Offense Finally Arrives as UB Salvages One of Two Games From Le Moyne

All season the UB baseball team has been looking for something to spark their stagnant offense. They may have found whatever it was they were looking for during the second half of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Le Moyne Dolphins at the Amherst Pepsi Center.

The games, which were the home openers for the Bulls, were as different as night and day. The first game was a disappointing loss for Buffalo. They were unable to do anything on offense and blew a 3-1 lead in the seventh inning, eventually losing the game 6-3.

The second game was a totally different story as the Bulls broke out of their season long slump and scored 14 runs on 15 hits, en route to a 14-9 victory.

UB scored early and often in the second game. Phil Vanhorne, who has been the Bulls offensive leader this season, went 3-5 with four RBI, two runs scored and one stolen base.

Vanhorne started the scoring in the first when he scored on an errant throw by Le Moyne shortstop Anthony Aquillino. An inning later he smacked a double into left center field, driving in two runs.

"I've been seeing the ball real well," said Vanhorne. "And I'm not thinking about much while I'm at the plate."

Vanhorne continued to see the ball well in the third inning. He hit a hard single up the middle that scored two more runs. He then went on to steal second and eventually score on another Le Moyne error.

The Bulls, who saw eight different pitchers in the seven inning game, also got good production from the struggling duo of Joe Mihalics and Chris McGraw.

Prior to Wednesday, Mihalics was hitting just .183, which was good compared to McGraw's .038 average. But, in the second game, McGraw went 4-4 with two RBI and four runs scored. Mihalics was nearly as good, going 3-4 with four RBI and two runs scored.

The Bulls got a strong start from freshman Jeff Loveys (1-2), who earned his first career victory. Loveys pitched six and 1/3 innings, striking out four and allowing eight earned runs on 13 hits.

Chad Sidmore (0-1) earned the loss for the Dolphins, even though it was Nick Marascia's brutal start that put Le Moyne down early. Marascia allowed six runs, two earned, in the first two innings.

The Bulls were up 12-4 heading into the sixth but had trouble putting the nail in the coffin. Loveys allowed three runs to score in the sixth and then got into more trouble in the seventh. With one out, Loveys allowed back to back singles and was pulled from the game.

In came Buffalo's Tyler Balentine to close the game out. Balentine, however, allowed Andre Enriquez a hit that drove in both runs and cut the lead to 14-9. It was as close as the Dolphins would get as Balentine eventually worked his way out of the inning and gave the Bulls their first home victory of the season.

"We broke out and started hitting the ball well," said head coach Bill Breene. "I'm not really concerned about the charge they made at the end. We were making some substitutions and we had a freshman on the mound who we let go longer than we would if the game was closer."

The first game of the double header was almost the exact opposite of the second. The Bulls were unable to create much offensively and this time, couldn't hold off the Le Moyne rally.

UB wasted a terrific start by James Mantzanis, who was starting his first game of the year. Mantzanis went 5 and 1/3 innings, allowing one run on four hits.

Mantzanis, who left the game in the sixth with a 3-1 lead, was replaced by Dustin Clark (1-2). Clark, who took the loss for UB, got out of the sixth with little trouble. But, in the seventh, he and Mark McMahon combined to allow five runs on just one hit.

The seventh inning was full of UB errors. Clark walked in a run and catcher Brandon DiCesare threw away a ball on a sacrifice bunt. DiCesare allowed a McMahon pitch to get past him and gave Le Moyne a run. Then McMahon threw a wild pitch that allowed another runner to score.

Breene says that although the pitching was not outstanding, the game was lost because the team was unable to hit and make routine plays.

"We've been giving up five or six runs every game," said Breene. "In the era of the aluminum bat that should be enough to win. This is a veteran team and veterans should make veteran plays That's the reason we didn't get two wins today."

Vanhorne was the star of the day for UB. He went 3-4 with a run scored in the game. His line for the day read 6-9 with four RBIs, three runs scored, and a stolen base.

As a team the Bulls were 23 of 60 on the day, for a .383 team average. That number is .170 points higher than their season average.

"We've finally broken out," said Breene. "I know this team can hit and I think this is a sign that they've snapped out of it."

This Saturday and Sunday, the Bulls host a two-game series, their first home conference series of the season, against the Northern Illinois Huskies at the Pepsi Center. Both games start at 1 p.m.