The last time the softball team had scored 14 runs in a game, the entire current roster was still in elementary school.
The Bulls (8-20, 1-6 Mid-American Conference) had their offense finally break out after slumping the week prior, as they scored a season-high 14 runs en route to a 14-3 victory in the first game of a doubleheader against Toledo (10-24, 3-5 MAC). However, the momentum would not carry over as the Bulls lost the final three games of the weekend.
Buffalo dropped the second game of Friday's double-header 11-9, then played two weekend games against Bowling Green (21-14, 6-2 MAC), dropping both, 3-1 and 8-4, respectively.
The 14 runs were the most runs scored by the Bulls since joining Division-1 in 2000. Buffalo had amassed 13 runs three different times previously, with the last time coming against Syracuse in 2008.
Friday's record-breaking victory snapped a six-game losing skid for the Bulls as they used a first inning three-run homer off the bat of junior third baseman Alyssa Ward to jump out to an early lead. The Bulls then scored nine runs in the third inning, the most in any inning this year. By the end of the contest, every Bull who stepped in the batters box recorded a hit.
Sophomore pitcher Tori Speckman had plenty of run support to work with, and she used it to end the game after five innings due to the mercy rule. Speckman struck out seven batters in the shortened start, her second most of the year.
The Bulls continued their hitting ways as they scored the first five runs in the second game of the doubleheader. However, Toledo was able to match the Bulls' high-powered offense in round two.
Toledo battled back to take a 9-7 lead in the top of seventh inning. But the Bulls scored two to send the game to extra innings. In the eighth, Toledo's Brooke Gates blasted a two-run shot over the wall, giving the Rockets the victory.
"Bowling Green's a team that just doesn't give up," said head coach Jennifer Teague. "Our players have to continue to push themselves and believe in themselves as we cannot just go into coast mode at the plate. We just got to continue to work on that in practice and hopefully, something clicks soon."
The two teams combined for seven home runs and 29 hits in the contest. Buffalo had 17 hits, including four homeruns, but still could not get one in the win column.
"This team can score when they really want to score," Teague said. "Unfortunately, if we don't play superior defense, we lose those games. We continue to have games with double digit hits but we're unable to put a win up on the board and it hurts - it starts to sting a little bit."
The demoralizing loss in Friday's finale seemingly had a lingering effect for the weekend pair of games.
In Sunday's affair, the Falcons jumped on the Bulls, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning. Three of the four runs were unearned due to a pair of errors by Buffalo's infielders.
The Bulls crept back into it and would eventually even the score at four apiece in the bottom of the fourth. However, a three-run seventh inning fueled by another Bulls error put the game out of reach.
"Our defense just wasn't here today," Teague said. "We had decent hitting, decent pitching, we should be winning ball games, but our defense was just a no-show today."
Senior Holly Johnson pitched all seven innings in the series finale for the Bulls. She allowed eight hits, walked seven batters, and struck out seven batters in the process.
The weekend as a whole was a forgettable one for Teague, as she was disappointed with her team's inconsistent play over the course of the weekend. With four of the Bulls' next six games coming against MAC opponents, Teague believes changes need to be made.
"I feel one of the biggest changes that need to be made is that we have to continue to believe in ourselves," Teague said. "They're up and down, and it's kind of like a roller coaster of emotions within each player. They need to continue to demand excellence, not perfection, but excellence from themselves every day."
The Bulls look to turn their season around on Wednesday as they face local rival Canisius (9-21, 2-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) in a double-header starting at 3 p.m. Buffalo is seeking redemption after a tough, 4-3 loss to the Golden Griffins back on March 28.
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