Bobcats Pounce on Bulls for Doubleheader Sweep

Kingsley goes 5-for-8 with a homer to move to within 11 of 200 career hits

James Kingsley

BUFFALO, NY – Ohio University punished the University at Buffalo baseball team for its dramatic come-from-behind victory on Friday afternoon by mashing 35 hits and sweeping a Mid-American Conference doubleheader on Saturday at Amherst Audubon Field, 11-6 and 17-4.

The doubleheader was proposed due to expected rains on Sunday afternoon which were projected to wipe out the last game of the series, allowing for the game to be moved up.

Senior James Kingsley (Medina, NY/Medina) continued his torrid hitting with a 5-for-8 day as he added two runs, two RBIs and a homer to raise his average to .328. Freshman Brad Agustin (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville East) stretched his hitting streak to 12 games for the Bulls, as he had an RBI single in the first game and a two-run homer in the second.

Ohio got three-hit performances from Willie Walker (two runs, two RBIs), Bryant Witt (one run, one RBI) and Hayden Johnston (two runs, a double) to come-from-behind for an 11-6 win in the first game.

The Bulls took the lead in the first inning, as sophomore Mike Folli (Endicott, NY/Union-Endicott) doubled to left center to lead off and then tagged on a flyball to reach third and was driven in on a groundball.

Ohio fought back with three runs in the next two innings, thanks to five hits and two Buffalo errors. However, Buffalo rallied for three runs in the bottom of the third as freshman right fielder James Piazza (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville North) doubled off the base of the wall in right center to lead off. After a groundout, Agustin singled up the middle to score Piazza. After senior Carl Aquila (Alden, NY/St. Mary’s/Erie CC) was hit by a pitch and a strikeout, junior Dan Quinn (Hamburg, NY/Frontier) delivered a short flyball to left field that dropped in to the left of a diving left fielder, scoring Agustin. An infield error allowed Aquila to score.

The Bobcats rallied right back, as they used five hits and a walk to bring in five runs in the top of the fourth to take an 8-4 lead. Two more runs in the fifth chased junior Adam Ruszkowski (Utica, NY/Proctor) (3-3) from the hill after 4 1/3 innings. He gave up 12 hits, three walks and eight earned runs while striking out four in the loss.

Carl Aquila

After another unearned run in the seventh inning for the Bobcats, the Bulls put two on the board in the bottom of the frame as Folli walked with one out. After a strikeout, Aquila singled through the left side and Kingsley followed with a liner into center field, scoring Folli. A bad throw allowed Aquila to also score on the play, making it 11-6.

Buffalo couldn’t get any closer, despite leaving 10 runners on base in the game as Anthony Gressick (3-0) picked up the win, his first since a shoulder injury took him from the rotation for two weeks, as he pitched seven innings, allowing eight hits and four earned runs. He walked two and struck out eight.

Kingsley led the Bulls by going 2-for-4 with an RBI as eight Bulls had at least one of the team’s nine hits.

Twelve unanswered runs from the fourth to the seventh innings were more than enough for the Bobcats to take the second game, 17-4.

The Bobcats cracked the scoreboard first in the second game as Jared Willis earned an inside the park homer when he lifted a fly ball to deep left field that sent the left fielder crashing into the wall to try to make the play.

Kingsley answered right back for the Bulls in the bottom of the inning, lining a laser over the left field wall 365 feet away.

Brad Agustin

The Bobcats fought back by posting two runs in the top of the third, but once again, the Bulls answered back as freshman Eric Flynn (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Falls) hit an opposite-field single, setting up a one-out home run from Agustin that wrapped around the left-field foul line, tying the game at three.

Ohio racked up three more on the scoreboard thanks to four hits and two walks in the top of the fourth, one in the fifth, three in the sixth, five in the seventh and two in the eighth to runaway from Buffalo.

The Bulls got their last run in the eighth as Kingsley singled up the middle for his third hit of the game. Sophomore catcher Rick Oliveri (Tonawanda, NY/Canisius) followed with another single up the middle and after a fielder’s choice, freshman Jacob Rosenbeck (Medina, NY/Medina) singled just out of the third baseman’s reach to score Kingsley.

Eric Flynn

Rosenbeck went 3-for-4 and Flynn went 2-for-4 with a run in the loss for the Bulls, who had 12 hits in the contest.

Senior Aaron Otto (Lockport, NY/Newfane) got a pinch-hit single in the ninth inning for his first hit of the season.

Bryant Witt, Brandon Besl, and Hayden Johnston each had three hits for the Bobcats, who wrapped 20 hits in the game, as each batter in the game had at least one hit.

Chris Rigo (2-0) took the win with two innings of two-hit, two-run relief before Yale Silverman earned his second save of the season with six innings of eight-hit, one-run relief.

Sophomore Shane Wolf (Freeville, NY/Lansing) (1-6) took the loss, pitching 3 2/3 innings, allowing eight hits, two walks and three earned runs. He struck out three.

The Bulls now prepare for the Big 4 Tournament, which begins on Tuesday when the Bulls play Canisius at 3:00 pm and Niagara faces St. Bonaventure at 6:00 pm at Amherst Audubon Field.

04/22/2006