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UB Swept in Two Doubleheaders

The Bulls were swept in a pair of doubleheaders this past week. Because of weather conditions, the home series with LeMoyne was played in Syracuse, and LeMoyne took advantage of the home field.

UB had an early 2-1 lead in the first game, but the Dolphins came back and scored six runs in two innings to win 9-3. Scott Mruczek (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena) went 1-for-3 with one run and two RBIs as he hit his second home run of the season. In the second game, the Dolphins pitching limited the Bulls hitters to just two hits and just one run in the game. UB gave up eight runs in the first three innings and never led, losing by a 10-1 final.

Over the weekend, the Bulls hosted Albany for a doubleheader that was played at Frontier Field in Rochester, NY, but the Bulls were once again swept in the doubleheader. In the first game, the Great Danes jumped on UB early, hitting two, two-run homers in the first inning and jumping out to a 6-0 lead after two. UB fought back and scored five runs in the sixth but fell short as Albany took the first game 7-5.

In the second game, UB jumped out to an early lead with a 7-2 advantage after three innings. Albany came back, scoring two runs in the fourth and sixth, and one in the seventh to force extra innings. The Danes added two in the top of the eighth, and the Bulls rally in the bottom half of the inning fell short, as they lost the nightcap 9-8. Kevin Brown (Amherst, NY/Amherst Central) led the team in hitting on the day, going 4-for-9 with two runs and two RBIs. Bryan Sanchez (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) went 2-for-6 with a double, a triple, two runs scored and three RBIs on the day.

Bulls Hope to Finally Open at Dunn Tire Park

After two cancelled games due to weather, UB is hoping to finally make their debut at Dunn Tire Park this week. The Bulls have six games scheduled on the week, with doubleheaders on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

UB will face Duquesne on Tuesday, April 18, at 1 pm, host crosstown rival Canisius on Wednesday, April 19, at 2 pm, and finish the week with Binghamton on Thursday, April 20, at 1 pm. The Bulls were defeated by Duquesne in a doubleheader earlier this year, falling 3-0 in each game. The Bulls defeated Canisius 8-6 earlier in the season and swept a doubleheader from Binghamton, winning those games 5-2 and 4-0.

Junior Kevin Brown (Amherst, NY/Amherst Central) continues to lead the Bulls from the plate, hitting .337 (33-for-98) on the year. His 33 hits are a team-high as well. Bryan Sanchez (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) has a team-high six doubles and Kevin Brown and Adrian Daniels (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport) have two triples each.

Bryan Sanchez leads the team in power, as he has collected five home runs on the season and leads the team with 20 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 14 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 19 sacrifice bunts this year compared to just seven by their opponents. The Bulls have also hit ten sacrifice flies. Brandon DiCesare leads the team with five sacrifice bunts, and DiCesare and Bryan Sanchez lead 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 3-1 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 3.81, having given up 12 earned runs over 28.1 innings. He has one complete game to his credit this year and has struck out 13 batters. Januchowski leads the staff with 39 strikeouts on the year.

·On Deck·

4/18 DUQUESNE (DH), 1 pm (Dunn Tire Park)

4/19 CANISIUS (DH), 2 pm (Dunn Tire Park)

4/20 BINGHAMTON (DH), 1 pm (Dunn Tire Park)