SOFTBALL

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BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo softball team pulled out a 1-0 win in game one and then completed the doubleheader sweep with an explosive 10-2 victory in game two over the visiting Niagara Purple Eagles in the Bulls' home opener at the UB Softball Stadium. The wins improve Buffalo's record to 9-10 overall while Niagara falls to 1-10 on the season.

Lauren Picciano

A one-out single to left field in the fifth inning by junior Breanne Nasti (Baldwin, NY/Baldwin) scored freshman Lauren Picciano (Endicott, NY/Union-Endicott) to break the scoreless tie and give the Bulls a 1-0 lead. That was all the offense they would need thanks to another dominant pitching performance by sophomore Stacey Evans (Collinsville, IL/Triad). Evans struck out 10 batters and allowed just one hit en route to her sixth win of the year on the mound. Niagara's Angie Clark spoiled the no-hitter with a single up the middle in the sixth inning. Ashleigh Barber took the loss on the mound for the Purple Eagles, allowing just four hits and striking out four.

The Bulls got on the board early in game two when an RBI-single by junior Allison Round (Markham, Ontario/Markham District) scored junior Marce Ross (Innisfil, Ontario/St. Peter's), and the Bulls then exploded for eight runs on eight hits in the third inning to break the game open. The eight runs are the most the Bulls have scored in one inning in their Division I era, and the onslaught was started with a one-out single to right field by Ross.

Melissa Pace

Nasti and senior Kelly Malone (Waterford, MI/Waterford Kettering) followed with singles to load the bases, and Ross then crossed the plate on a wild pitch by Niagara's Tegan Bennett. A single by senior Jessica Kensy (Cheektowaga, NY/Maryvale) then drove in Nasti, and sophomore Julie Hibner (Salem, OR/South Salem) singled to score Malone and Round, who had reached on a walk. Sophomore Melissa Pace (Long Beach, CA/Millikan) followed with the Bulls' only extra-base hit in the game, a triple down the right field line that scored Kensy and Hibner. Picciano scored Pace with an infield single and later crossed the plate herself on a single to center by Ross to complete the eight-run inning. Buffalo's final run in the game came in the fourth inning when a single to center by Round scored Malone to make the score 10-0. Niagara ruined pitcher Andrea Sage's (Depew, NY/Depew) attempt at a shutout with two runs in the top of the fifth. A two-out double by Amanda Baluch scored Jamie Horn and an infield single by Barber scored Amy Dulski, who was pinch-running for Baluch.

Sage allowed just five hits and struck out four while picking up her first win of the season for the Bulls. Bennett went the distance for Niagara, giving up 12 hits and nine earned runs while striking out two. Round, Hibner and Pace all drove in two runs for the Bulls in the game, and Ross was 3-for-3 from the plate with one RBI and two runs scored.

The Bulls now return to Mid-American Conference play this weekend with a three-game series at Kent State. A 1 pm doubleheader on Saturday, March 29 will be followed by a single game at 1 pm on Sunday, March 30. Buffalo is currently 1-2 in MAC play this season.