Baseball gets burned

The Buffalo baseball team didn't return from spring break with sun burns, hangovers and empty wallets, but the Bulls did come back with eight losses, just one win, and the desire for some much-needed rest.

Buffalo dropped three games against Southern Mississippi, another three to New Orleans, and one apiece to Alcorn State and Southeastern Louisiana. The Bulls picked up their lone victory in 12-4 fashion against Loyola (New Orleans).

Although the trip was all business for the Bulls, they witnessed things far more important than the game of baseball.

"Would they rather be on the beach drinking beer? My guess is probably not," said Bulls head coach Bill Breene. "They got an opportunity to see New Orleans and the devastation and everything that went on down there with Katrina. They got a good perspective of how fortunate they are to be traveling around playing baseball. Things like that are educational for them. Is it spring break? Yes. But by the same token, they're doing some things that other students aren't getting the opportunity to do."

The Bulls squared off against head coach Bill Breene's alma mater Southern Mississippi (16-5) in the first series of the road trip. Buffalo (4-14) appeared to be overmatched on paper by the 24th-ranked Golden Eagles, and proved to be overmatched on the field as well.

After dropping the first contest 13-3, the Bulls sent their ace to the hill in game two, and one of their more consistent pitchers thus far to the mound in game three, but each was overmatched by the Golden Eagles' powerful offense.

"We didn't have a lot of success against Southern Miss. They're just a damn good baseball team and they kind of got all over us," Breene said.

Senior pitcher Sean McWilliams started game two for Buffalo, where the Bulls were routed 21-3. The team faired no better in the series finale with freshman starter Steve Geltz on the mound. The Golden Eagles won 14-2 and completed their three-game sweep.

Buffalo's rough road trip continued when the Bulls were dealt two more losses. First, a 12-8 loss at the hands of Alcorn State (12-5) on Tuesday and then a 5-3 loss against Southeastern Louisiana (10-10) on Wednesday.

The Bulls entered their sixth game in as many days looking to nab their first victory against Loyola. Neither team scored during the first five innings, but Buffalo exploded for eight runs in the sixth.

Junior starting pitcher Adam Ruszkowski shut down Loyola for seven innings, allowing only one run and four hits in seven innings pitched.

Buffalo tacked on two more runs in the eighth and the ninth and took a 12-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Loyola (12-15) scored one run, but was unable to build a rally and the Bulls won their first game of the road trip, 12-4.

Buffalo's hopes of building a win streak were quickly erased by New Orleans on Friday and Saturday. The Privateers defeated the Bulls by scores of 8-1 and 14-3 in games one and two of the three-game series.

Hoping to return to Buffalo on a winning note, the Bulls battled New Orleans (13-9) once more in the final game of their road trip.

Buffalo was shut out over the first four innings of the game but the Bulls then posted runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. The Bulls scored two runs in the fifth, one run in the sixth on a solo homerun by junior catcher Dan Quinn, tacked on two more runs in the seventh giving the Bulls a 5-3 lead at the end of the seventh inning.

Both teams failed to score in the next inning and Buffalo put another zero on the board in the top half of the ninth.

In the bottom of the ninth Buffalo surrendered three runs without recording an out in the inning and lost the game 6-5.

"The first two batters in the ninth got on base," Breene said. "I made a switch, just played a hunch and went with Adam Ruszkowski to try to calm things down. He walked the bases loaded, gave up the tying hit, and the next hitter singled up to middle to win it. Next thing you know, it's 6-5, game's over."

The Bulls return to Buffalo for their first home games of the season this weekend. Buffalo begins Mid-American Conference play with a three-game series against Central Michigan at Amherst Audubon Field. Games are scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m.