BUFFALO, NY - The Buffalo Bulls hosted the Western Michigan Broncos in a doubleheader at Nan Harvey Field on Saturday afternoon. The Bulls split the doubleheader, being shut out 2-0 in the first game while winning the second in come-from-behind fashion by a 2-1 score.

Stacey Evans

In the first inning of the opener, the Broncos' Jaymie Voss hit a solo home run to left field to put the Broncos up 1-0. The home run put an end to Buffalo pitcher Stacey Evans' (Collinsville, IL/Triad) streak of 69.2 innings pitched without allowing an earned run.

The Broncos extended their lead in the sixth inning when Amy Fleming drove in Mary McCloskey with a single up the middle. The Broncos rally was ended, however, when Katie Niemi lined out to second for the third out.

The Bulls threatened to score in the second inning but came up empty. Senior Allison Round (Markham, Ontario/Markham District) led off the inning when she was hit by a pitch from Laura Stewart and advanced to second on a ground out by junior Julie Hibner (Salem, OR/South Salem). Freshman Shannon Prochaska (Aloha, OR/Aloha) drew a walk and sophomore Lauren Picciano (Endicott, NY/Union-Endicott) struck out for the second out of the inning. Freshman Mary Russell (Apalachin, NY/Owego Free Academy) then sent a grounder to the hole at short and Round beat the throw to third. With the bases loaded and two outs, the Bulls could not drive in a run as senior Marce Ross (Innisfil, Ontario/St. Peter's) struck out to end the inning and leave the bases loaded.

In the top of the fifth inning, Evans struck out the side, setting down the sixth, seventh and eighth hitters for the Broncos. Evans finished the day allowing two runs on four hits and struck out seven.

The Bulls made a final push in the bottom of the seventh inning when they sent sophomore Lisa Wheat (Olympia, WA/Tumwater) to the plate representing the winning run with two outs and two on. Wheat struck out to end the game for the Bulls. In game one, Buffalo left 10 runners on base while the Broncos stranded just four.

The Bulls were led by Russell who went 3-for-4 in game one. Evans took the loss and moved to 9-8 on the season. For the Broncos, Stewart picked up the win, improving her record to 17-10.

In game two, the Broncos got on the board in the fourth inning when Fleming hit a solo home run to right center to put Western Michigan on top 1-0.

Shannon Prochaska

The Bulls had scoring threats in each of the first six innings but failed to send anyone across the plate, leaving 12 runners on base. The Bulls mounted a comeback when, with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, pitcher Sophie Barstad (Canby, OR/Canby) hit her second home run of the season to left center to pull the Bulls into a 1-1 tie with the Broncos. Senior Jessica Labella (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park) reached on an error by the third baseman. Labella was replaced by pinch runner Colleen Greene (Cheektowaga, NY/Cleveland Hill). Round then singled through the right side and advanced Greene to second. Prochaska then stepped to the plate and singled up the middle to drive in Greene with the winning run.

Senior Breanne Nasti (Baldwin, NY/Baldwin) drew a walk in each of her four plate appearances in the second game and in seven of her eight plate appearances on the day. The four walks in game two set a UB single-game record. In the first game, she had tied the record with three walks. Nasti finished the day 0-for-1 with seven walks.

Buffalo's Barstad was the winning pitcher in game two, allowing just one run on seven hits and striking out five. Voss was the losing pitcher, allowing two runs, one earned, on nine hits and striking out six in 6.1 innings.

With today's split, the Western Michigan Broncos move to 24-20 (11-6 MAC) and the Buffalo Bulls move to 18-20 (6-7 MAC). The Bulls' 18th win this afternoon ties their mark for the most wins since moving to Division I. The Bulls and Broncos will complete their three-game series tomorrow afternoon with a single game at Nan Harvey Field with the first pitch scheduled for 1 pm.