On Sunday afternoon, the Buffalo baseball team fell in their final game of a three-game series against Ball State, faltering to the Cardinals 9-3. The Bulls fell in their first two games in a Saturday doubleheader as well, losing 3-1 and 16-1.
"Everything (went wrong)," said head coach Ron Torgalski. "Right now, we're not swinging the bats."
The Cardinals began game three with a bang in the bottom of the first. Dean Anna's double opened the inning, as well as a single by Wayne Bond. Justin Rogers followed with a third-straight Cardinal hit, helping Anna score for Ball State.
The Bulls came back with a pair of runs in the second inning. Junior pitcher Chris Ciesla began the inning with a single up the middle, while senior infielder Nick Walczak followed with a double to right center field. Sophomore third-basemen Shivam Bhan picked up an RBI as Ciesla scored for the Bulls on the play.
Later in the inning, senior outfielder E.J. Folli singled through the right side of the infield, picking up an RBI as Walczak scored.
The Bulls added another run in the third as Ciesla picked up a RBI with a single to right field, which allowed junior third-basemen Jacob Rosenbeck to score. Rosenbeck reached base earlier in the inning due to an error.
Ball State responded in the bottom of the third with three runs to take a 4-3 lead. The Cardinals continued their offensive surge with five runs in the fourth, thanks to a three-run homer from Zach Dygert.
"After the first four innings it was actually already 9-3," Torgalski said. "A couple guys we brought in pitched okay after that. For the most part, we're staying in games, but we're not scoring runs like we need to."
Buffalo pitchers freshman Jesse Reinstein and junior Steve Gelz combined to throw 4.1 innings out of the bullpen, during which they allowed one hit.
"We've got a few guys who are slumping right now, and it just happens that there's three or four of them at the same time," Torgalski said. "We've faced pretty good pitching too, but that's not an excuse. We've got a few guys who are slumping that we count on for production, and we're not getting it right now."
The loss brings the Bulls record to a dismal 7-20, while they are 2-6 in the Mid-American Conference play. Torgalski believes that due to the back-and-forth traveling for games, his team is losing focus.
"The guys are tired because it's been the same routine, we're home for a couple of days than we're right back on the road," he said. "We haven't practiced on our home field yet this year. I think this weekend coming up will be our ninth weekend in a row (away from home). I think our guys have spent more nights in hotels than they have in their own beds. It takes a toll on a guy, especially a 19 or 20-year old kid who is trying to go to school, go to class, and do other things that college kids do."
As the team begins to finally enjoy their home turf, they do not have long to get their feet wet. The Bulls will make their first appearance of the season at Amherst Audubon Field on Wednesday where they will take on the local Niagara Purple Eagles. The game will begin at 3 p.m.
Additional reporting by Alex Rubin, Senior Sports Editor
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
