Tie game, bottom of the tenth. Two strikes and one ball with two men on base and one out when UB sophomore John Boom stepped to the plate on Sunday afternoon against Marshall pitcher Grant Harper.
"I was expecting a fastball, but the pitcher threw a change-up and I was able to adjust and get the hit," said Boom.
Boom drove a single straight to left field, driving in his teammate, senior Brandon DiCesare for the winning score.
"I swung at a couple of bad pitches, but then he threw me one right down the middle ... I was just trying to hit it hard," said Boom.
When all was said and done, Buffalo split the series with Marshall 2-2. The first two games went to Marshall on Saturday, but the Bulls came back from the losses on Sunday, winning both games of the doubleheader 8-4 and 3-2.
"We played well enough to win and I knew they deserved to win and I was glad they held on and did what they did," said UB head coach Bill Breene.
Buffalo's best chance to end game two of Sunday's doubleheader at the Amherst Pepsi Center came earlier in the bottom of the ninth inning. Bulls' senior Kevin Nesteruk started off by hitting a single. Pinch runner junior Clint McKeever was on third base, and senior Adrian Daniels was on first with two outs when sophomore Phil Vanhorne got up to bat. Vanhorne made contact and it looked as though the ball had found a hole in the defense, but Marshall centerfielder Josh McConnell made a sliding catch to end the inning.
"When you see a guy make a catch like that, you say is it just not meant to be and you start second guessing yourself and you're really feeling sorry for yourself," said Breene.
UB's other two runs were scored by DiCesare and senior Bryan Sanchez in the first inning. Buffalo pitcher senior John Sullivan gave up nine hits in the first seven innings. Sophomore Chris McGraw finished the game, allowing only two hits.
The first game on Sunday was the turning point of the series. The teams went scoreless for four innings, until Marshall scored four in the top of the fifth. When the Bulls came up to bat again, things started to change. Hits led to men on base, which eventually lead to runs. Within the next two innings UB scored eight unanswered runs.
"I can't explain it, it's one of those things ... you say to yourself, 'It's gotta happen to us one of these times. We're going to blow up and we're going to let another team throw it around a little bit,'" said Breene.
Daniels scored the most runs for Buffalo with two, and also batted in two. Junior Brian Zelasko had three RBIs, and a run. The Bulls pitcher junior Nick Bellacose is credited with the win. He pitched six innings, gave up eight hits and made five strikeouts.
"They really challenged themselves. Nick Bellacose was pitching a helluva game and didn't deserve to be down 4-0, and the team just got up and got some momentum," said Breene.
One cannot be expected to make good headway in pursuit of the MAC tournament when the ball is literally thrown away.
The Marshall Thundering Herd was able to top the UB Bulls in two games Saturday afternoon. Both games, a 4-0 victory to open and then a 5-2 win to close, went to Marshall, who just seemed to play better baseball.
In the opener, the Thundering Herd exploded on UB pitcher Dustin Clark for four runs in the fourth inning. It started with a Matt Lafleur solo home run for Marshall. The Thundering Herd quickly followed with two singles and a walk. When a ground ball was sent to short, the throw to first went off target, allowing two more runs to score.
"It's been that way all year. We battle and battle and stay in the game, and then as soon as something happens like that it seems like it just sort of caves in on us," Breene said after the game.
The Bulls produced hits during the game, gathering nine in total, with sophomore Joe Mihalics putting three into play to lead the team. Over the course of the game the team left eight men on base.
The Bulls came closest in the fifth and seventh innings, getting lead off singles from both Brian Zelasko and Adrian Daniels respectively. Those opportunities would be squandered by ground balls and fly outs, as the Bulls ended that contest getting shutout. It was their fourth shutout of the season.
"We're getting the adequate pitching, it just seems that we out-hit this team in the first game and we have nothing to show for it," Breene said.
In game two Marshall got on the scoreboard with an RBI double by Craig Dzidziejko, again in the fourth inning. UB managed to counter with its first run in the series by bringing in John Boom on a single to left by Kevin Nesteruk.
Marshall was the only team able to keep up the momentum as they managed to put four runners across home plate off doubles, walks, and with help from some errant throws by the Bulls defense. In both games, errors turned into runs for the Thundering Herd.
The Bulls attempted to mount a rally in the eighth by getting a lead off a single from Mihalics, who would be brought home by Boom's single to center after a passed ball moved Mihalics to second.
That was all the Bulls could contribute, and the game ended 5-2.
"This is a veteran team, which has got me disturbed," Breene said. "They're a team we should be able to compete against; we just shoot ourselves in the foot."
Breene knows his team is trying and playing hard, but with the season coming down, and with the MAC tournament getting farther and farther away with each loss, the team is now playing tight.
"They are all pressing, I don't think there is any question that they are pressing," he said.
UB is in action next on Tuesday against St. Bonaventure at 2 p.m. at the Pepsi Center.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
