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UB 17, St. Bonaventure 7
St.
Bonaventure 16, UB 5
Kent State 5, UB 4 (11)
Kent State 2, UB 1
(11)
Kent State 11, UB 5
UB scored eight runs in the first inning of a doubleheader opener with St. Bonaventure to defeat the Bonnies, 17-7, in game one of the twin bill on May 15 at Amherst Audubon Field. St. Bonaventure came back in game two to pick up the victory by the score of 16-5.
Down by three going into the bottom half of the first, the Bulls scored eight runs on just three hits. Chris Ciesla scored two with a triple, sophomore Brad Agustin scored one with a single through the left side, and freshman Adam Skonieczki-batting for the second time in the inning—drove in three runs with a bases—clearing triple.
The Bulls scored in every inning of the opening game, scoring single runs in the second, fourth and fifth, two runs in the third and four runs in the sixth.
In the second inning, Nick Walczak scored on a wild pitch, while in the third, UB got RBI singles from Ciesla and Agustin. Ciesla added another RBI in the fourth inning, finishing with five in the game. Freshman Bobby Pizzuto provided a run-scoring single through the right side in the fifth inning.
In the sixth inning, Ciesla singled to right field to drive in sophomore Eric Flynn. Junior Tony Fuller added a run with a double up the middle and then junior Rick Oliveri provided the final two runs with a double to right field.
Freshman Jeffery Hains picked up the win, with Zach Anderson and Steve Geltz seeing action out of the pen.
In the second game, UB led 2-1 after the first inning when James Piazza scored two runs with a single, but the Bonnies scored six unanswered runs before UB snuck one in the third on a single from Fuller. St. Bonaventure added nine more runs before UB struck for two in the sixth when Ciesla reached on a fielder's choice and Agustin drove one in with a single to left field.
On May 17, Kent State's Jason Patton hit a walk-off home run to right center field to lead off the 11th inning, handing the Bulls a 5-4 loss at Schoonover Stadium in the opener of the final series of the season.
The UB loss, combined with Toledo's victory against Northern Illinois, knocked the Bulls out of the playoff race for the 2007 MAC Tournament.
The Bulls got on the board with a run in the first inning when Ciesla hit a two-out double to right center, scoring Pizzuto from first base.
Kent State took the lead in the bottom half of the inning, scoring two unearned runs, another one on a groundout and another on a UB error.
The Bulls tied the game up in the fifth inning when Fuller led off the inning with a walk. He moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt and advanced to third on a single to left field by Skonieczki. Fuller scored on a sacrifice fly from junior Mike Folli.
Kent State regained the lead in the bottom of the inning, scoring a run on a sacrifice fly as Pizzuto made a diving grab in right center.
UB took the lead in the ninth inning when Charlie Karstedt hit a two-run triple to right center, driving in pinch runner E.J. Folli and Augusin from first.
However, the Golden Flashes tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, scoring off a passed ball. The two teams remained tied until the 11th, when Patton's home run won the game for Kent State.
UB starter Mike Radanovic picked up another no decision as he went eight innings, allowing just one earned run and striking out six batters. Pizzuto recorded two hits for the Bulls and Karstedt had two RBIs, the first two of his career.
On Friday, the Bulls dropped another extra-inning decision to Kent State, falling, 2-1, in 11 innings. Kent State clinched the MAC East division title with the victory.
For the second straight day, the Bulls got on the board first, recording a run in the fourth inning. Oliveri was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, which scored Walczak, who began the inning with a walk, from third base.
The Golden Flashes tied the game up in the bottom of the inning with a lead-off home run to left field, but the Bulls were able to escape further damage, although Kent State had runners on second and third base with one out.
The two starters were tangled in a pitchers' duel for the majority of the game, but both walked away with no decisions—each going six innings and allowing just one run. UB starter Mark Tourangeau finished the game with four strikeouts.
The two teams went into extra innings for the second time in the series as UB received excellent work in relief from sophomore Dan Francis. Francis came on in the seventh inning and worked out of a couple of jams to get the Bulls into extra frames. In the bottom of the 10th, UB relied on excellent team defense, gunning a throw from the outfield home and catching the Kent State runner in a rundown where the Bulls applied the tag to end the inning. Despite picking up the loss, Francis pitched five innings and allowed just the one run.
Agustin led the Bulls, going 2-for-4. Mike Folli and Walczak each reached base twice via the free pass as Kent State issued five walks to UB batters plus the hit by pitch, which drove in the UB run.
In the finale, UB put forth another valiant effort, but fell, 11-5, Saturday afternoon. With the loss, UB completes the 2007 campaign with a 16-35 record and an 11-16 mark in conference play. The 11 conference wins were the most for the Bulls since they joined the MAC. UB's previous high for MAC wins in a season was six.
Kent State struck first in the game, rallying with a two-run home run to left Field after the first two batters struck out.
The Bulls cut into the lead in the top of the second inning when Oliveri punched an RBI single into center field, scoring Walczak, who led off the inning with a double to left center, from second base.
The Golden Flashes added another two-run shot in the third inning to take a 4-1 lead.
The Bulls scored a pair of runs in the fourth inning when Agustin, who reached base after being hit by a pitch, and Fuller, who walked, both scored on a throwing error by the Kent State third baseman.
The Bulls escaped trouble in the fourth inning. With the bases loaded with two outs, Kent State's Greg Rohan hit a liner into left center that looked like it was going to drop, but Pizzuto made a diving catch to end the inning.
The UB bullpen pitched well again, with Anderson giving the Bulls 2.2 innings of scoreless relief before Hains came on in the seventh inning.
In the eighth inning, UB took the lead when Skoniezcki hit a two-run single with the bases loaded to bring in pinch runner E.J. Folli and Agustin from second base, giving the UB starter Adam Ruszkowski a no decision, the third straight time this series that neither starter picked up a decision.
The Golden Flashes regained the lead in the bottom half of the eighth when a bases-loaded single plated two runs. Kent State went on to score a total of seven runs in the inning.