Bulls split with Bonnies

Before the baseball team headed into their conference schedule, they had one final matchup against a local foe.

Looking to make a statement before they head to the prairie state to take on Northern Illinois, the Bulls went into Olean hoping to dismantle St. Bonaventure in a doubleheader.

Buffalo received only half of its wish.

The Bulls (8-9) fell to the Bonnies (7-4) in the first contest 6-1, but came back for revenge in the second match of the day, defeating St. Bonaventure 18-9.

Head coach Ron Torgalski knew his team wasn't playing up to their potential. He believes that the 6-1 score in the first contest showed it.

"We came out flat, and they pitched well," Torgalski said. "They got their hits at the right time...and took advantage of their base runners."

Junior centerfielder Adam Skonieczki went 2-4 and had the sole RBI of the game.

Senior starting pitcher Chris Ciesla pitched three innings, and gave up two hits, three walks and two earned runs. Junior reliever Chaz Mye pitched the subsequent two innings, and gave up three hits and one earned run. Senior closer Dan Francis, who pitched one inning and gave up two hits, gave up the final two runs.

Putting the game behind them, the Bulls came alive in the second game, hitting circles around the Bonnies. The Bulls doubled St. Bonaventure's output in the second matchup; nearly tripling it had it not been for some runs given up late in the game.

"[In] the second game, we had fifteen hits and nine walks," Torgalski said. "All [of our nine batters] got a hit. We had four different guys with multiple hits. We were just more aggressive at the bat."

Senior third baseman Brian Randazzo and junior first baseman Shivam Bhan both went 2-for-3, senior catcher Devin Greeno went 3-for-4 and senior leftfielder Eric Flynn who went 2-for-5. Greeno and Skonieczki also each added four RBIs.

Torgalski went into these last two games planning to use many of his pitchers, trying to get some work in before the game this weekend. He also was trying to figure out a steady rotation for the rest of the season.

"What we tried to do for the last ten games is trying a lot of guys, trying to develop our depth," Torgalski said. "They have all been throwing for certain roles... we kind of used both games as an opportunity to see when and where certain players should pitch."

Five pitchers were used for the last game against Bonaventure, and a total of eight were used for both games.

Junior Jeffrey Hains started the second game, but only pitched one inning, giving up three hits, a walk and two earned runs. Freshman River McWilliams pitched the most of any pitcher, going through two and a third innings, giving up only one hit and a walk, but allowing three earned.

Senior closer Zach Anderson pitched the final inning and gave up five hits, a walk and the final three earned runs scored in the game.

In hopes to use that final game as a catalyst, Torgalski and his team are patiently waiting to open up conference play at Northern Illinois. He believes that the past 17 games have prepared the Bulls to contend with anyone and feels that if they can get over a few mental lapses, they will have a solid year.

"I think we are ready to get into conference play, the guys are anxious," Torgalski said. "Northern Illinois has played a great schedule. Their record isn't great because they have played three or four top 25 teams, and have competed with them, but have come up short. They will certainly be a challenge."

When Friday arrives and the Bulls head out to Illinois, Torgalski believes that what they experienced through these out-of-conference games will be amplified tenfold.

"Your intensity rises to another level," he said. "You just notice the difference on the weekends."