Bulls splits first two games of Akron series

It was a series of highs and lows for Bulls baseball during the first two games of a three-game set with Mid-American Conference rival Akron.

The baseball team split the first two games of the weekend series with the Zips on Friday and Saturday. Buffalo dropped Friday's game, 7-5, but came from behind to win Saturday's game, 7-6.

"As you can imagine, I wasn't real happy with Friday's results," said Buffalo head coach Bill Breene. "We basically outplayed them for seven-and-a-half innings and in the bottom of the eighth we self-destructed."

"On the other hand you have Saturday's effort," Breene continued. "Adam (Ruszkowski) threw very well and kept us in the game. We were down a couple times but we battled back and took the lead and the bullpen really stepped up. I was very pleased with the way they rebounded from a pretty devastating game."

Saturday started well for the Bulls with their offense jumping on Akron's pitching early.

In their first turn at bat, the Bulls (11-28, 3-13 MAC) got on the board twice for a 2-0 lead. A sacrifice bunt by senior centerfielder Carl Aquila scored freshman left fielder Eric Flynn and a groundout by senior first-baseman James Kingsley brought freshman shortstop Brad Agustin across the plate.

Buffalo scored twice again in the top of the fourth. Kingsley led off the inning with a double to right and junior catcher Dan Quinn cleared the bases with a two-run blast to give the Bulls a 4-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth.

The Bulls also received a spectacular pitching effort from senior weekend starter Sean McWilliams. The right-hander shut out the Zips until the bottom of the fifth inning when designated hitter Rashard Graves got Akron back in it with a two-run home run to left.

After that, McWilliams kept the Zips (11-26, 5-11 MAC) off the scoreboard until the bottom of the eighth-when things started to unravel for the Bulls. The Zips took the lead from the Bulls thanks in large part to four Buffalo errors.

McWilliams finished with a career-high 12 strikeouts and only one base-on-balls through seven innings pitched. He gave up five runs, only three earned, while scattering seven hits throughout the day.

"It had to be one of the most dominant performances I've seen from a UB pitcher since we started the program," Breene said. "He was spotting his fastball and using his slider as his primary out-pitch. He pitched one of the best games I've seen for a Buffalo Bull."

A single, an error by Agustin and a walk loaded the bases for Akron and McWilliams was pulled in favor of freshman right-hander Zach Anderson. Anderson got his first batter to ground to short, but a second Agustin error allowed for an Akron run to cross the plate.

With the following batter, a hit to left field was misplayed by freshman right fielder James Piazza and three unearned runs crossed the plate. An RBI double concluded the Zips' run and Anderson was pulled for freshman right-hander Steve Geltz, who closed the inning out with two strikeouts and a walk.

"You sit there and it's kind of a hopeless feeling," Breene said. "I made a couple of trips to the mound and got my infield together. I couldn't say anything to my pitchers; I thought they were doing well. I was more yapping at the fielders and trying to get them going and calm them down."

A leadoff single in the top of the ninth was the only hit the Bulls got as Akron's starter Ross Liersemann closed out the ninth for a complete game. The senior got the win for Akron, tossing nine innings and giving up five runs, four earned, on eight hits. Liersemann also struck out 10 while walking only one.

Anderson took the loss for the Bulls, allowing two runs, one earned in one-third of an inning pitched while striking out one and walking none.

Saturday's game was scoreless through three with Buffalo's junior right-hander Ruszkowski and Akron's Tom Farmer both pitching masterfully through the first third of the game.

Akron opened the scoring in the bottom half of the fourth inning as designated hitter Doug McNulty took Ruszkowski deep with a man on. The two-run shot gave Akron an early 2-0 lead.

Buffalo responded quickly with two of their own in the following inning. Agustin picked up one of his game-high five RBIs with a single and later scored on a groundout Kingsley.

With the score knotted at two in the bottom of the fifth, a sacrifice fly and an RBI single put Akron back on top by a score of 4-2.

After a scoreless inning on both sides, Buffalo began its two-inning rally in the top frame of the seventh. An Agustin homerun brought in Eric Flynn as Buffalo tied the score at four. Sophomore second baseman Mike Folli put the Bulls ahead with an RBI double that scored Kingsley.

Akron refused to go away and doubled and singled in a run off senior righty Matt Johnson to once again regain the lead, 6-5.

Down one in the top half of the eighth, Agustin concluded his monster day with a two-RBI double down the right field line that scored Flynn and sophomore catcher Rick Oliveri.

"He hit the clutch home run, he had five RBIs and he played well defensively," Breene said. "We knew that when we recruited him that he was going to be one of the freshmen that we threw out there every day no matter how he was playing because he has the chance to become a pretty good Division I baseball player the next two or three years. He's going to be a cornerstone of our infield for the next two or three years."

After entering the game in the bottom of the seventh, Geltz closed out the game for the Bulls and picked up the win.

Patrick Gliha took the loss for the Zips. Gliha pitched two innings and gave up two runs on four hits with no walks or strikeouts.

Buffalo's next match will come at LeMoyne on Wednesday. The Bulls are set to face the Dolphins in a doubleheader. The first pitch is set for 1:30 p.m.