SOFTBALL

Roster  |  Coaches  |  Schedule / Results  |  News

BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo softball team (8-31) dropped both ends of a doubleheader to visiting Colgate (18-20) in non-conference action at the UB Softball Stadium this afternoon. The Bulls lost an 8-1 decision in the opening game before giving up four runs in the 10th inning of game two to lose the nightcap, 7-3. The Bulls had come back to tie the score at 3-3 with a run in the bottom of the seventh. Freshman Marce Ross (Barrie, Ontario/St. Peter's) led the Buffalo attack, going 4-for-7 with two RBIs on the afternoon. Sophomore Laura Gilcrist (Getzville, NY/Williamsville North) also had four hits in the two games.

The Red Raiders opened game one with two runs in the top of the first inning on a double by Amanda Brickell, and they scored at least one run in five of the seven innings while scattering 10 hits off of UB starter Andrea Sage (Depew, NY/Depew). The Bulls put one run across the plate in the third inning when Gilcrist scored on a ground-out by freshman Heather Robbins (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield). Gilcrist was 3-for-3 from the plate, and Ross and freshman Breanne Nasti (Baldwin, NY/Baldwin) both singled to account for Buffalo's only other two hits in the game off of Colgate's Lauren Wygant.

Colgate began game two in similar fashion when a double by Amanda Paolucci scored Rachel Smith for the first run of the game in the top of the first inning. The Bulls, however, answered back quickly with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning when senior Kim Lawrence (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg/Erie CC) singled to drive in Ross, who had reached base on a single up the middle. Another double by Paolucci drove in two more Colgate runs in the third inning, and the score remained 3-1 until the bottom of the fifth when Gilcrist led off with a single and came around to score on a single by Ross. Ross then drove in the tying run in the bottom of the seventh inning when her single scored freshman Allison Round (Markham, Ontario/Markham District), who had put herself in scoring position with a double to center field. The score remained knotted at 3-3 until the 10th inning when the Red Raiders exploded with four runs on three hits to put the game out of reach. Freshman Jessica Labella (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park) hit a two-out single in the bottom of the 10th to give the Bulls some hope, but the Red Raiders held on for the victory, getting senior Stacee Madden (Corning, NY/Corning East/Allegheny College) to ground out to second base to end the game. The Bulls left 11 runners on base during the game, and at least one in each of the final five innings. Labella and Ross were both 3-for-5 from the plate and Round was 2-for-4 in the game, helping the Bulls outhit the Red Raiders by a 13-10 margin. Robbins went the distance on the mound for the Bulls, striking out six batters and allowing just three earned runs. Colgate's Beth Haas also struck out six en route to recording her seventh win of the year.

The Bulls' final home games of the 2001 season are this weekend when they host Bowling Green in a three-game series on Friday, April 20 and Saturday, April 21. Friday's single game is at 3 pm and Saturday's doubleheader begins at 1 pm.