Baseball Weekly Release

Rick Oliveri

Bulls Take Series From Ohio

Starting to heat up in the last few weeks, the University at Buffalo baseball team took two of three games from Ohio this past weekend. The series victory was the second straight MAC series win for UB, the first time it has achieved that feat since joining the Mid-American Conference. The Bulls and Bobcats met in a few wild affairs, resulting in UB victories of 7-4 and 13-10 and a loss by the score of 13-9.

Oliveri Getting it Done Behind The Plate

Junior Rick Oliveri (Tonawanda, NY/Canisius) hit .600 in UB’s three games over the week, recording two doubles and driving in two runs as UB took two-of-three from Ohio. Oliveri also walked three times on the week for a .643 on base percentage. His slugging percentage of .800 was also a team-best for the week. Seeing action in all three games behind the plate, Oliveri also gunned down two of the four runners that tried stealing on him during the weekend. For the year, Oliveri is batting .269.

Adam Ruszkowski

Ruszkowski Picks Up First Win

Senior Adam Ruszkowski (Utica, NY/Proctor) picked up his first victory of the season in UB’s 13-10 triumph over Ohio. Ruszkowski reached the win in his eighth start of the season. The victory was the 12 of Ruszkowski’s career as he leads all active players in that department. Ruszkowski has shown pinpoint control through the year, walking just six batters in 45.2 innings of work.

Folli Still Leading The Way

Junior Mike Folli (Endicott, NY/Union-Endicott) continues to lead the team with a .362 batting average. Folli is the only player on the roster to start all 32 games this season and is the team leader with 47 hits and 11 stolen bases. He has also walked 19 times, which is tied for the team lead.

Shivam Bhan

Bulls Flash Power Against Bobcats

The Bulls had their most dominant offensive weekend down in Athens, Ohio as UB managed to record 29 runs on 36 hits in the three game series. Ten different players recorded hits on the weekend, led by six from Rick Oliveri and Mike Folli. Freshman Shivam Bhan (Calden, Ontario/Mayfield) had an impressive week as well, going 5-for-15 from the plate with two runs batted in. He crossed the plate six times, a team best for the weekend. Junior Brad Agustin (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville East) and sophomore Eric Flynn (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Falls) each had a team-high four RBIs last week.

On Deck

The Bulls take a break from conference play to participate in the annual Big 4 Classic. This year the tournament will be hosted by Niagara and will be played at Sal Maglie Field. UB will face St. Bonaventure in the opening round of the tournament on Tuesday evening at 7:00 pm. The championship round will take place on Wednesday as UB will face either Canisius or Niagara. The Bulls will then host a three-game series this weekend against MAC East rival, Akron. First pitch on Friday will be at 3:00 pm, while starts on Saturday and Sunday will have a 1:00 pm start.