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Brandon DiCesare

BUFFALO, NY ­ It wasn't a good Friday for the Buffalo baseball team (8-22, 3-8) as they dropped the opening game of a four-game series to Miami (18-16-1, 6-3), 12-8, on Friday afternoon at Amherst Audubon Field. After falling behind 12-1, the Bulls rallied for seven unanswered runs, but couldn't get any closer.

Miami used the long ball to build its big lead. After the RedHawks scored their first run on a sacrifice fly by Mike Ferris, Michael Carlin followed with a two-run home run to give Miami a 3-0 lead. Brian Canada launched a solo shot in the fourth inning to give the RedHawks a 4-0 advantage. The Bulls got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, when Adrian Daniels (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport) scored on a single by Kevin Nesteruk (Cheektowaga, NY/West Seneca East) to cut the lead to 4-1.

David Cook hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth to ignite a three-run inning for Miami. The RedHawks scored five more times in the top of the sixth inning, including a home run by Zach Schmidt and a two-run single by John Slone, to extend their lead to 12-1.

UB exploded for five runs in the bottom of the seventh to cut the lead to 12-6. The Bulls got RBI singles by Joe Mihalics (Tonawanda, NY/Timon/St. Jude), James Kingsley (Medina, NY/Medina) and Nesteruk.

Buffalo scored twice more in the bottom of the eighth inning. Phil Vanhorne (Scarborough, Ontario/Mother Teresa) scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Brandon DiCesare (Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit) and Mihalics scored on a double by Daniels.

Buffalo outhit Miami, 16-13, in the game. Mihalics, DiCesare, Daniels and Nesteruk all tallied three hits for UB.

Sam Shorts picked up the win for Miami after giving up six runs over 6 2/3 innings. Dustin Clark (Adams Center , NY/South Jefferson) was tagged for seven runs and was charged with the loss. Jeff Loveys (Woodstock, Ontario/College Avenue Secondary School) did a nice job in relief for the Bulls as he didn't allow a run and gave up only two hits and struck out three over three innings.

The series will continue on Saturday afternoon as the teams play a doubleheader starting at 1 pm.