When Buffalo baseball took the field this weekend, the team was a shell of its usual self, as five players were serving suspensions for a benches-clearing brawl during last Tuesday's match against Canisius.
Fight and all, the game ended in a double forfeit. Playing for the first time since suspensions, there was no scuffle but the Bulls got the same result, another "L" in the loss column and then some, dropping three conference games at Western Michigan.
Buffalo lost Friday's opener 5-0, gave the game away in the seventh inning of Saturday's contest and lost 4-3. They lost the series finale on Sunday 8-3.
Senior James Kingsley fulfilled his suspension by sitting out Friday's game but played on Saturday and Sunday going 2-for-7 at the plate for the weekend.
"He was required to serve his one-game suspension from the Canisius incident," said Bulls head coach Bill Breene. "He missed the game Friday and we only had eight position players on the trip so we fired Shane Wolf in there to play first base."
Breene added that he was embarrassed that the fight happened and was deeply sorry that his team was involved in the incident.
"I would like to apologize on behalf of the team," Breene said. "We're embarrassed about this situation, and it's something that's not going to happen again."
Without Kingsley manning the right corner of the infield on Friday, sophomore starting pitcher Shane Wolf filled in at first base and singled in his first career at-bat but struck out in his other two plate appearances.
"We're going to take a look at him playing both ways. He's a good athlete," Breene said. "We will entertain the idea of expanding his role with us based on what we saw over the weekend. This was a pretty pleasant surprise. That's really all you can ask for."
Although the Bulls had just one less hit, Western Michigan made the most of its opportunities to score runs, and Bronco starter Dan O'Brien held the Buffalo offense in check all day.
O'Brien pitched eight shutout innings, and struck out nine Bulls batters. Only freshman right fielder James Piazza recorded multiple hits, and Buffalo managed just six as a team in the loss.
In game two, Wolf put away the bat and headed back to the mound in an attempt to pitch the Bulls to victory. The southpaw pitched well enough for the win, but a meltdown after he left the game cost Buffalo the game.
Wolf pitched six strong innings, surrendered just one run, and left the game with the Bulls leading 3-1.
"There's no question he pitched well enough for the win," Breene said. "He's pitching well and did a good job nursing the lead for us. He left with a lead, however, unfortunately, the bullpen couldn't keep the lid on it."
Senior reliever Matt Johnson replaced Wolf in the seventh inning and retired the first two batters he faced. With two outs, Johnson then walked a batter and put the next one on base after hitting him with a pitch.
The game-tying runs stood at first and second with two outs, and pinch hitter Neal Miller erased the three-run deficit with one swing of the bat. The freshman drilled a homerun that wound up to be the game-winning hit, and the Broncos (19-13, 7-5 MAC) took a 4-3 lead.
The Bulls squandered a great opportunity in the top of the eighth inning. With runners on second and third and just one out, sophomore second baseman Kevin Nowak flied out to centerfield and freshman left fielder Eric Flynn struck out to end the inning.
"We had an opportunity in the eighth inning to tie the game," Breene said. "We had second and third with one out. A ground ball would have tied the game. We had them back on their heels we just weren't able to get the clutch hit. These are the situations where it's critical to make contact and we just didn't get it done."
After a single by freshman shortstop Brad Agustin and a walk by senior centerfielder Carl Aquila, Buffalo (7-24, 2-10 MAC) had the game-tying run in scoring position with just one out and senior slugger and first baseman James Kingsley at the plate.
In the series finale, Buffalo sent Sean McWilliams to the mound, but the Bulls had trouble keeping Western Michigan off the scoreboard.
The game was tied at one after three innings, but the Broncos scored at least one run in each of the next four innings, and took an 8-1 lead into the eighth.
Buffalo managed to score two runs in the eighth, but the seven-run deficit proved insurmountable and the Bulls lost 8-3.
Up next for Buffalo is a Wednesday doubleheader in Olean against St. Bonaventure. The first game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Bonnies is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
