University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: April 24, 2008

Baseball

UB 9, Miami (OH) 8 (10)
UB 3, Miami (OH) 0
Miami (OH) 10, UB 8

Chris Ciesla's walk-off home run to lead off the 10th inning gave UB a 9-8 victory over Miami (Ohio) on Friday afternoon at Amherst Audubon Field. The home run capped a dramatic, come-from-behind victory in which the Bulls trailed 8-1 headed to the bottom of the eighth.

The rally began when Shivam Bhan and Rob Mancini each reached base on errors to begin the inning. They both scored when Rick Oliveri doubled to right center. Later in the inning, Adam Skonieczki doubled to right center, scoring Oliveri, to cut the Miami lead to 8-4.

UB continued the comeback with four runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at 8-8. Ciesla walked to begin the inning and Nick Walczak followed with a single. Bhan then doubled to right center, scoring Ciesla and cutting the Miami lead to 8-5. Mancini continued the UB hit parade with a single to right, scoring E.J. Folli, who had come in to pinch run for Walczak.

After Miami's Samuel Dawes recorded a strike out for the first out of the inning, Trevor Blair singled down the right-field line, scoring Bhan and bringing the Bulls to within a run. Brian Randazzo then walked to load the bases and Skonieczki tied the game with a sacrifice fly to center field. Miami got out of the inning when Jacob Rosenbeck lined out to the third baseman for the final out of the inning.

After Steve Geltz came on to pitch a perfect 10th inning for the Bulls, Ciesla completed the UB comeback with a blast over the center-field fence to lead off the UB half of the 10th.

On Saturday, Mike Stangroom and Geltz combined to allow no runs and just five hits as the Bulls defeated Miami, 3-0, at Amherst Audubon Field.

The Bulls came up just short in their attempt to sweep their weekend series against Miami. The Bulls fell in Sunday's series finale, 10-8. Walczak was 2-for-3 at the plate for UB with a home run and four runs batted in and Skonieczki went 3-for-5 with three RBI.

The Bulls will host Akron this weekend for three games.

Softball

UB 6, St. Bonaventure 0
St. Bonaventure 8, UB 3
Miami (OH) 9, UB 1
Miami (OH) 1, UB 0
UB 4, Ball State 3 (9)
Ball State 6, UB 1

UB split its non-conference doubleheader against St. Bonaventure on April 15. The Bulls scored a convincing 6-0 win over the Bonnies in game one and suffered an 8-3 setback in game two.

After two scoreless innings in the day’s opening game, Kristen Gallipani gave the Bulls a 1-0 lead after slamming what would be her first of two homers in the game.

UB held St. Bonaventure scoreless, while plating three more runs in the top of the fourth as Gallipani hit her second homer of the game, a three-run shot, to put UB up, 4-0.

After a scoreless fifth and sixth, the Bulls tallied two more runs in the top of the seventh, including a homer by Lacy Schneider, to give Buffalo the 6-0 lead.

Sharon Barr picked up her first victory of the season.

In game two, Samantha Bundy and Barr each finished 2-for-3 with a single and a double apiece. Bundy’s two hits were the first of her collegiate career.

The Bulls played their 2008 home opener on Friday afternoon against the Miami RedHawks in a Mid-American Conference doubleheader at Nan Harvey Field. UB lost, 9-1, in the day’s opening game and suffered a 1-0 setback in game two.

The Bulls ran into a hot-hitting Miami squad in the day’s first game, as the RedHawks scored five runs in the first while adding single runs in both the second and third to take a 7-0 lead through three.

Gallipani got Buffalo on the scoreboard in the third with her fourth homer of the year.

Miami added two more runs to steal the 9-1 win.

In the nightcap, the Bulls and the RedHawks battled through three scoreless innings until the fourth, when Miami tacked one onto the board. The game remained scoreless down the stretch, as the contest emerged as a pitcher’s duel.

Barr pitched the complete game three-hitter as UB outhit the RedHawks, 4-3, but were unable to push a run across the plate.

In Saturday’s contest against Ball State, Gallipani’s walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning led Buffalo to an exciting come-from-behind, extra-inning 4-3 victory at Nan Harvey Field.

Gallipani’s first-pitch laser was her team-leading fifth home run of the year and her second in two days.

Not to be overshadowed, Mary Russell’s two-RBI double with two outs in the bottom of the seventh forced extra innings as the Bulls mounted an impressive comeback. Lindsay Hampton drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the inning and Gallipani followed with a single. Marcy Hansen found first via a fielder’s choice, with Hampton out at third on the play. After another Bulls out, Russell stepped to the plate and roped a double to right-center, scoring Gallipani and Hansen to tie the game, 3-3.

Barr pitched the complete nine-inning gem, striking out three while surrendering just six hits.

UB completed its two-day series against Ball State on Sunday afternoon with a 6-1 loss to the Cardinals. Barr had another excellent showing on the mound for Buffalo, throwing four shutout innings in relief

Tennis

MEN’S

UB 6, Vincennes 1

UB finished the 2008 regular season on April 14 with a 6-1 win over Vincennes University at the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center.

