Rain postponed the Cowgirl Classic last Friday, but when the softball team took the field the following morning for a triple-header, it took two games until the sun shined on the Bulls.
Buffalo (3-4) traveled to Lake Charles, La., for matchups with Louisiana Tech (5-4) and McNeese State (9-6) this past weekend and went 1-2 in the make-up games. They dropped the first contest against Louisiana Tech, 5-2, and then suffered a loss against McNeese State, 9-3. Though the day started off rough, the Bulls ended the weekend on a strong note as they beat the Lady Techsters in a rematch, 10-7.
Head coach Jennifer Teague was surprised with how impressive their opponents were.
"The competition was a lot better than I had anticipated," Teague said. "I knew they were good hitting teams, but I didn't know they were that good of a hitting team. It pushed us more than I had anticipated, and I thought we had responded well for such a young team."
The Bulls were the first to score in game one with an RBI single by junior infielder Alexandra Bejarano in the bottom of the second inning. Senior pitcher Sharon Barr was the beneficiary of the hit. Earlier in the inning she was walked and then advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Alyssa Ward. Buffalo took a quick 1-0 lead, but were unable to hold on.
In the fourth inning, two RBI singles and a walk with the bases loaded gave the Lady Techsters a 3-1 advantage. The following inning, Louisiana Tech tacked on another run and ultimately went on to win 5-2.
Following the game one, the Bulls faced off against McNeese State. The Cowgirls struck first in the third inning, but the Bulls answered when sophomore infielder Terese Diaz hit her first home run of the season in the following inning. This tied the game 1-1, but the deadlock was short lived.
McNeese State responded in the bottom of the frame with three runs of its own. They added four more runs the next inning and went on to win 9-3, sending Buffalo to consecutive losses.
"We knew it was going to be a long day because we played three games," Teague said. "I think trying to find a groove [was difficult]."
In its rematch against Louisiana Tech, Buffalo finally found that groove behind the play of two freshmen. Infielder Jessica Griffin's four RBI's and first career home run along with infielder Andrea Saucier's two RBI's willed the team to its only win of the weekend.
The Bulls struck first in the third, rallying off five runs to take a 5-0 lead. They added to their lead and went into the seventh inning with a comfortable 10-3 advantage, but the Lady Techsters wouldn't go down without a fight. They scored four runs in the final inning which gave Buffalo a scare, but the Bulls hung on behind strong pitching from Barr.
Barr struck out seven batters and pitched the complete game. Coach Teague was impressed with her play throughout the weekend, noting that she threw to some strong hitters.
"Sharon Barr did a great job," Teague said. "Both teams had exceptional hitters and I thought she did a great job in the games that she pitched."
Despite losing two out of three games, it was good to know the Bulls can bounce back from losing.
"[The team] reacted pretty well," Teague said. "We talked to them around the second and third game... about staying close to a team that looks like they're better than us. In the third game there was a ton of urgency. Unfortunately they still put runs up on the board, but didn't affect the game at all... we definitely dominated the game."
The Bulls head west to begin the San Diego classic next weekend. Their first game is against Cal Poly at noon.
"I think we're going to see tough and even tougher teams," Teague said. "Our biggest focus is that we get better every game... and at the end of this year we want to do well in the MAC Tournament."
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Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
