James Kingsley

MOUNT PLEASANT, MI - The University at Buffalo baseball team dropped both games of a doubleheader to Central Michigan in Mid-American Conference play at Theunissen Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Chippewas won game one, 7-2, and took the nightcap, 10-2.

In game one, Buffalo took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning on a two-run double by James Kingsley (Medina, NY/Medina) that scored Joe Mihalics (Tonawanda, NY/Timon/St. Jude) and Andrew Wengert (Utica, NY/Proctor).

UB starting pitcher Eric Kelly (West Seneca, NY/West Seneca East) got off to a great start as he allowed only two hits and struck out four through the first four innings to preserve the 2-0 advantage. However, the freshman hurler made his first mistake of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning when Jim Geldhof connected on a three-run home run to give Central Michigan a 3-2 lead. After scoring a run in the seventh, Kurtis Wells hit another three-run shot in the bottom of the eighth inning to make the score 7-2.

T.J. Johnson pitched a complete game to earn the win for Central Michigan. Kelly was charged with the loss.

In game two, the Bulls jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning on an RBI single by Chris McGraw (Summerville, SC/Stratford) that scored Mihalics. The Chippewas answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. The key blow was a two-run double by Bryan Mitzel. The Bulls got a run back in the top of the fifth inning on an RBI double by John Boom (London. Ontario/Catholic Central) to cut the lead to 3-2. However, Geldhof struck again in the bottom of the fifth inning with his second three-run home run of the afternoon. It capped a four-run fifth inning to extend the Central Michigan lead to 7-2. The Chippewas added a pair of runs in the seventh inning and a run in the eighth inning before cruising to the victory.

After allowing seven runs over five innings, UB starter Adam Ruszkowski (Utica, NY/Proctor) was charged with the loss. The Bulls collected nine hits in the game, including two apiece by Kingsley and David Amaro (Endicott, NY/Union-Endicott).

The losses dropped the Bulls to 15-33 overall and 4-14 in the MAC. Central Michigan improved to 29-21 overall and 15-5 in the conference. The three-game series will conclude with a single game on Sunday afternoon at 1 pm at Theunissen Stadium.