The Bulls opened the match with two doubles wins. The number-one squad of Kirill Kolomyts and Marcelo Mazzetto defeated David Jackson and Chris King by an 8-5 score. The number-three duo of Alexis Lluis and Nikesh Singh Panthlia downed Jaime Esteban and Tony Kanavos by an identical 8-5 score. In the number-two match, UB’s duo of Octavian Stane and Juan Carlos Wynter fell in a tiebreaker to Vincennes’ Binky Nikou and Justin Harlow.

UB closed out the contest with singles wins in five of six matches, quickly winning the first three contests that concluded in straight sets. Kolomyts scored a “double-bagel” win over King, 6-0, 6-0, in the number-three match. Wynter, at number five, downed Harlow, 6-0, 6-2. Singh Panthlia gave the Bulls the fourth and deciding point with his win over Jackson. Ezra Bernstein and Mazzetto won their matches in three sets.

The Bulls will be seeded sixth as the MAC Tournament begins today in DeKalb, Ill. UB will meet third seed Toledo, with the winner taking on second seed Ball State in the semifinals.

WOMEN’S

UB 5, Toledo 2
Eastern Michigan 4, UB 3

UB won a marathon contest against Toledo, 5-2, to open the final weekend of the regular season. The match lasted five hours as five of the six singles matches went into three sets. It was the first time this season that UB has claimed a MAC victory after dropping the doubles point.

In singles play, UB claimed five victories, as all but one singles match went into three sets. Andreea Novaceanu won her match first, quickly defeating Martina Wodzinski, 6-3, 6-3. Toledo reclaimed the lead in the match when Tina Jacob lost her contest, 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 at sixth singles. The Bulls then rallied, taking the next four matches. Sophomore Denise Harijanto won at second singles over Ashley Frey, 6-4, 2-6, 6-0. Diana Toia gave UB a 3-2 lead with a 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-2 win over Nadia Zaubareva at fifth singles. The Bulls held that advantage as the final two matches went back and forth. Junior Smaranda Stan clinched the match for the Bulls, defeating Jenny Belsky at fourth singles, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5. Freshman Diana Popescu wrapped up the win for the Bulls with a victory at third singles over Maha Guirguis, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (2).

The Bulls wrapped up the regular season with narrow 4-3 loss against Eastern Michigan on Saturday afternoon. The Bulls took three singles victories, but were unable to claim the doubles point. They finished the regular season with a 9-8 record and a 4-4 mark in the MAC.

As in the Toledo match, the Bulls dropped the doubles point. In singles action, UB claimed three victories: Harijanto at second singles, Popescu at third singles and Stan at fourth singles,

The Bulls now turn their attention to the 2008 MAC Championships, which they will host. UB, the sixth seed, will face Toledo, seeded third, in a quarterfinal match at 2 p.m. tomorrow.

Track and Field

Track teams post top results at UB Invitational

Clear skies, light winds and record high temperatures helped UB to set top marks on Saturday at the UB Invitational in UB Stadium. There was no team scoring at the meet. Out of the 36 events on the meet schedule on Saturday, UB athletes won 23, with the men claiming 12 wins and the women finishing with 11 victories.

UB posted one double winner on Saturday in the individual events. Sophomore men's sprinter Ezekiel Porter won the 200-meter dash in a season-best 21.44 and the 400-meter event in 47.79.

Other men's individual track winners included Dan Schichtel in the 100-meters (10.74), Dan Giza in the 1500-meters (season-best 3:54.10) and Austin Archibald in the 110-meter hurdles (15.33).

In the field competitions, the Bulls took five first-place finishes. Greg Tarshus won the high jump at 2.02m. Sean Becker claimed the pole vault at 4.41m. Eugene Kennedy won the long jump at a season-best 6.67m. Matt Gac took the hammer throw at 50.08m. P.J. Godios won the javelin throw with a season-best 55.28m.

Leading the UB women's team was Tiffany Maskulinski, who won the pole vault with a leap of 3.88m. The height was a season-best performance for Maskulinski as she established an NCAA East Regional qualifying mark in the event. The NCAA regionals are the last weekend in May.

On the track, Octavia Johnston won the 100-meters in 12.13. Natalie Fildes took the 200-meters in 25.54. Allison Grimes posted a season-best in winning the 400-meters in 58.39. Patrice Coney won the 400-meter hurdles in 1:03.89.

In the women's javelin, Katie Weston won the event with a throw of 46.97m, more than two meters better than her previous best and bettering her regional qualifying distance. She won the event by just five centimeters over teammate Vanessa Roelofsen.

Caitlin Godin took the high jump at 1.70m, tying her season-best mark. Jessica Cooper set a season-best with her win in the triple jump (11.46m). Fatimah Hill took first place in the long jump at 5.70m.

UB's relay teams also swept the men's and women's 4x100- and 4x400-meter races. UB's men's 4x100 team posted a season-best time of 41.16 in their victory.

UB's top athletes will compete at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia starting today. The remainder of the squads will head to Hillsdale College for the Gina Relays.

Crew

Varsity eight claims Harvey Cup

UB capped an impressive performance on its home waters as the varsity eight boat won its third straight Harvey Cup. As a team, the Bulls won 10 of the 11 races that they competed in on the day in the double dual race with Eastern Michigan, Connecticut and Colgate.

The Bulls will be off for a week before they head to the ECAC Metro Championships on May 3.