Joe Mihalics

BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo baseball team closed out the home portion of its schedule in grand fashion on Wednesday evening with a 10-8 victory over Niagara at Amherst Audubon Field. With the aid of a six-run fourth inning, the Bulls were able to jump out to a 9-2 lead, before thwarting a Niagara rally and holding on for the two-run victory.

The Bulls took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when an RBI groundout by Andrew Wengert (Utica, NY/Proctor) scored Joe Mihalics (Tonawanda, NY/Timon/St. Jude). Niagara tied the game, 1-1, in the top of the second inning on an RBI double by Brian Clifford. A sacrifice fly by David Amaro (Endicott, NY/Union-Endicott) plated Chris McGraw (Summerville, SC/Stratford) in the bottom of the second inning to give the Bulls a 2-1 lead. UB tacked on another run in the bottom of the third inning on an RBI triple by Wengert to go ahead, 3-1.

After Niagara scored a run in the top of the fourth inning, the Bulls erupted for six runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 9-2 lead. Mihalics drew a bases-loaded walk, Wengert drove in two on a Niagara fielding error, James Kingsley (Medina, NY/Medina) smacked an RBI double and Mike Connelly (Utica, NY/Proctor) hit a two-run double to account for the scoring. The double by Kingsley was his 17th of the year, giving him the UB record for two-baggers in a season.

A solo home run by Jeff Vincent in the top of the seventh inning and a three-run shot by Michael Medici in the top of the eighth inning cut the Buffalo advantage to 9-6. Mihalics tripled to left centerfield to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning and later scored when Kingsley grounded into a double play to give the Bulls a 10-6 lead. The triple by Mihalics was his 70th hit of the year, setting the UB record for hits in a season.

James Kingsley

Niagara scored a pair of runs in the top of the ninth inning and had the go-ahead run at the plate before Sean McWilliams (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua) entered the game and got Medici to ground into a game-ending double play. McWilliams earned his third save of the season.

Buffalo starter Mark Tourangeau (Oakville, Ontario/Queen Elizabeth Park) allowed two runs on four hits and struck out seven over five innings to pick up his fourth win of the season. Niagara starter Daniel Griffen was charged with the loss.

Each team collected 10 hits in the game. Mihalics, Kingsley and Al Barbato (Utica, NY/Whitesboro) each had two hits for UB.

With the win, the Bulls improved to 15-31. Niagara fell to 21-23. UB will next travel to Central Michigan for a weekend series with the Chippewas beginning on Friday.