After struggling in out-of-conference play, the softball team saw mixed results in its conference opener last weekend.
The Bulls hosted four games against Bowling Green and Toledo to start off its divisional record for the year last weekend and went 1-3 over the four-game stretch. Head coach Marie Curran was quick to note that the losses weren't in vain.
"Even though we did lose three games, overall I thought our team grew a lot in the sense that they made adjustments for the first time," Curran said. "Being on our home field really makes a difference because they're a lot more comfortable here, so win or lose, (it) is nice."
The divisional season opener was a Friday doubleheader against the Bowling Green Falcons (21-10, 4-0 Mid-American Conference). The first game was a close, low-scoring 1-0 loss, where the Bulls (9-26, 1-3 MAC) challenged right down to the final out, but couldn't come away with the win.
Junior pitcher Sophie Barstad allowed one unearned run in the third inning and five hits on her way to a complete game. However, the Falcons' Liz Vrabel struck out 11 Buffalo batters and allowed just three hits while delivering a difficult loss to the Bulls.
The second game, a 4-1 loss to Bowling Green, was delayed one hour and 16 minutes during the top half of the fourth inning due to rain. The Falcons scored two runs before and two runs after the delay, while freshman outfielder Erin Zilka hit her team-leading fifth homerun of the season to give Buffalo its only run.
"The one disappointing thing with Bowling Green is that our players looked at them as the best team in the conference, when in reality they're just like us," Curran said. "All we had to do is string a couple of hits together. We had hits but they were too spread out. That's going to be a big focus for next week."
Saturday brought a game against the Toledo Rockets (8-20, 1-2 MAC), and heartbreaking loss in a pitcher's game. Barstad was involved in a duel with Rockets pitcher Sierra Pereira, until Toledo catcher Alison Hess hit a two-run homer in the top of the seventh inning, leading to a 2-0 Rockets victory.
"We came in really wanting to win and I truly thought we were going to win," said junior outfielder Mary Russell, who played her first game at shortstop this weekend, filling in for the injured Lauren Picciano. "We played hard, but we just couldn't get runs together. It was a hard loss."
Despite a difficult Friday and Saturday, the Bulls ended the weekend on a winning note, getting revenge against the Rockets on Sunday with a dominant 7-4 win, and also snapping a 10-game losing streak.
Freshman catcher Kim Hanzlian helped set the tone early in Sunday's game with a two-RBI single to center field, part of a four-run Buffalo first inning. Russell contributed three runs on the day including one homer in the bottom of the sixth inning and Barstad pitched yet another complete game in her eighth win of the season.
"Hopefully we can keep playing like we did today. We all played really hard and went out there and got the job done," Hanzlian said. "I don't know that divisional games are more difficult because I think we go out there every game and try our best. It's just that today we worked a lot harder and wanted it more."
Overall, Curran feels that the Buffalo women performed well in a weekend where some foresight towards the end of the season was provided. The close losses to the now division-leading Falcons and Rockets, Curran notes, is example of how close the division will be by the end of the year.
"I didn't think their teams were much better athlete for athlete, which is an exciting thing because our conference is going to be a shootout right to the end this year," Curran said. "Everybody's teams are really even."
The Bulls women remain home for their next four games, where divisional play will continue as they face Central Michigan at 1 p.m. in a Friday doubleheader, and Eastern Michigan on Saturday and Sunday this weekend.
