"I've been telling the guys lately, 'Fellas, this could be the day we blow up on somebody.' I know we will blow up on somebody," said head coach Bill Breene, a self proclaimed optimist.
They will get a chance to bring all of the pieces together for the start of Mid-American Conference play at home against Northern Illinois on Saturday and Sunday at the Amherst Pepsi Center. The Bulls bring a record of 5-16 against a Northern Illinois team that holds a 13-9 record.
The story of the Bulls' year so far has been a team that just is not running on all cylinders. Where there has been good pitching and defense at times, the batting has not lived up to the potential that Breene thinks it holds.
"We have two out of three functions going for us," said Breene. "We have pitching and we have defense. If we can get some hits, we can compete."
They will need all three to compete this weekend. The Bulls have never beaten NIU. Last season, UB was swept at Northern Illinois in a three game series that saw the team get closest in the first game of a doubleheader, losing 8-7.
Also in that series, the Bulls faced Huskies pitcher Mark Skrukrud, who would go 6-5 in 13 appearances with a 4.36 ERA that year. Skrukrud is continuing that level of play this year, as he is currently 1-1 in six appearances with a 3.54 ERA.
"We know they have good pitching," Breene reflected. "Skrukrud will probably get drafted, but we think we can hit against this guy."
That prospect improved greatly with the performance of the Bulls batters against Le Moyne. UB managed to produce a combined 17 hits in those two games, while they had only managed 12 in the previous six games.
"If we can get some hits, then we have a chance to compete," Breen commented. "A lot of it is mental. The team would take a lot of good pitches and then they would swing at the bad pitches."
Most likely the starting pitchers for the contests will be senior Tyler Balentine (0-3) and junior Nick Bellacose (1-2). Bellacose and Balentine both stand on top of the stats for the Bulls with ERAs of 3.60 and 3.82, respectively.
"NIU is a team that won't be afraid to bunt and do the things that need to be done in order to manufacture runs," said Bellacose. "They are going to make the routine plays and also will be just as hungry as we are for two MAC wins. As a team we are going in to this weekend knowing that it's a must-win each game. We are down in the MAC right now so these two games are going to be crucial."
Buffalo's batting may have begun to turn the corner, but with an opponent ERA of 2.82, the Bulls just have to get more hits into play. The more hits that go into the field, the better the chance that the other team could commit an error, and that is no truer than with NIU, who have the worst team fielding rating in the MAC, at .934 with 53 errors committed.
Breene acknowledged that weakness, but noted that the ball needs to get into the field first.
"If our guys can get the ball into play, and drop it into a position that would make it difficult for the opposite team to react, then there is a better chance of them making a mistake," said Breene.
Breene also pointed out that NIU has been able to make up for that with better play on the mound and at the plate.
"If you have good pitching and good hitting, you can get away with sloppy defense."
NIU currently sits a game behind Ball State for the lead of the West Division of the MAC with a 3-1 record in conference play. UB is in fifth place in the East, two games back at 1-5 in MAC play. Of the six playoff seeds that entered the MAC tournament since 2000, only one team was below .500 in winning percentage. It was Northern Illinois in 2000 as the sixth seed, who then lost in the first round.
If the Bulls want to make a run of it this year, they have the pitching of Bellacose and Balentine, the fifth best defense in the MAC with a 9.58 fielding percentage, and if they take the momentum from the final game against Le Moyne, the hitting.
To make .500, the Bulls need to go 10-5 in their final conference games. The pieces are there, the Bulls just need to put them together.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
