UB Finishes Season

The Bulls completed their 2000 season this past week, losing a three-game series with Stony Brook at Dunn Tire Park. The Seahawks swept a doubleheader on Saturday, 9-3 and 9-5, and took a single game on Sunday, 4-3.

In the doubleheader, Adrian Daniels (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport) was nearly perfect at the plate, going 6-for-7 with six runs scored on the day. He followed that up with a 2-for-3 performance on Sunday. Jeff Robertson (Kenmore, NY/Kenmore West) pitched a complete game on Sunday despite the loss. He went 9.0 innings and gave up four runs, three earned, on 11 hits. The Bulls' defense played well behind Robertson as the infield turned a total of six double plays.

Bulls Win One of Three Against Niagara, Canisius

In other action from last week, the Bulls split a doubleheader with Niagara on May 2, losing the first game 2-0 and winning the nightcap 7-2. In the second game, Adrian Daniels went 3-for-4 and knocked in four RBIs, including a home run. Kevin Nesteruk (Cheektowaga, NY/West Seneca East) went 3-for-3 with two runs scored. John Sullivan (Buffalo, NY/Bishop Timon) was the winning pitcher with a complete game, giving up two runs on five hits over seven innings.

On Wednesday, UB played at Canisius and lost 10-2 to the Golden Griffins. Kevin Brown (Amherst, NY/Amherst Central) and Mike Flaherty (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport) both had two hits on the day and both scored a run.

Sanchez Moves into Record Books

Bryan Sanchez moved into the record books in many different categories this year. Sanchez finished the year with 11 homers, which set a new UB school record for home runs in a single season. The old mark was nine held by three players. He also ranks seventh in career homers with 11. In addition, he moved into a tie for eighth place for most RBIs in a single season with 33, and finished with 10 doubles on the year, good for ninth best in a single season.

Leaders At The Plate

Freshman Rick Mariano (Williamsville, NY/St. Joe's) finished the year as UB's top hitter, going 27-for-87 (.310) on the year. Adrian Daniels finished the season strong, hitting .524 over the last six games and finished the year with a .305 average (43-for-141). Kevin Brown collected a team-high 47 hits on the season and finished at .297 on the year. Bryan Sanchez had a team-best 11 home runs, 10 doubles and 33 RBIs. Adrian Daniels led the team in triples with three.

Leaders on the Mound

Freshman right-hander Tyler Balentine (Mendon, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima) led the Bulls pitching staff with a 4-3 record on the year, the only UB pitcher over .500. He pitched two complete games and recorded one shutout. Tom Januchowski (Depew, NY/Lancaster) led the team in innings, pitching 53.1 innings on the year and had a team-best 53 strikeouts. Jeff Robertson (Kenmore, NY/Kenmore West) was a workhorse for the Bulls, pitching in 14 games and recording a team-high three complete games. He went a total of 51.1 innings and recorded three saves on the year. The three saves were the only three for UB and was the second highest save total for a single season in school history.

Playing the Fundamentals

One area of the game the Bulls excelled at in particular this season was bunting. UB recorded 28 sacrifice bunts this year compared to 17 by their opponents. The Bulls also hit 19 sacrifice flies. Brandon DiCesare (Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit) led the team with six sacrifice bunts, and Bryan Sanchez led the team with five sacrifice flies.

Bulls Play Most Games in School History

With the season completed, UB finished the 2000 season with a 12-35 record in the program's first year back since 1986. With those 47 games played, UB set a school record for most games played in a season. The previous high was 46 games played back in the 1978 season when the team finished at 27-19. UB also played 45 games in 1980 when the team finished at 32-13, setting the school record for wins in a season.

Bulls Tie NCAA Record For Double Plays

In a 4-3 loss to Stony Brook on May 7, UB turned six double plays in the nine-inning game. Those six double plays tie a record for second most by a team in a single game in the NCAA records. Stony Brook turned two double plays making the combined total for both teams eight double plays in a game, which ties a record for third most in a game in NCAA records.

What's even more amazing is that of the six double plays by Buffalo, there were five different types of double plays and four of those six were inning-ending double plays. The second inning ended with a 6-4-3 double play, the third inning ended with a 4-3 double play, the fourth inning ended with a 5-4-3 double play, and the seventh inning ended with a 4-6-3 double play. The other two double plays were not inning enders, but there was a 5-3 double play in the eighth and another 4-6-3 double play in the ninth.

BULLS IN RECORD BOOKS

SINGLE SEASON RECORDS

Home Runs:

1. Bryan Sanchez 11

At Bats:

2. Kevin Brown 158

4. Mike Flaherty 147

T10. Adrian Daniels 141

RBIs:

T8. Bryan Sanchez 33

Doubles:

T9. Bryan Sanchez 10

Pitching Starts:

T3. Tom Januchowski 10

T3. Anthony Puccia 10

Saves:

T3. Jeff Robertson 3

GAMES PLAYED

The Bulls have a number of players who broke the single season record for most games played in a season. Here are the players who moved into the records and their number of games played this year:

T1. Kevin Brown 47

T1. Adrian Daniels 47

T1. Brandon DiCesare 47

T1. Bryan Sanchez 47

2. Mike Flaherty 46

CAREER RECORDS

Home Runs:

T7. Bryan Sanchez 11

Saves:

T6. Jeff Robertson 3