SOFTBALL

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BUFFALO, NY ­ The University at Buffalo softball team picked up its first Mid-American Conference victory of the season this afternoon thanks to a wild pitch in the bottom of the 12th inning before dropping the second game of the doubleheader to the visiting Western Michigan Broncos at the UB Softball Stadium. The Bulls took game one by a 2-1 score and the Broncos then held on for a 6-4 win in game two to bring the evenly-played series to a close.

Wendy Cannon led off the sixth inning of game one with a double to left center, and she came around to score the Broncos' only run on a grounder by Holly Seales after moving to third on a sacrifice bunt by Angie Fiero.

Breanne Nasti

Sophomore Breanne Nasti (Baldwin, NY/Baldwin) gave the Bulls a chance in the seventh with a leadoff double of her own to left center. Junior Missy Switzer (West Seneca, NY/West Seneca West/Valparaiso) came in to pinch run for Nasti, and she moved to third on a single by freshman Ann Marie Magur (Endicott, NY/Union-Endicott/Connecticut). Cannon came on in relief for the Broncos with two outs, and she was charged with an illegal pitch to sophomore Marce Ross (Innisfil, Ontario/St. Peter's), scoring Switzer and forcing extra innings.

The Broncos stranded one runner on base in the ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th innings, and the Bulls made them pay for their offensive lapse. The NCAA tie-breaker procedure was implemented in the 12th, and Switzer began the bottom half of the inning on second base and was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Julie Hibner (Salem, OR/South Salem). Magur grounded out to short for the second out in the inning, and Cannon then walked the next two batters, but her ball four pitch to Ross sailed over her catcher's head and Switzer slide into home under the tag to give the Bulls the win.

Sophomore Heather Robbins (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield) was credited with the win, her second of the season, after striking out two of the three batters she faced in the 12th, her only inning of work. Freshman Stacey Evans (Collinsville, IL/Triad) pitched 11 innings and struck out six.

Ann Marie Magur

The Broncos were up 4-0 after three innings in game two before the Bulls got on the board in the bottom of the third when a double by Magur scored Nasti and sophomore Allison Round (Markham, Ontario/Markham District). Western Michigan went up by four again with two more runs in the fourth, and Nasti cut the deficit in the fifth with a two-run home run to left center, scoring junior Jessica Kensy (Cheektowaga, NY/Maryvale) who had reached on a single to center. The Bulls threatened in the seventh when Cannon walked both Kensy and Nasti, but she got Hibner and Magur to ground out to end the game and record her second win of the series. Robbins took the loss on the mound for the Bulls, giving up eight hits and all six earned runs before being replaced by junior Andrea Sage (Depew, NY/Depew) in the fourth inning. Sage allowed just one hit and struck out two in three and two-thirds innings of action.

Nasti finished the afternoon perfect from the plate, going 5-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and two RBIs. The home run was her fifth of the year, and Nasti has now hit safely in seven straight games. Magur had four hits and two RBIs in the two games for the Bulls.

Buffalo (2-14, 1-8 MAC) now travels to Colgate for a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 9 at 3:30 pm before returning home to host St. Bonaventure in a twinbill on Wednesday, April 10 at 3 pm.