Late-inning heroics were needed for the Buffalo baseball team, as they defeated Akron on Friday and Saturday, scoring 21 runs over the two games. The Bulls could not complete the sweep, falling in the seventh inning on Sunday.
In the first game of the series on Friday, Buffalo used a six-run eighth inning to break a 4-4 deadlock, in defeating Akron 10-4.
Akron struck first, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Kevin Haas hit a single. When Haas scored on a single by Doug McNulty, it was the first run that junior starter Mike Stangroom had allowed in ten innings.
Akron's lead did not last long, as Buffalo answered with three runs in the second inning to take a 3-1 lead. Akron was somewhat unlucky in the inning, as all three Buffalo runs came on balls that did not leave the infield. Sophomore third baseman Shivan Bhan started the inning with a single, and scored on an RBI groundout by senior catcher Rick Oliveri. Sophomore outfielder Bobby Pizzuto followed this with an RBI groundout of his own, and junior second baseman Brian Randazzo finished the scoring with an RBI infield single.
Bhan scored his second run of the game in the fourth inning, taking first base after a walk, and scoring on a two-out single by freshman infielder Kevin McCall. With Buffalo staked to a 4-1 lead, Akron began its comeback.
The Zips scored two runs in the fifth inning off the bats of McNulty and Kurt Davidson, to pull within one run at 4-3. They tied it up the next inning with a single by Haas, making the score 4-4 going into the seventh inning.
After a scoreless seventh inning, the Bulls' bats came alive again in the eighth, as 10 Buffalo batters came to the plate in the inning. Bhan continued his hot day by starting the inning with a double down the line, and was followed by a double by sophomore outfielder Charlie Karstedt, who had three hits on the day. Karstedt's double scored Bhan, giving Buffalo a lead they would not surrender. Buffalo continued to score five more runs in the inning, with RBI's from Oliveri, senior left fielder E.J. Foli, Cisela, and two from Randazzo.
Sophomore pitcher Chaz Mye recorded the first win of his Buffalo career, pitching 2.1 innings for the victory. Stangroom pitched 5.2 innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out five batters.
After scoring 10 runs in the opening game of the series, Buffalo's bats did not take the day off on Saturday, scoring 11 runs in an 11-8 victory over the Zips. The Bulls did most of their damage early in the game, scoring eight runs in the first two innings.
Bhan recorded the first RBIs of the game, smacking a two out triple, which brought home two Bulls. Karstedt followed with a double to bring Bhan home and stake Buffalo to a 3-0 lead after the first inning.
Akron showed life in the second inning, scoring its first run of the game, but Buffalo answered back with five in the bottom half of the inning. The inning was highlighted by a three-run homerun by Randazzo.
After runs in the fourth and fifth innings, Akron trimmed the lead to 8-3, but Buffalo responded with three more runs in the fifth to take a seemingly insurmountable lead of 11-3. McNulty gave Akron a sliver of hope with a three-run homerun to pull Akron within five in the seventh inning. The Zips added two more runs in the eighth to make it a three run in the game, but this was as close as Akron would come.
Freshman pitcher Jesse Reinstein recorded the first win of his collegiate career, throwing 6.1 innings. Reinstein gave up five earned runs and struck out seven batters.
Buffalo finished off the series against Akron on Sunday, when they gave up seven runs in the final inning to lose, 9-7. Walczak and Oliveri each tacked on home runs in the losing effort. Randazzo capped off his series with three more hits, finishing the series with four runs scored and five RBIs.
The Bulls will next compete in the Big Four Classic in Olean, NY. They will go up against St. Bonaventure in the first round on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
