Baseball Weekly Release

Pierre Miville-Deschenes

Pitching Ace Miville-Deschenes Honored

Junior Pierre Miville-Deschenes has been named the Mid-American Conference East Division Co-Pitcher of the Week. Miville-Deschenes pitched his first career complete game, leading the Bulls to their first conference victory of the season over Central Michigan, 6-1. The right-hander struck out six Chippewa batters, allowing only four base hits and one earned run in 9.0 innings of work. This marks the fourth time a Bull has been selected as the MAC East Division Pitcher of the Week this season. Miville-Deschenes earned his first honor on March 3, joining Mike Stangroom who earned the honor on February 24 and March 11.

James Piazza

Bulls Defeat Hilbert in Home Opener

Buffalo opened a two-week homestand by defeating local opponent Hilbert College in a record breaking, 35-5 victory. The Bulls’ 35 runs scored in the six-inning affair, broke the all-time record of most runs scored in a game, previously set in 2002 and 2006. The Bulls also broke the all-time record of most hits (34) and RBIs (35) in a game. In the bottom of the first inning, the Bulls jumped out to a 17-0 lead off 14 hits. Brad Agustin and Jacob Rosenbeck homered and Charlie Karstedt had a two-run triple to give the Bulls a sizeable lead. UB added eight more runs in the bottom of the second, including a grand slam by Rob Lawler. Chris Ciesla and Chris Castro also homered in the contest for the Bulls. Brian Randazzo went 5-for-5 with two RBIs. Castro was 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs and runs including his two-run home run. Karstedt and Lawler tied for the game-high with six RBIs while Randazzo, Brian Lattanzi and Adam Skonieczki both crossed the plate four times. James Piazza (1-0) picked up the win for the Bulls, his first win of the season in two innings of relief work.

Chris Ciesla

Bulls Swept by Ball State in Conference Doubleheader

Following a weekend hampered by weather conditions, the Bulls finally faced MAC opponent Ball State on Sunday afternoon in a conference doubleheader. The Bulls dropped both contests to the Cardinals, 15-9 and 3-2. In game one, the Bulls jumped out to a 6-1 lead after the first inning as Lawler and Brad Cochrane had two RBI hits and Eric Flynn added an RBI single. Ball State managed to score seven runs in the top of the second to reclaim the lead. BSU added runs in the third, sixth and eighth to build a 14-6 lead. The Bulls cut the margin to 14-9 in the bottom of the eighth but were unable to get any closer. Ciesla went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Agustin, Flynn and Rosenbeck went 2-for-4 with Flynn and Rosenbeck adding an RBI each. Karstedt and Lawler went 2-for-5 with Lawler adding two RBIs. In the nightcap, BSU built a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning before Skonieczki scored on a Karstedt single to cut the margin to 3-1. A ninth-inning rally fell short though after Shivam Bhan brought in pinch runner Bobby Pizzuto to pull the Bulls within one, 3-2. With runners on first and third, Flynn flied out to end the contest. Miville-Deschenes (3-2) received the loss for the Bulls. Reliever Zach Anderson held the Cardinals scoreless in three innings of work, striking out five batters. The Bulls recorded five double plays with four of the five in the first four innings. This mark fell one short of an all-time program record for most double plays in a game set in 2000.

On Deck: Homestand with Niagara and Western Michigan

The Bulls will remain at home this week for a four-game set as they host Big Four rival Niagara and MAC opponent Western Michigan. The Bulls will face Niagara on Wednesday, April 8 with the first pitch set for 3:00 pm followed by a weekend conference series versus Western Michigan on April 10-12. The first game of the weekend series is scheduled for Friday, April 10 with the first pitch set for 3:00 pm.