University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: May 10, 2007

Baseball

Niagara 12, UB 2
UB 4, Canisius 3 (10)
UB 7, Canisius 0
Miami (OH) 3, UB 2 (10)
Miami (OH) 7, UB 0
UB 12, Miami (OH) 8

It was an up-and-down week as UB split its six games.

On May 1, UB fell into an early, 10-0 hole and lost, 12-2, to Niagara University at Sal Maglie Stadium.

Tony Fuller and William Sonnie both drew bases-loaded walks to account for the two UB runs.

The next day, Fuller hit a run-scoring single to center field in the bottom of the 10th inning to propel the Bulls to a 4-3 victory over Canisius at Amherst Audubon Field. The Bulls then completed the sweep with a 7-0 win in game two.

UB managed to send its seventh game of the season into extra innings, but a Miami run in the top of the 10th gave the RedHawks a 3-2 victory over the Bulls Friday afternoon at Amherst Audubon Field.

The Bulls dropped their second game to division-leading Miami, 7-0, Saturday afternoon. It was the first time UB had dropped a conference series in nearly a month. The last time the Bulls were on the short end of a conference series was against Toledo on April 6-8.

Miami got on the board with single runs in the third and fifth innings and added two more during a two-out rally in the eighth inning. The big blow for the RedHawks then came when they scored three runs in the top of the ninth.

It was the first time since the conference-opening weekend against Central Michigan that UB was shut out in a game.

On Sunday, UB scored six runs in the first inning and never looked back,defeating the RedHawks, 12-8. It was UB's first-ever victory against Miami in 23 games. The win improves Buffalo's record to 13-30 on the season and 9-12 in conference play.

The Bulls are back in action this weekend with a three-game series at Bowling Green.

Softball

Miami (OH) 15, UB 0
Miami (OH) 9, UB 0
Ball State 7, UB 0
Ball State 9, UB 0

Playing its second-to-last Mid-American Conference opponent of the season,

UB traveled to Oxford, Ohio, to take on Miami in a doubleheader on Friday afternoon.

A potent RedHawks' offense stymied the Bulls, however, and UB came up on the short end of the stick twice, dropping the day's opening game, 15-0, and falling in the nightcap, 9-0.

After surrendering nine runs to the RedHawks in the first inning, UB was never able to recover.

The Bulls played Miami much tighter in game two, however, holding the RedHawks scoreless through two innings and allowing Miami one run in the third. After a scoreless fourth, the RedHawks expanded their 1-0 advantage in the fifth, putting eight on the board to take the 9-0 victory.

The Bulls finished the season with a pair of losses at Ball State, falling to the Cardinals, 7-0 on Saturday and 9-0 on Sunday.

Outdoor Track and Field

Bulls prep for MAC Championships

In their final tuneup for the MAC Championships, the men's and women's track-and-field teams competed at the Campbell/Wright Open at Akron's Lee Jackson Track on Saturday. There was no scoring in the meet, which also included squads from MAC foe Kent State and host Akron, as well as Youngstown State and Wheeling Jesuit. The Bulls set three new school records and also won three events on the day.

In the men's meet, Reggie Rucker won the 400-meter hurdles in 51.41 seconds, breaking the UB record of 51.75 set last season by Brian Heim. Rucker also set the Lee Jackson facility record with his clocking and earned an NCAA East Regional qualifying spot.

Also breaking a UB record was javelin thrower P.J. Godios. Godios finished second in the event, but still uncorked a throw of 198-11 (60.62m) to break the UB record set in 1998 by Matt Streng by one inch. Godios also bettered his personal best in the event by nearly 20 feet.

Rayshon Higgins won the men's triple jump with a distance of 48-5.25 (14.76m).

In the women's meet, Fatimah Hill won the long jump with a leap of 19-1.50 (5.83m), improving on her best mark of the season.

Sarah Vance collected three second-place finishes behind Akron All-MAC performer Stevi Large. Vance broke her own record in the discus with a toss of 161-0 (49.07m), bettering her record by nearly four feet and giving the UB senior her third NCAA East Regional qualifying mark.

The Bulls will compete in the MAC Championships, which start today in Oxford, Ohio.

Crew

Bulls finish second in Metro Championships

UB competed with some of the best crews in the country and finished in a tie for second with Massachusetts and Rhode Island at this season's ECAC Metro Championship. Bucknell, the Patriot League champion, took the victory. Having never finished in the top four prior to last season, the Bulls have now finished second in consecutive years.

The novice eight boat, ranked third coming into the race, finished first of seven boats with a time of 7:01.738.

Also taking a victory was the nationally ranked lightweight eight team, which finished with a time of 6:58.569, more than 12 seconds ahead of second-place UMass.

The Bulls brought 41 rowers to the competition; 33 of them came home with medals.

The Bulls will compete at the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia, beginning tomorrow.