As the Bulls' baseball season approaches its midpoint, the team is still looking to overcome a few important obstacles. When the Bulls take the field this weekend, one goal will be to attain their first Mid-American Conference victory.
The three-game series against Toledo will also yield an opportunity to record their first home win of the 2006 campaign.
Buffalo finds itself looking for many firsts late in the season due much in part to inconsistent play. When the Bulls embarked on a trip down South over spring break, they left town with a 3-6 record. Since March 10, however, the team has lost 14 of 16 games. During the stretch, Buffalo has dropped its first six MAC games as well as its three home games.
"I think it's something we are hoping would have been done already," said Bulls head coach Bill Breene. "For confidence of the team, a win is critical. The MAC takes the top six teams for the tournament and typically it takes nine to 11 wins. To get a couple this weekend would put us in that race. The kids want it, the coaching staff wants it."
Senior second baseman Mike Folli has certainly played as if he wants it. Folli enters the weekend as the only Buffalo hitter batting over .300. Folli is batting .326, and also leads the Bulls in a majority of other statistical categories including runs, hits, total bases, slugging, on-base percentage, and stolen bases. Folli is also tied for first in the MAC in triples.
While Folli's production remains constant, it will take more than his bright play alone to lead Buffalo (5-20, 0-6 MAC) past Toledo. Many other Bulls hitters such as junior catcher Dan Quinn, who leads the Bulls with four homeruns, and senior first baseman James Kingsley will have to shoulder some of the load on offense if Buffalo hopes to overcome Toledo's strong pitching staff.
"We're struggling offensively," Breene said. "We need to fix that. We've got to get it to where we have more than a couple people contributing on a regular basis. We need to score runs. Six or seven players are struggling."
"Only a couple are doing what they're supposed to. It needs to be the other way around," Breene said. "A couple veterans and new guys are still looking to contribute. Once they can find themselves, we'll be set."
The Rockets (13-10, 4-2 MAC) enter the weekend tied for third in the MAC, and their strong pitching is much of the reason. Toledo ranks third in the conference with a 3.53 team ERA, and the Bulls rank dead last in batting average. As a team, Buffalo is hitting just .239.
A man with a name made for baseball leads the Rockets pitching staff. Sophomore starting pitcher Kyle Rawlings has an ERA of 1.96 ranking third in MAC, his four wins are tied for second in the conference, and the southpaw leads the league in batting average against.
Although Rawlings has been the team's best starter, there is little drop-off in talent between him and the second and third starters. Sophomore Levi Curry has an ERA of 3.09, and senior Joe Welsh isn't far behind with a 3.11 ERA.
Junior closer Joe Roberts is arguably the best in the MAC. Roberts leads the MAC in saves with eight, and has posted an ERA of just 2.79 this season.
Buffalo's pitching ranks near the bottom of the league in many statistical categories, including ERA. None of the Bulls' three starters have posted an ERA under 5.0, but they have had success striking out opposing batters. As a team, Buffalo ranks second in the MAC in strikeouts.
While the Bulls have had trouble keeping teams off the scoreboard this season, the Rockets have had trouble putting up runs. Toledo has been able to win 13 games this season with a team batting average of just .264. The Rockets rank in the bottom four of the conference in batting average and last in runs scored.
The Rockets will invade Amherst Audubon Field playing just over .500 baseball over their last 10 games. Buffalo is 1-9 over the same stretch.
Buffalo remains the only winless team in MAC play. But if Toledo continues to encounter difficulty scoring runs and Folli's supporting cast help touch up one of the Rockets' three aces for some runs, the Bulls may very well bring home their first home and MAC win of the season
"It's going to come sometime," Breene said. "It may as well come tomorrow. They're a solid team playing fairly well at this point. They're not going to make a whole lot of mistakes. We've got to play clean defensively, score some runs, and minimize their offensive output, and we'll have a chance to win. If our kids put it all together, we've got an opportunity to win games this weekend."
Despite the poor start, there is still hope in Buffalo for a successful season. Beating Toledo once or twice this weekend to pick up a conference victory or two would put the Bulls a lot closer to where they want to be: looking down, not up, at teams in the standings.
The three games span Friday, Saturday, and Sunday this weekend at Amherst Audubon Field. Friday's game is set for 3 p.m., and games Saturday and Sunday are scheduled for 1 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
