Torgalski To Remain Head Of Baseball Program

Bulls completed most successful MAC season in 2007

Ron Torgalski

BUFFALO, NY – Having recently completed its most successful Mid-American Conference season in school history, head coach Ron Torgalski and his staff will remain at the helm of the University at Buffalo baseball program, according to Warde Manuel, UB’s Director of Athletics.

Torgalski , who served as interim head coach this year, led the Bulls to a seventh place finish in the MAC, missing the school’s first ever trip to the conference tournament by one spot. Torgalski, who was a longtime assistant before being elevated last summer, brought in Western New York natives, Jim Koerner and Joe Hesketh, to complete his staff prior to the 2007 year.

“I am extremely happy that my staff and I will be back to lead this group of young men,” said Torgalski. “We really started to play good baseball during the second half of this season and seeing this team’s potential has me very excited for the future. My staff and I want to thank Warde for giving us the opportunity to continue here at UB. We feel that with the support of this athletic administration, we are heading in the right direction.”

After dropping 18 of their first 19 games to start the 2007 season, the Bulls won 15 of their final 32 games, including an 11-16 mark in MAC play. Until this year, the Bulls had never won more than six MAC games in a season. The Bulls made history when they took series victories from Ohio and Western Michigan, marking the first time that UB had won back-to-back conference series. The Bulls would ultimately win three straight series as they took two of three from Akron the following weekend. UB went on to win four MAC series this past year, its most since joining the conference.

The accolades continued into the postseason where for the first time UB placed multiple members on the All-MAC team, including the team’s first All-MAC First Team selection in junior Mike Folli (Endicott, NY/Union-Endicott). Folli went on to be selected in the 42nd round of this year’s MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. Having played just one season for UB, Torgalski helped groom pitcher Mike Radanovic (Surrey, British Columbia/L.A. Matheson) into an All-MAC player as he made the league’s second team.

“Ron and his staff did a tremendous job with our baseball team this past year,” said Manuel. “After a rough start to the year, they did a great job with the fundamentals of the game, keeping our players motivated and teaching them how to play winning baseball. With this staff’s dedication, I believe we have the right people in place to achieve our goal, which is winning a Mid-American Conference Championship.”

In addition to the success of Torgalski, Koerner helped UB to a .273 batting average in conference games. On a young team, his work benefited several players, including freshman Bobby Pizzuto (Mentor, OH/Notre Dame Cathedral), who had a 14-game hitting streak, which was tops on the team. He also guided fellow freshman Adam Skonieczki (Endicott, NY/Union-Endiott) to a .345 batting average in conference games only, which was second only to Folli.

Hesketh, who played for 11 seasons in the Major Leagues, coached Radanovic to a 3.22 ERA in conference games as well as a 4.27 ERA for junior starter Mark Tourangeau (Oakville, Ontario/Queen Elizabeth Park), who was coming off a 2006 season where he sat out after Tommy John surgery.

06/12/2007