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UB Sees Limited Action in Past Week

In the Bulls only games last week, UB dropped a doubleheader at Toledo last Wednesday. UB lost the two games 10-7 and 15-6, against the second MAC team UB has played this season.

In the first game, UB jumped out to a 5-1 lead going to the bottom of the fourth. The Bulls scored three runs in the second, highlighted by a two-run homer by Brandon DiCesare (Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit). Brian Zelasko (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) knocked in the other run that inning with an RBI single. Toledo would respond with a five-run fourth inning, as each of the first four batters reached base. UB tied the score in the top of the sixth but the Rockets came back with four runs in the bottom half of the inning to secure the lead.

The second game started out the same way, as UB got an early lead with two runs in the third inning and three in the fourth. In the third, Mike Flaherty (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport) knocked in two runs with a bases loaded double. In the fourth inning, a base hit and two walks loaded the bases again, and this time Mark Vogel (West Seneca, NY/Bishop Timon) delivered a triple that cleared the bases and gave the Bulls a 5-1 lead.

Again, the bottom of the fourth was the downfall for UB. The Rockets exploded for a 10-run inning, as UB walked four batters and at one point gave up five straight hits in the inning.

Toledo was the second MAC opponent the Bulls faced this season, having played at Bowling Green earlier this year. UB went 0-5 in those games.

Variety of Home Parks This Week

The Bulls are scheduled to play a total of seven games this week, with all seven being home games for UB. However, those games will be played at three different fields.

The Tuesday, April 11, game against St. Bonaventure will be played at Dunn Tire Park, the Triple A park of the Buffalo Bisons. The April 12 doubleheader with Niagara, and the April 13 doubleheader with LeMoyne will be played at Audubon Field, across from the UB North Campus. The Saturday, April 15 doubleheader with Albany will also be played at a minor league park. That doubleheader action will be played at Frontier Field in Rochester, NY, the home of the Triple A Rochester Red Wings.

At the Plate

Junior Kevin Brown (Amherst, NY/Amherst Central) continues to lead the Bulls from the plate, hitting .329 (28-for-85) on the year. His 28 hits are a team-high as well. Charlie Smilinich (Tonawanda, NY/Tonawanda) and Mike Flaherty have a team-high five doubles each and Kevin Brown and Adrian Daniels (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport) have two triples each.

Bryan Sanchez (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) leads the team in power, as he has collected five home runs on the season and leads the team with 16 RBIs as well. His five homers puts him one shy of tenth place for home runs in a season in the UB record books. The season record is nine, set by three players. UB has 13 home runs as a team, with eight different players going long this season.

Playing the Fundamentals

One area of the game the Bulls have excelled at in particular this season is bunting. UB has recorded 16 sacrifice bunts this year compared to just five by their opponents. The Bulls have also hit seven sacrifice flies. Brandon DiCesare leads the team with four sacrifice bunts, and Bryan Sanchez leads the team with three sacrifice flies.

Freshman Leads the Pitching Stats

Freshman right-hander Tyler Balentine (Mendon, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima) leads the UB pitching staff this season in wins and earned run average. Balentine currently has a perfrect 3-0 record, and is tied with Tom Januchowski (Depew, NY/Lancaster) for the team high with three wins. Balentine also leads the Bulls in earned run average at 2.28, having given up six earned runs over 23.2 innings. He has one complete game to his credit this year and has struck out nine batters.

·On Deck·

4/11 ST. BONAVENTURE, 3 pm (Dunn Tire Park)

4/12 NIAGARA (DH), 1 pm (Audubon Field)

4/13 LeMOYNE (DH), 1 pm (Audubon Field)

4/15 ALBANY (DH), 1 pm (Frontier Field, Rochester, NY)