UB baseball comes home this weekend to get the ball rolling on all fronts, looking for improvement in every statistical category, most importantly their record.
They will attempt to best the RedHawks of Miami (Ohio), who are a tough team to beat on one's best day, and UB will more than likely have their hands full.
Friday afternoon UB (8-21, 3-7 MAC) welcomes Miami (17-16-1, 5-3 MAC) to UB Stadium for a four-game series.
During the last two seasons of MAC play Buffalo has had a difficult time winning a single game in a series against a RedHawks team known for its terrific pitching and strong fundamentals.
"Miami is a team that does not make a lot of mistakes. We have been a team that has a tendency to shoot ourselves in the foot and you just can't do that against a team like Miami," said UB head coach Bill Breene.
Going into the series, Miami has put together a three-game winning streak after convincing wins over Northern Kentucky, Cincinnati and Ball State to help raise their record above .500 for the first time since a 3-2 mark on March 2.
Wednesday afternoon Buffalo dropped two games to St. Bonaventure, as the Bonnies won the first game 20-6 and the second game 7-5.
The RedHawks' pitching staff is led by the as-of-yet undefeated Jason Friedman (3-0, 3.32 ERA), Graham Taylor (3-2, 3.29 ERA), and Sam Shorts (2-2, 4.42 ERA).
To match its pitching, Miami has a strong offensive arsenal, led by David Cook (.359, 51 hits), Mike Carlin (.303, 12 home runs) and a line-up filled with .300 hitters.
In comparison, UB has only one .300 hitter in Joe Mihalics.
Buffalo's starters will be as follows: Dustin Clark (2-3, 6.75), John Sullivan (0-3, 4.82), Nick Bellacose (2-2, 2.73) and Tyler Balentine (0-4, 3.96).
"Coming off the Bonaventure doubleheader it is imperative that our pitchers get the baseball over the plate and get them to put the ball in play," said Breene, obviously upset with the first game beating that the Bulls received courtesy of the Bonnies.
Offensively, Buffalo has been led by Joe Mihalics (.301, 28 hits), Phil Vanhorne (.296, six doubles) and Adrian Daniels (.265, 13 RBI). Breene hopes some of his seniors who have been slumping early in the season will start hitting the ball well.
The series begins this Friday at 3 p.m., continues on Saturday with a double-header that begins at 1 p.m. and concludes on Sunday with the final game at 1 p.m.
