiebreaker. Nenova opened with a 7-6 loss in the first set, dropping the tiebreaker, 7-5. She then returned to claim a 6-4 win in the second set to force the super-tiebreaker, closing with a 10-6 win in the extra session. It was the second super-tiebreaker victory for Nenova in as many days.
The remainder of the Bulls' lineup was swept in straight sets by the Broncos, while WMU also took all three doubles matches.
The Bulls hit the road for the final three matches of the regular season. UB faces 70th-ranked Marshall on Friday, then travels to Miami (OH) on Saturday to face the RedHawks. The regular season concludes with an April 22nd matchup at Akron.
Crew
UB Sweeps Home Races Over Colgate and Bucknell
UB swept all four crew races on Saturday as the Bulls hosted squads from Colgate and Bucknell on the Tonawanda Creek and Erie Canal. UB crews won the varsity 8, novice 8, second varsity 8 and the lightweight 8 races.
UB opened the racing with an easy victory in the varsity 8 race. UB led from the start and easily defeated crews from Colgate and Bucknell. UB, rowing in the "Bill and Carol Greiner" shell, crossed the finish line in 6:09.21, with Colgate second in 6:18.99 and Bucknell third in 6:29.33.
In the novice 8 race, UB, racing the Bullets, set the early pace and rolled to a convincing victory over a pair of Bucknell shells. UB won by nearly 13 seconds, the largest margin of the day, finishing the course in 6:32.69 as Bucknell A was second in 6:45.92 and the Bison's B entry was third in 7:10.23.
UB rolled to a nine-second win in the second varsity 8 race. The Bulls, rowing the "Paul Tokasz," got a strong start and opened up a boat-length lead midway through the race. UB finished in 6:35.32 to Colgate's 6:44.25.
In the final race of the day, the Bulls remained undefeated in their lightweight 8 races this season, beating a strong Bucknell squad that had won last season's Dad Vail race in Philadelphia. UB's entry, in the "Sheldon Silver" shell, held on for a five-second win over the Bison. UB led throughout the race, finally able to open the distance between the two shells in the final 1,000-meters.
The UB lightweight crew has not lost a race in the spring season, defeating Marist in the Clemson Challenge last month and two squads from MIT last weekend in Boston.
UB's squads will head to Camden, N.J., and the Knecht Cup next weekend. At last season's races, UB posted Grand Finals crews in the varsity 8 and second varsity 8 races.