A late inning rally was not enough to prevent the Buffalo baseball team from losing its fourth straight game on Tuesday afternoon. The Bulls got off to a poor start, falling behind 9-2 before beginning their comeback against the Le Moyne Dolphins, pulling within one before losing 10-9.
The Bulls (5-15) opened up the first inning with junior second baseman Brian Randazzo walking and junior catcher Rob Mancini hitting a double, sending Randazzo home. Buffalo scored again with junior right fielder Chris Cielsa driving Mancini home, boosting their lead to 2-0.
In the bottom of the first, Le Moyne (9-12) was able to tie up the game with a two-run home run by Corey O'Neill. Le Moyne moved passed the Bulls with a three-run home run by Chris Edmundson in the second inning. The Dolphins tacked on another run in both the third and fourth innings to take their 9-2 advantage.
"Our pitching staff has to be able to step up and limit big innings like that and give us an opportunity and change the momentum," said head coach Ron Torgalski about the first four innings.
The Bulls rallied back in the fifth inning with an RBI single by Randazzo, which sent sophomore designated hitter Trevor Blair to home plate. Mancini then drove in senior left fielder E.J. Folli with a single, to cut the margin to 9-4.
The Dolphins scored a run in the bottom of the fifth, making the score 10-4, but the Bulls battled back again in the sixth, scoring two more runs with senior first basemen Nick Walczak hitting a home run to center field, and sophomore center fielder Adam Skonieczki hitting a single and coming home off of Folli's sacrifice-fly.
Drilling the ball over the left field wall, Mancini added to his RBI total with a home run in the seventh inning. Ciesla followed later in the inning with a two-run home run sending junior shortstop Jacob Rosenbeck and himself across home plate.
"Our bats came alive, our pitching stepped up and started to shut them down and allowed our bats to take over," Torgalski said about his team's transition from the first four innings to the last five. "One positive aspect was the fact that we didn't pack it in...the fact that even being down 9-2 we didn't quit, we didn't give up, we played hard and we gave ourselves an opportunity for a win at the end."
Junior pitcher Steve Geltz did a good job keeping the Bulls in the game by pitching two scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth. Even though Buffalo cut Le Moyne's lead, they were unable to score in the eighth or ninth inning and ultimately lost the game.
"Offensively, both Chris Ciesla and Rob Mancini have been swinging the bat real well, they've both been hitting close to .350, knocking in some runs for us. Being RBI guys, those two on the offensive end have really stepped up as well. Pitching wise, Jeff Hains and Mike Stangroom have both been throwing it real well," Torgalski said.
Torgalski hopes to move past this game and has new goals for the future games, including their upcoming game against Central Michigan.
"Central Michigan is a team we haven't beaten in three or four years. They were one of the top teams in the conference the past couple of seasons. They have a lot of guys back and we need to be ready," Torgalski said. "We need our pitchers to step up and we need to be able to swing the bats. Defensively the last few times, we've been playing better and we need to be focused for nine innings to have a chance against these guys." Torgalski said.
The Bulls will next appear and host Central Michigan in a MAC doubleheader this Sunday, March 30 at 12 p.m. in Olean, NY at St. Bonaventure's Handler Park at McGraw-Jennings Field.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
