The baseball team has limped through the 2011 season. A slow start to conference play has doomed the team to the basement of the Mid-American Conference standings.
On Friday, the Bulls (7-25, 0-11 MAC) continued to stumble and surrendered a combined nine runs in the first three innings of a doubleheader against the visiting Ball State Cardinals (10-23, 7-4 MAC). Buffalo dropped both games, 7-4 and 8-3.
The Bulls' extended their losing streak to 14 games.
Buffalo fell behind 4-0 in game one, and it didn't respond until the third inning. Sophomore catcher Tom Murphy hit a two-run single to cut the Cardinals' lead in half. However, the Bulls failed to capitalize on the momentum.
Their bats were silent for the majority of the game. The Bulls batted only .125 from the fourth to eighth inning.
Buffalo finally got back on the scoreboard when sophomore outfielder Matt Pollock's base hit drove in freshman shortstop Michael Burke and sophomore infielder Alex Baldock. Junior outfielder Daniel Scahill walked, loading the bases for the Bulls.
The Bulls couldn't take advantage of the situation. Sophomore infielder River McWilliams grounded out to shortstop to end the game.
Junior pitcher Kevin Crumb took the loss and fell to 2-6 on the season.
The Bulls faced a tougher situation in the second game, trailing 8-0 by the fourth inning. Ball State's offensive assault prompted head coach Ron Torgalski to make a pitching change.
The adjustment proved to be a good move, as Ball State went scoreless for the remainder of the game. Junior pitcher Kevin Hughes relieved senior pitcher Josh Edwards and recorded two quick outs to keep the Bulls in the game.
Freshman pitcher Daniel Ginader and McWilliams built off of Hughes performance. Ginader threw 1 2/3 innings and surrendered just a hit and a walk. McWilliams added a solid inning of work.
Given the effort of his bullpen, Torgalski was optimistic when discussing his team's future.
Despite the encouraging performances out of the bullpen, the Bulls couldn't find a way to get back into the game. The offense only mustered six hits. Burke and junior infielder Andrew Smietana accounted for four of those hits.
"[The bullpen's strong performance] was great to see," Torgalski said. "Ginader and McWilliams both gave us a chance to stay in it. If they can continue to progress, we'll be a pretty good team down the stretch."
Edwards was hit with the loss and he fell to 1-6 this season.
Buffalo had four errors in the doubleheader, while the Cardinals only had one. The Bulls committed five errors in their last game before facing Ball State.
The finale of the series, scheduled for Sunday, was canceled due to inclement weather.
Next up for the Bulls is a home doubleheader against local rival Niagara (6-27, 3-9, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) on Wednesday. Game one is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
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Photo: Paul Hokanson/UB Athletics
