Baseball Weekly Release

Bulls Snap Skid with Victory over Big Four Rival Niagara

Zach Anderson

The Bulls snapped a six-game skid with a 6-4 victory over Big Four rival Niagara on Wednesday afternoon at Sal Maglie Stadium. In the victory, the Bulls captured their 15th victory of the season, beating their previous season wins total. The Bulls took two-run leads in the top of the second and fifth innings, but Niagara answered back with a pair of runs in both bottom halves. The Bulls took the lead for good in the top of the sixth when Brad Agustin dropped an RBI single into right field with Bobby Pizzuto racing home from second. UB held the Purple Eagles off the scoreboard in the remaining four innings with the Bulls cushioning their lead with a run in the seventh off an RBI double by Kevin McCall for a 6-4 lead. Adam Skonieczki went 3-for-5 with a run scored to lead the Bulls at the plate. McCall and Agustin went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored each. Reliever Dan Francis (1-1) picked up the Bulls' victory, his first of the season. Closer Zach Anderson collected his third save of the season, tying him for fifth in all-time saves in a season and seventh for most career saves.

Bulls Face Zips in Conference Series; Prevent Sweep with Victory in Series Finale

The Bulls fell to Akron, 7-1 on Friday afternoon in the opening game of their conference weekend series. The Bulls were unable to overcome the Zips' seven unanswered runs after UB started out with the lead in the top of the first. The Bulls leaped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first with runners at first and second as first baseman Rob Lawler sent an RBI single through the left side, scoring Skonieczki. In the remaining innings, the Zips scored seven unanswered runs despite the Bulls out-hitting the Zips, 11-10. Starter Pierre Miville-Deschenes (4-4) recorded the Bulls' loss in 5.2 innings of work, striking out three. Designated hitter Chris Ciesla went 3-for-4.

Mike Stangroom

The Bulls fell in the second game of the series, 4-1, on Saturday afternoon. The Bulls jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Lawler brought home Agustin, who had doubled earlier. However, the Zips took the lead in the bottom of the first with a pair of runs and added single tallies in the fifth and seventh innings. Anderson (3-5) got the start on the mound, throwing five innings in the loss. Jesse Reinstein pitched the final three innings, allowing an unearned run. Agustin and Randazzo went 2-for-3 with Agustin scoring the Bulls' run.

Buffalo prevented a sweep by Akron in the series finale on Sunday afternoon with a 3-2 victory over the Zips. Trailing 1-0 through five innings, the Bulls recorded a three-run sixth inning for the lead and eventual win. After Akron took an early 1-0 lead, the Bulls scored three times in the top of the sixth inning to take the lead. Agustin scored the tying run on a Lawler groundout. Charlie Karstedt recorded the eventual game-winning RBI with a sacrifice fly to plate Ciesla for a 2-1 lead. Randazzo later plated McCall with the third run on an RBI double. The Zips managed to close the gap to one run in the bottom of the eighth off an RBI double with the Bulls remaining in the lead 3-2. Kevin Crumb closed the door on the Zips with 1.2 innings of hitless relief, collecting his first career save. Starter Mike Stangroom (2-2) recorded his second win on the mound in 6.0 innings of work, striking out three batters. Ciesla went 2-for-4.

Chris Ciesla

Bulls Hot at the Plate

The Bulls are showing their strongest offensive efforts since the program joined the MAC in 2001 with a team batting average of .302 and seven Bulls batting above .300. The seven batters include Ciesla (.365), Agustin (.343), Skonieczki (.342), Randazzo (.318), Karstedt (.317) and Jacob Rosenbeck.

On Deck: Big Four Classic and Kent State

This week, the Bulls will take part in the Big Four Classic on Tuesday, April 28 and Wednesday, April 29. The time and location of each game is yet to be determined due to incoming weather on Tuesday. Check the Bulls' schedule page for all Big Four Classic updates. On May 1-3, the Bulls will face Kent State in a conference weekend home series at the Amherst Audubon Field with game one set for Friday, May 1 with the first pitch set for 1:00 pm. The Golden Flashes are currently ranked 24th in the nation by Collegiate Baseball. The Bulls will look to improve its all-time record of 3-27 versus the Golden Flashes.