Baseball and softball take the diamond in DeKalb

Baseball

The baseball team went into April's opening weekend hoping to maintain the momentum it had gained throughout the month of March when Buffalo finished with a winning record of 11-7.
Buffalo started the spring month on the right track by taking two out of three games against Northern Illinois (9-17, 3-3 Mid-American Conference), a team that was dominant against the Bulls (13-11, 3-3 MAC) in past years.
The Huskies came into the weekend series having won 15 straight against Buffalo and extended that streak to 16 on Friday with a 6-1 victory at Ralph McKinzie Field in DeKalb, Ill.
Northern Illinois jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after the first inning, but the Bulls responded in the top of the second with an RBI single from junior outfielder David Neff to cut the score to 2-1.
That was the Buffalo offense mustered on the afternoon as the Huskies' senior pitcher Chuck Lukanen kept the Bulls' bats quiet at the plate. Lukanen threw a complete game and allowed just five Buffalo hits.
On Saturday, however, the Bulls finally put an end to the Huskies' streak with a 3-2 victory. Senior third baseman Jacob Rosenbeck and senior outfielder Adam Skonieczki accounted for the majority of the offense during the matinee matchup.
The senior sluggers both went 3-for-4 from the plate as Rosenbeck drove in Skonieczki twice on RBI singles, including the game-winning run in the top of the seventh.
Senior pitcher Pierre Miville-Deschenes picked up his third win of the year on the mound in the victory. Miville-Deschenes gave up five hits and two runs in six innings pitched. Senior pitcher Brian Pullyblank earned the first save of his career after holding the Huskies scoreless over the final three innings in relief.
While hitters were relatively quiet at the plate during the first two contests, the bats went wild during Sunday's rubber match as Buffalo pulled out an 11-7 win on a windy day in Illinois.
Both teams exchanged early leads before the Bulls pulled ahead 4-3 in the top of the third inning. Northern Illinois responded in the bottom half of the inning with three runs to take 6-4 lead.
Buffalo regained the advantage in the top of the fifth with four runs and never relinquished the lead. Two Northern Illinois mistakes proved costly for the Huskies as a wild pitch and a throwing error helped the Bulls take the 8-6 lead. The host team scored a final run in the bottom half of the fifth to cut the deficit to one, but the rally was short lived as the Bulls added an insurance run in the sixth and two more in the eighth to leave the state of Illinois with a series win.
An offensive boom resulted in 18 hits for the Bulls. Senior second baseman Brad Agustin went 4-for-6 and tied the Buffalo all-time record for runs scored in a career with 136. Freshman catcher Tom Murphy recorded three hits while Rosenbeck finished a strong series in going 2-for-4 with four RBIs. Junior starting pitcher Josh Edwards lasted just two and a third innings before sophomore reliever Kevin Crumb took over the mound. Crumb gave up just one run on two hits in six and two thirds innings.
Buffalo returns home this weekend for a three game series against MAC-leading Toledo at Amherst Audubon Field. Game one is set for Friday at 3 p.m., while games two and three are both set for 1 p.m., on Saturday and Sunday.

Softball

Earning wins over conference-foe Northern Illinois has presented a problem for Buffalo's softball team in past seasons. Saturday, that trend continued as the Huskies bested the Bulls once again, but Sunday they overcame past struggles, beating Northern Illinois on their own field.
The Bulls traveled to DeKalb. Ill. to play a doubleheader on the Mary M. Bell field against the Huskies, a team that Buffalo has only beaten four times in school history.
Buffalo (10-20, 2-2 MAC) traveled home with a split series after falling to NIU (12-20, 2-2 MAC) 8-5 in the opener, and capturing the second game 3-2.
In the first of two games, the Bulls looked poised to pull off a win from the opening pitch. Buffalo put together a nice second inning as they jumped out to an early 5-0 lead.
Freshman infielder Jessica Griffin kicked things off for Buffalo, starting the second inning with a single to left field. Freshman infielder Alyssa Ward then stepped up to the plate and hit her first collegiate homerun to put the Bulls ahead, 2-0.
Junior outfielder Candace Sheehan continued the drive as she reached first base on a fielder's choice. Freshman infielder Ashley Bertot advanced Sheehan to third with a single, and a few pitches later Bertot stole second base, setting up freshman Kristin Waldron's two-run RBI single to left field.
Waldron scored following a string of errors committed by the Huskies. The Bulls' five-run second inning offensive outburst was a welcome change in a season filled with many low-scoring efforts thus far.
However, the Bulls did not add any runs to the scoreboard after the second inning, leaving the door open for the Huskies. Northern Illinois scored two runs in the bottom of the second, three runs in the bottom of the third, and two go-ahead runs in the bottom of the fourth. Northern Illinois added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth on its way to an 8-5 come from behind victory.
On Sunday, the Bulls looked to salvage the weekend with a victory.
Like the first game in the series, Buffalo jumped out to an early lead. Sheehan led off the second inning, advancing to first on a throwing error. Senior outfielder Kristen Gallipanni came on to pinch-run and stole second. Ward then bunted her over to third and senior Jaime Sheffler followed with an RBI single.
The next batter, freshman infielder Andi Saucier, took first after being hit by a pitch. This set up Bertot for a big RBI opportunity. She delivered with a double to deep left field, increasing the Bulls' lead to 3-0.
NIU's senior Michelle Williams led off the fourth inning with a single and scored on a string of Buffalo throwing errors. In the fifth inning freshman Zoe Sinner led off with a double to deep right field and an RBI single off the bat of Jennifer Barnett drove her home.
The score remained 3-2 as senior pitcher Sharon Barr shut the door on Northern Illinois. Barr blanked the Huskies in the final two innings, and the Bulls won for the first time against Northern Illinois since 2005. Barr pitched the final 5.1 innings of the game, striking out four while only walking one batter.
Buffalo's next game is against cross-town rival Canisius on Thursday. The opening pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Canisius' Demske Sports Complex.

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