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Freshman Allison Round

BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo softball team (11-38) took two games from Niagara (10-18) this afternoon in Niagara University, NY, defeating the Purple Eagles by 8-0 and 11-2 scores. Both games ended in six innings as per the NCAA's eight-run rule, marking a vast improvement for the Bulls over last season when Niagara defeated them by eight or more runs on three different occasions. Freshman Allison Round (Markham, Ontario/Markham District) led the Bulls with six RBIs and six hits in the two games, including a double, a triple and a home run. Freshman Breanne Nasti (Baldwin, NY/Baldwin) and sophomore Jessica Kensy (Cheektowaga, NY/Maryvale) drove in three runs apiece in the doubleheader.

Senior Kim Lawrence (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg/Erie CC) tripled down the left field line to start off the second inning of the opener, and she scored the first run of the game on an RBI ground out by Kensy. The Bulls scored at least one run in each of the next four innings, highlighted by a two-run single by Round in the fourth and a two-run double by Nasti in the sixth. Freshman pitcher Heather Robbins (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield) picked up her seventh win of the season and her first career shutout while holding the Purple Eagles to just three hits and striking out five batters.

Freshman Marce Ross (Barrie, Ontario/St. Peter's) led off the second game with a walk and came around to score on a two-run home run by Round, her third of the season. Nasti followed the homer with a double to left field, and she came around to score on an RBI single up the middle by Kensy. The Purple Eagles scored their first run of the afternoon in the bottom of the first when a single to left by Angie Clarke scored Jodie Bowers, who had led off the inning with a single to center. The Bulls, however, got out of the inning with runners left on first and third, and they increased their lead to 5-1 in the second. An RBI double by Round scored Ross, who reached base after drawing her second walk of the game, and Round then came around to score on a wild pitch. Sophomore Laura Gilcrist (Getzville, NY/Williamsville North) led off the Buffalo fourth with a single and scored on a triple by Round, and Round then scored on a single by Nasti to give the Bulls a 7-1 lead. The RBI was Nasti's 40th of the season, tying her for the career RBI record at UB. Buffalo took advantage of three Niagara errors to put four more runs across the plate in the final two innings of the nightcap. The Purple Eagles put one run across the plate in the bottom of the sixth, but it was not enough to overcome the large deficit. Pitcher Andrea Sage (Depew, NY/Depew) allowed just five hits and one earned run in six innings to pick up her fourth victory of the year.

The 8-0 win in the opener was Buffalo's first shutout win of the season. The Bulls scored in all but two of the 12 innings played on the afternoon, and they outhit the Purple Eagles by a 22-8 margin.

The Bulls close out their 2001 season with a three-game Mid-American Conference series at Miami (OH) on Friday, May 4 and Saturday, May 5.