Men’s tennis (8-5, 1-1 Mid-American Conference)
It’s been one step forward and two steps back for the Bulls.
In the team’s first conference game of the season, Buffalo won 4-3 over Binghamton (9-7, 2-2 MAC). The Bulls swept the doubles part of the event before splitting singles play. Senior Pablo Alvarez was victorious in both doubles and singles play, picking up his 100th victory of his career.
The Bulls couldn’t continue the success, however, falling to No. 67 ranked Western Michigan (15-4, 3-0 MAC) 5-2. The Bulls got the first victory in doubles play, before dropping the next two. The Broncos got the slight edge in singles play, defeating Buffalo 4-3 to secure their victory.
The Bulls remain home to host Toledo (7-13, 0-3 MAC) on Saturday. First match is set for 1 p.m.
Women’s tennis (10-4, 2-0 MAC)
One of the hottest teams on campus, the Bulls are currently riding a four-game winning streak, including a pair of victories over the weekend to start MAC play.
On Friday, the Bulls defeated Toledo (6-9, 0-2 MAC) 6-1. Buffalo swept doubles play and won five of the six singles matches against the Rockets. Each member of the Bulls won at least one match they played in, including five of the six picking up victories in doubles and singles play.
On Sunday, the Bulls defeated Eastern Michigan (3-12, 0-2 MAC) 5-2 to remain perfect in MAC play. For the second straight match, the Bulls swept their opponent in doubles play. The Bulls won four of the six matches, but one of their losses was more notable. Eastern Michigan got one of their victories after junior Margarita Kotok had to retire in the first set.
The Bulls will remain home to face Western Michigan (12-6, 1-1 MAC) on Friday at 1 p.m.
Softball (9-20, 3-0 MAC)
The Bulls are on a hot streak, as they pushed their winning streak to five games before losing to Canisius (8-20) on Tuesday.
This past week, the Bulls swept a three-game series against conference opponent Toledo (5-23, 0-3 MAC). After taking 1-0 and 2-1 victories on Saturday, the Bulls doubled up the Rockets on Sunday to complete the sweep, defeating them by a final score of 6-3. Sophomore pitcher Charlotte Miller started in the first game of the series for Buffalo, throwing seven scoreless innings and striking out three.
In their final game of the series, junior infielder Savanna Norcio finished 2 of 3 at the plate, including a homerun. Sophomore outfielder Danielle Lallos finished 2 of 3 at the dish with one RBI. Freshman pitcher Lace Smith finished with 4.1 innings of work, allowing one earned run and striking out one batter.
On Tuesday, the Bulls lost to the Golden Griffins 4-1 to halt their five-game winning streak. The Golden Griffins scored three runs in the first inning, giving their starting pitcher enough run support to get the victory. Senior third baseman Lauren Gambone finished 1 of 3 at the plate, finishing with the lone RBI for Buffalo.
The Bulls complete their two-game series with Canisius with a game on Wednesday, March 30. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
Baseball (8-11, 2-1 MAC)
The Bulls started off MAC play strong, winning two of three against Toledo last weekend (4-20-1, 1-2 MAC)
After defeating the Rockets 13-7 on Friday and 6-4 on Saturday, the Bulls dropped their last game on Sunday by the score of 3-2.
Friday’s game was only the third time this season the Bulls have scored more than 10 runs. They’ve gone 3-0 in those games. Junior outfielder Vinny Mallaro went 4 of 6 in Friday’s game, as he finished with a homerun and a team-high of five RBIs. Freshman infielder Andrew Taft went 2 of 4 at the plate with two RBIs. Mallaro was named MAC Player of the Week.
The Bulls travel to St. Bonaventure (9-8-1, 1-1-1 Atlantic 10) for a two-game series on Wednesday. It’s the team’s final non-conference series of the season. First pitch for the first game is set for 2 p.m. The second game is set for 4 p.m.
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Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
