"Rain, Snow and Officials"

The UB softball team has been stuck practicing inside Alumni Arena due to all the Buffalo snow, obviously limiting the team's ability to get a real practice in.

But, Buffalo finally got a chance to lace up their spikes over the weekend when they traveled to Tennessee for the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Frost Classic.

With some big time competition at the tournament, UB came home with a record of 2-4 in the tournament and 3-5 overall.

The Bulls showed that they can be down, but not out.

Stellar defense helped to keep UB close, but according to their coach, batting keeps them from getting on top.

"We're hitting really well, but we're making people look like defensive all-stars," said Bulls head coach Marie Curran. "We're either hitting it right to them, or they're making the catch of the season already. But we keep telling the girls to keep swinging."

According to freshman Sophie Barstad, the length of the six-game tournament did not seem to have an effect on UB's stamina, but the competition did.

"We have enough pitchers, and that's the biggest thing is keeping pitchers fresh," Barstad said.

According to Barstard, poor officiating got Buffalo out of their groove over the weekend and hindered their batting. Barstad said that they had too many "psych-outs", and they were thinking too much about how the umpires were calling the game, instead of focusing hard on batting which can play a major role in the tempo of the game.

The Bulls dropped some close games to very tough competition Friday and Saturday. Friday they dropped a 6-3 decision to No. 9 Alabama and then were on the wrong side of a 4-2 result against Wisconsin. On Saturday the Bulls dropped a 4-1 loss to Tennessee Tech, before finally getting on track.

Following a thorough 5-1 dismantling of Chattanooga Saturday, the Bulls headed into the final day of the tournament with a little steam.

The Bulls used this momentum to propel them to a 2-1 win against North Texas. Breanne Nasti's stolen base and eventual runs on an Allison Round RBI, combined with a Julie Hibner RBI, gave UB an early 2-0 lead.

North Texas' only run came in the fifth inning when Maureen Kelley crushed a solo home run. Thanks to great defense by Buffalo, and outstanding pitching by Barstad in allowing only four hits, the Bulls were able to maintain their lead and stay on top. The win elevated Barstard's record to 3-1 for the season.

In the last game of the tournament, Tennessee-Martin (7-5) stopped the Bulls' two game winning streak, defeating UB with a close 2-1 victory. The Skyhawks got one run across the plate in the first with an RBI by Nicole Davis, which brought in Brandy Whalen and put them up 1-0.

No other scoring took place until the top of the sixth, when Nasti tied it up with an RBI for Mary Russell, to push the game to extra innings. Jaclyn Brown, of the Skyhawks, was pinch running when Whalen singled to left field for an RBI that scored Brown.

Stacey Evans took the loss, but had a strong day on the mound, only allowing one earned run and striking out eight batters for the game.

With Buffalo weather keeping the softball team inside during the beginning of this season, its hard playing teams who have been playing outside the whole season so far.

The Bulls will have another go at it this weekend, when they travel to Arizona State.

"We're gearing this weekend like we're going to the regional tournament," said Curran.

The Bulls have never played on a PAC-10 field against a PAC-10 team, meaning this should be a new experience for UB.

"New Mexico State, even though their record isn't spectacular, has a lot of talent," said Curran. "They have a new coach so they're putting a lot of new things together, so I'm expecting some really good competition out of them also."

The Bulls will play Arizona State and New Mexico State on Friday, March 5, Saturday, March 6 and Sunday, March 7 for a total of six games.