The Week in Review

The Bulls opened the week with a 5-1 win over Canisius at Dunn Tire Park on May 1. Freshman pitchers Mike Leslie (Suffern, NY/Suffern) and Nick Bellacose (Clarence, NY/Clarence) combined to strand 10 Canisius baserunners, allowing one unearned run in the effort.

UB then opened its new home, Audubon Park, with a four-game series against MAC rival Northern Illinois. The Bulls were swept by the Huskies, 12-5 on Friday, 10-1 and 4-3 in the doubleheader on Saturday, and 10-0 in the Sunday finale. Brendan Dunford (Buffalo, NY/Timon/St. Jude) struck out a season-high 12 batters in the series opener.

Huber Sets Hit Record

Sophomore Eric Huber (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) became UB's single-season hit leader with his 64th hit, a sixth-inning single to left field, in Saturday's 4-3 loss to Northern Illinois. The hit surpassed Pat Raimondo's 1980 total and Mike Dixon's 1977 total of 63. Huber went 5-for-9 in the doubleheader, rapping out hit number 65 in the eighth inning. Huber leads the Bulls with his .353 batting average, the highest since the Bulls returned to Division I baseball last season. Huber also moved into a seventh-place tie on the Bulls' single-season RBI list with 34. Huber has also shattered the single-season at-bat record at 184, passing Raimondo's 160 set in 1980.

Audubon Park Firsts

With the opening of the Bulls' new home at Audubon Park, several firsts were set in the weekend series against Northern Illinois. Among them are the following:

First batter: Noel Danielson (NIU)

First pitch: Ball (by UB's Brendan Dunford)

First out: Danielson on a caught stealing run down

First hit: A double to right by Danielson in the third

First run: Danielson in the third

First RBI: Dan Urban (NIU) plating Danielson

First UB hit: A single to right by Kevin Nesteruk in the third

First UB run: Kevin Brown in the fifth

First UB RBI: Sacrifice fly by Nesteruk in the fifth

First home run: UB's Scott Gruver to right in the eighth inning of the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, scoring Bryan Sanchez.

Games Played Record Set By Bulls

With their 49th game of the season, the 2000 Bulls' squad has played more games than any other team in UB history, eclipsing last season's total of 47.

Two players, Bryan Sanchez (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) and Tim Sova (Rochester, NY/Greece-Athena) have started all 49 contests this season, tying them for first for most games played in one year. The old mark of 47 was set last season by four current Bulls, including Sanchez. Sanchez is the only member of UB's current roster to have played in every game the last two seasons, currently standing at 96 career games.

Concussion Stops DiCesare

The Bulls were dealt a serious blow last week when catcher Brandon DiCesare (Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit) was struck on the helmet on an errant throw by Northern Illinois' catcher Dave Garcia following a strikeout in Friday's series opener. DiCesare remained in the game for the next couple of innings before leaving the contest due to the effects of the blow. Due to the serious nature of concussions, it was recommended that DiCesare sit out at least a week, consequently missing the season finale this Wednesday. In his place, Scott Gruver (Vestal, NY/Vestal) and Scott Mruczek (Rochester, NY/Greece-Athena) have taken over the duties behind the plate. DiCesare was batting .309 with four homers and 28 RBIs. He is also tied for the team lead with 11 doubles this season.

Season Finale on Wednesday

The Bulls conclude their 2001 season with a Wednesday night contest against Niagara at Audubon Park at 6:00 pm. The Bulls defeated the Purple Eagles, 11-7, in the previous meeting of the season, April 18 at Niagara.