Early Offense Leads Bulls to Victory Over Akron, 11-8

Randazzo and Ciesla each deliver home runs for the Bulls

Charlie Karstedt

BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo baseball team jumped out to a quick start on Saturday afternoon at Amherst Audubon Field, scoring eight runs in the first two innings, and held on to defeat Akron, 11-8. Jesse Reinstein (Thornhill, Ontario/Westmount Collegiate) picked up his first career win on the mound for the Bulls while Brian Randazzo (St. Charles, MO/St. Charles) and Charlie Karstedt (Eden, NY/Eden) each collected three hits.

Offensively, the Bulls picked up where they left off yesterday, when they scored six runs in the eighth, by scoring three runs in the bottom of the first. Randazzo doubled to left to start the inning. A groundout, hit by pitch and fielder's choice followed, bringing Shivam Bhan (Caledon, Ontario, Mayfield) to the plate with two outs. Bhan hit a triple to the wall in right field, scoring a pair for UB. Karstedt then followed with a double to right, scoring Bhan and giving the Bulls a 3-0 lead.

Brian Randazzo

After Akron scored a run in the second, Buffalo responded with five in the bottom of the frame. Rick Oliveri (Tonawanda, NY/Canisius) and E.J. Folli (Endicott, NY/Union-Endiott) each singled before Randazzo drove a three-run homer to right to give the Bulls a 6-1 lead. The home run was Randazzo's third of the campaign. Adam Skonieczki (Endicott, NY/Union-Endicott) then singled through the right side and Chris Ciesla (Endicott, NY/Union-Endicott) hit a two-run blast over the center field fence to increase the lead to 8-1. The two-run shot was Ciesla's third round-tripper of the season.

The Zips cut into the lead with a run in the fourth and another in the fifth, but Buffalo answered with two in the fifth and one in the sixth. With two runners on in the fifth, Oliveri hit an RBI single down the left field line and one batter later Kevin McCall (Chagrin Falls, OH/Notre Dame Cathedral) was awarded home on a balk. Buffalo's run in the sixth came on a single to right by Karstedt, scoring Nick Walcazk (Tonawanda, NY/Kenmore East), who had walked earlier in the inning.

Akron trimmed the UB lead to 11-6 in the seventh on a three-run homer to center field by Doug McNulty. The home run was the tenth of the season for McNulty.

Two more runs in the eighth for the Zips cut the Buffalo lead to just 11-8. John Turk and Kurt Davidson each had an RBI single in the inning for Akron. But Zach Anderson (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville East) worked his way out of the eighth with a pair of strikeouts, slamming the door on the Akron rally.

Jesse Reinstein

Reinstein started and went 6.1 innings for the Bulls on the mound, his longest outing of the season. The freshman left-hander also tied a season-high with seven strikeouts before giving way to Anderson.

Karstedt went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs batted in for the Bulls. In five games this week, the sophomore is hitting .643 (9-for-14) with three doubles and four RBIs.

Randazzo was 3-for-5 today with three runs batted while Bhan and Oliveri each added a pair of hits for the UB offense.

With the victory, Buffalo is now 13-26 on the season, 6-10 in the Mid-American Conference.

The Bulls will look for the weekend sweep of the Zips on Sunday afternoon, first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

04/26/2008