After a rain-soaked Sunday postponement in Kent, Ohio, the University at Buffalo softball team (7-21 overall, 3-4 Mid-American Conference) split a Monday make-up doubleheader against the Kent State Golden Flashes (15-13 overall, 3-2 MAC).
The Bulls lost the first game in a 1-0 nail biter, but were able to rebound and win the second game by the score of 6-4, led by homeruns by two of UB's seniors, Ann Magur and Melissa Pace. The win snapped the seven-game winning streak for the Golden Flashes, who are two games ahead of Buffalo in the MAC East standings.
"Every game during conference play is important and we don't want to look past any (conference) opponents," said Pace. "Anytime we can win a game against a team that is ahead of us in the standings is important."
Game one was a genuine pitchers duel, as Buffalo senior starter Stacey Evans (3-11) went six full innings, and allowed only two hits while striking out four Kent State hitters in the loss. The Golden Flashes were able to take advantage of a UB error in the fifth inning to score their lone run.
KSU pitcher Britney Robinson hit a one-out double to get the ball rolling for the Flashes. Following Robinson was Kent State outfielder Sarah Durkalski, who lined out to Magur in center field. Robinson tagged up and Magur's throw to third base went wide for an error, letting Robinson score.
On the other hand, Buffalo didn't help themselves in the opener by taking a lot of hittable pitches for strikes from Robinson, who has held opposing batters to a .200 batting average this season which is good for second in the MAC.
"We took too many good pitches as a team and got down in the count a lot," said Magur, who went 2-for-3 in the loss. "We had to cut at pitches that we didn't want to swing at. We do much better hitting as a team when we are aggressive."
In the nightcap, Pace got the offense going in the second inning to extend a 1-0 lead for Buffalo. She hit her first homer of the season, pulling the ball over the left-field fence off KSU starter Robinson, who started the second game of the double header and saw her record decline to 6-7 in her second outing of her day.
"I was happy to just hit the ball hard somewhere, and I had no idea that it was going over," said Pace. "Homeruns really spark a team's offense, especially when someone who isn't a homerun hitter, like me, hits one."
Kent State rebounded in the bottom of the inning to temporarily double up the Bulls and take a 2-1 lead. KSU freshman designated hitter Whitney Lebowitz hit a leadoff double and was singled home by junior catcher Ashley Fairhurst to score the first run of the inning. Fairhurst, who advanced to second on the throw home by Magur, came around to score on a single up the middle by junior second baseman Ashley Ball.
In the top of the third, Buffalo used a four run inning to open up a 5-2 lead. Junior shortstop Lauren Picciano led off with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by freshman second baseman Marcy Hansen. Picciano then stole third base and ran the remaining 60 feet home to score on a throwing error by the KSU catcher.
Magur continued the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a single by freshman third baseman Laura Kor. The two then advanced on a wild pitch by Kent State reliever Erin Christopher, who replaced Robinson after 2.1 innings. Buffalo catcher Lacy Schnider drove them both home with a single up the middle.
"What did it for us is that it was the number of times (we) saw Robinson," said head coach Marie Curran. "In our third at-bats, we started to make contact off of her."
Buffalo sophomore starter Sophie Barstad (4-7) singled up the middle to help her own cause, advancing Schneider to third. The freshman backstop then came around to score on a KSU error.
The Golden Flashes drew within one run in the bottom of the fourth inning off of RBI singles by sophomore Sarah Durkalski and freshman Jessica Toocheck. However, a sixth-inning solo homerun by Magur put the game out Kent State's reach.
Stacey Evans, who entered the game to relieve Barstad in the fifth inning, allowed only one more hit while striking out three KSU batters over three innings of work to earn her first save of the season.
"Stacey is one of those players who is really hard on themselves She did her job yesterday by coming in and pitching well," said Curran. "I would say she pitched the best ten innings of her season yesterday, and she definitely pitched her best curveball of her senior year."
In the win, Barstad allowed seven hits and struck out four, but saw her earned-run average raise from 2.74 to 2.86. For Kent State, Christopher pitched 4.2 innings of relief, allowing five hits and one earned run while striking out seven UB batters.
The hot-hitting Magur went 3-for-6 in the doubleheader, plated two runs, and belted the late homer - her first of the season. Magur has hit a stellar .700 (7-for-10) with six RBIs in her last three games, and now finally feels that she has hit her stride after a slow start this season, highlighted by a ten-game injury.
"It's been awhile, but right now I feel really comfortable at the plate," said Magur. "I have always been a consistent hitter, and finally that hitter is back, hopefully here to stay for the rest of my career."
The Bulls, who have won three of their last five games, hope to carry their recent string of good softball into their home-opener today against local rival Canisius (3-7 overall) at 3 p.m. The game is set to be played at Nan Harvey Field today, weather permitting.
