The Bulls can't seem to get in the groove of things.
The softball team (18-17, 1-9 Mid-American Conference) entered Friday's double-header with MAC rival Akron (23-13, 6-3 MAC) struggling. They had lost six of their last seven games, and by the end of the weekend that number would increase to 10 of their last 11.
Game one saw a pitcher's duel that entered the eighth inning with both teams combining for a measly three hits. Akron's bats woke up and defeated the Buffalo women 3-0 in the extra frame. The hitting carried right onto game two for Akron as they racked up the runs eventually won 8-1.
Against Ohio (15-17, 5-6 MAC), the Bulls' struggles continued. They dropped their first contest on Saturday with a 6-5 loss and followed Sunday with a 4-2 defeat.
Unfortunately for Buffalo, both games against Akron displayed just how bad the team is doing offensively.
"We just do not get it right now," said head coach Jennifer Teague. "We were not ready to hit today and we made Akron's pitchers look better than they were. We have to get back to practice and work harder on hitting."
The first game featured the pitching of freshman Terese Diaz. Diaz battled Akron's Andrea Arney pitch-for-pitch. Both hurlers saw no-hitter bids extinguished late in the game.
Buffalo had an opportunity to end the game in the seventh inning when freshman catcher Kristin Waldron singled to center and proceeded to steal second with no outs. The Bulls could only manage a ground out to the pitcher, a strike out and a pop up to the second baseman, sending the game to extra innings.
Akron took full advantage in their half of the eighth. The Zips began the inning off with a single and immediately scored with an RBI double. Akron's Lisa McLean then singled and attempted to steal second. The throw from the catcher glanced off of the fielder's glove and rolled into centerfield, allowing Akron's second run to score.
The Zips would tack on one more run in the inning and shut down the Bulls in the bottom half of the eighth for the 3-0 win.
After the first game, Buffalo was left wondering what happened in that eighth inning.
"They took advantage of some opportunities that we gave them," Teague said. "Diaz did a great job pitching but after that botched first and third play things just snowballed from there."
The second game would also see one big inning from the Zips take the wind out of the Bulls' sails.
Akron began the scoring in the third as they connected for an RBI single off of Buffalo junior pitcher Sharon Barr. After a fourth inning in which Buffalo's defense was put on display with a great 6-3 double play, the Akron bats went to work in the fifth.
The Zips loaded the bases with only one out and McLean connected for an RBI single. Barr issued a walk that forced in another run, increasing Akron's lead to 3-0.
Buffalo countered in their half of the fifth. Waldron singled, stole second and scored Buffalo's only run on a miscue by the Zips' third baseman.
Akron's sixth inning was a hitting show that forced Barr out of the game. The Zips put together a six-hit, five-run rally that was helped by one Buffalo error. Buffalo stringed a few hits together in the final two innings but could not cross the plate and the game ended 8-1 in favor of Akron.
After the game, a distraught Teague questioned her team's performance.
"[Barr] has been up and down recently," she said. "She's got to get that bulldog mentality that she had earlier in the year."
Overall, the day featured many negatives for the team, but a few positives surprisingly sprung up.
"We allowed Akron to get better today," Teague said. "Once they got that lead in game two they were putting in backups and they were practicing their bunting, it was very frustrating... One thing we did do well was how we contained their runners. I thought we did a good job slowing down their running game and not allowing stolen bases to be a problem."
The next day, Buffalo could not recover from the doubleheader loss. The Bulls didn't have one last push in them, as they fell to the Ohio Bobcats on Saturday, 6-5. Buffalo was only able to muster two runs in their last ups in the bottom of the seventh inning, but failed to score a third to force extra innings.
Diaz started on the mound for Buffalo and held the Bobcats scoreless for three innings. The Bulls' offense exploded in the bottom half of the third. After back-to-back singles with one out from Gallipani and sophomore outfielder Candice Sheehan, sophomore outfielder Jaime Sheffler came through with a fielder's choice that brought in Gallipani.
After Sheffler stole her fourth base of the season, freshman infielder Kristin Waldron hit one back to the pitcher that resulted in an error and a Sheehan run. Diaz helped herself with a two out single to center to pick up an RBI and give her a 3-0 cushion.
Diaz lost control in the top of the fourth inning. She hit a Bobcat, who ended up scoring on a single and a throwing error. She calmed down and only let up one more run, as Ohio cut the Buffalo lead to one.
The Bulls' next two turns at bat were uneventful as they went down one-two-three in the fourth inning and stranded one runner on base in the fifth inning.
Ohio opened the floodgates in the sixth. They knocked Diaz out of the game and piled up four runs in the process, taking the lead 6-3. Buffalo and Ohio went three up and three down in the bottom of the sixth and the top of the seventh, giving Buffalo three outs to come back.
The Bulls started off strong with a leadoff single from sophomore pinch hitter Alex Bejarano. Gallipani got on with an infield single and Sheehan moved the runners over with a groundout. Zilka came to the plate with two on and two out and connected for a single to right to bring in two runs. With Zilka on second, Waldron came up to bat, and lined out to left field, ending the game as well as Buffalo's late game heroics.
In the second game of the two-game series on Sunday, the Bulls fell to the Bobcats, 4-2. While the loss extended Buffalo's losing streak to four games, there was some good that came from the event. Waldron earned her first career home run, while going 2-for-4 at the plate.
???Ohio quickly came out firing, earning a quick pair of runs thanks to Melissa Bonner's two-run homer in the top of the first inning. While the Bulls came close to tying, Ohio scored two more runs in the top of the second to increase their lead to three runs.
???Waldron's first home run was earned in the bottom of the third, but it was the last time the Bulls scored the rest of the game.
???The Bulls fell to 1-8 in their conference, and 18-16 overall on the year.
See Friday's issue of The Spectrum for coverage of Tuesday's doubleheader at Pittsburgh.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
