Baseball Weekly Release

First Stop... First Ever Meeting

Eric Flynn

The Bulls opened their final week of the 2009 regular season on the road by falling to Youngstown State 17-10 on Wednesday afternoon in the first ever meeting between the two teams. Trailing 11-5 in the top of the fifth, the Bulls stormed back with five runs including a grand slam. With the bases loaded, pinch hitter Eric Flynn crushed a grand slam to deep center to pull the Bulls within one, 11-10. In the remaining innings, the Penguins expanded their lead to 17-10 as they scored six unanswered runs for the victory. Flynn went 1-for-2 with a run scored and a team-high four RBIs including his first career grand slam. Charlie Karstedt went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and runs scored. Kevin McCall went 3-for-5 and Brad Cochrane went 2-for-3 with each adding an RBI and a run scored.

Adam Skonieczki

Bulls Swept by Ohio in Final Conference Series

The Bulls opened their final conference series by falling to Ohio, 6-5 in 11 innings on Thursday evening. The Bulls took the Bobcats the distance with the game being decided by a walk-off home run to start the bottom of the 11th. In the top of the second, the Bulls tied the game at 2-2 with one swing of the bat as Adam Skonieczki crushed his second home run of the season over the left-center wall. On the day, Chris Ciesla continued to add to his totals, going 3-for-5 with a pair of runs and an RBI.

On Friday afternoon, Buffalo finished their 2009 season on the road as they were swept by Ohio in a conference doubleheader. In the opener, the Bulls held a commanding lead heading into the bottom of the ninth until the Bobcats erupted for five runs including a walk-off home run to capture a 12-11 victory. In the nightcap, the Bulls fell to the Bobcats, 19-8.

Brad Cochrane

In the opener, the Bulls stormed out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first. With the bases loaded, McCall perfectly placed a ball into right center for a three-RBI double, putting the Bulls in the lead 4-0. Next up, Cochrane smacked a two-RBI shot over the left field wall for his third home run of the season. The Bulls continued to expand their lead in the top of the fifth with a pair of runs for a Bulls’ 10-2 lead. On the Bulls’ second score of the inning, Skonieczki set the all-time single-season record for most runs scored off a fielder’s choice. In the top of the seventh, Cochrane smacked his second RBI-base hit of the game to left field to put the Bulls in the lead 11-4. The game was decided in the next two and a half innings as the Bobcats scored eight unanswered runs with five of the runs scored in the bottom of the ninth including the Bobcats’ second walk-off home run of the series for a 12-11 victory. Cochrane went 4-for-4 including four RBIs and a run scored. Rob Lawler went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI.

Trailing 3-0 in the nightcap, the Bulls went on the board in the top of the third off an RBI-base hit by Ciesla. In the next three and a half innings, the Bobcats scored eight unanswered runs to extend their lead to 11-1. In the top of the seventh, Flynn smashed his second home run of the series with a solo shot to center. The Bulls erupted for six runs of their own in the top of the eighth. In the bottom half of the inning, the Bobcats added a pair of runs to take a commanding 19-8 lead and eventual victory.

Chris Ciesla

Record Setting Performances in 2009

In 2009, the Bulls set numerous team records in various categories. As a team, the Bulls set the mark for most wins (20), highest batting average (.306), most triples (23) and most stolen bases (69) since the program’s reinstatement in 2000. The Bulls also set the all-time single-season team records for most games played (55), most hits (591), most doubles (132), most runs (424), most RBIs (384), most total bases (874), most strikeouts (358), most innings pitched (457.0), most walks (253), most at bats (1933), most putouts (1371) and most assists (549). In the Bulls’ 35-5 home opening victory versus Hilbert in six innnings, they broke the all-time record for most runs scored (35), most hits (34), most RBIs (35) and most total bases (55) in a single-game as well as the widest margin of victory (30). Additional single-game team records include the Bulls setting the mark for most triples (4) versus Niagara on April 8 as Karstedt accounted for two of them to tie the Bulls’ single-game mark for most triples.

Zach Anderson

This season, the Bulls broke into the top ten in numerous single-season and career categories even setting individual single-season and single-game records with their strong performances. A few individual highlights of the Bulls’ record breaking season include new single-season marks set by Ciesla as he became the all-time record holder for most at bats (226), hits (84), total bases (120) and games played (55). He also finished second in most runs (49) and doubles (18) and fourth in most RBIs (44). Skonieczki became the all-time record holder for most runs scored (50) in a single-season by a Bull. He also finished second in most at bats (219), third in most hits (76), tied for fifth in most games played (53) and seventh in most total bases (102). Newcomer Pierre Miville-Deschenes tied the lead for most starts (13) in a single-season. Another newcomer Lawler finished tied for third with Skonieczki for most doubles (16) in a single-season. Karstedt finished the season in second for most RBIs (46) and fourth for most triples (6) in a single-season. Anderson became the all-time career record holder for most appearances (83) by a pitcher while Dan Francis moved into second (66). In his career, Zach Anderson also moved into third in most strikeouts (168) and sixth in most innings pitched (177.2).

This season, the Bulls also set a few individual records since they joined the Mid-American Conference in 2001. To name a few, Brad Agustin became the new career assists (409) leader and set the mark for highest on base percentage (.460) in a single-season while Ciesla set the single-season mark for highest batting average (.372).