Luck Shines Down on Buffalo

Bottom of the ninth: tied score, two outs, and a full count.

It is the perfect scenario everyone envisions in a baseball game, and it was the exact situation junior first baseman Alex Baldock found himself in Saturday versus Akron.

The Bulls (9-20, 3-8 Mid-American Conference) have seen the other side of this situation, as they have struggled in one-run games and have been subjected to walk-off hits by the opposition. With the game and the series in the balance, Baldock was in position to buck that season long trend, but he popped a seemingly harmless fly ball to shallow left field.

However, it was windy day at Amherst Audubon Field, and the ball hung in the air and carried farther than second baseman Tyler Begun had anticipated, as he started to rapidly backpedal. The ball bounced off the top of his glove and landed in play.

That play gave Buffalo an emotional 7-6 win and a series victory against conference rival Akron (14-21, 7-5 MAC) after thirty-four innings of baseball over two exhausting days. It is the first series win in the MAC for the Bulls since the 2010 season.

"It was great all weekend long, we battled and never gave up," said head coach Ron Torgalski. "A couple of times we were down and we always fought back, tied it, and gave ourselves an opportunity. It was great to have three close games like that to see how we respond."

It was a series capped off with momentum-shifting hits by both teams, and solid pitching by the Bulls starters. Senior pitcher Cameron Copping had a dominant outing in the first game of Friday's doubleheader, throwing for 8 1/3 innings and allowing one unearned run. Copping was in command throughout the contest, keeping the Akron batters off balance, often forcing tentative swings and striking batters out. Copping had eight strikeouts on the day.

Copping, who leads the Bulls in total innings pitched and strikeouts, had been pitching well of late. Head coach Ron Torgalski was not surprised by Copping's effort.

"Cameron threw well again for us," Torgalski said. "This is four conference games in a row that he has really stepped up, he knew that it was a must win situation for us, the ball was in the right man's hands he stepped up and did a great job he pitched ahead all day and was really impressive."

Copping did eventually get into some trouble in the final frame. Akron outfielder Jared Turocy hit a line drive deep to left field, but Buffalo was unable to retrieve a catchable ball as Turocy made it safely in scoring position at second base. The Bulls have lost seven games on their last at-bat this season, and after the double put the winning run at the plate, it looked as though it might be d?(c)j? vu for the home team.

Fortunately for the Bulls, junior relief pitcher River McWilliams came in and slammed the door on Akron, retiring the next two batters he faced and securing the win.

"Usually in a situation like that in the past we made an error and haven't bounced back," Torgalski said. "We were able to put it behind us and finish the game it was great to see guys are learning there getting it done and they didn't let it affect them."

Senior Jeff Thompson came out in the second part of the doubleheader and systematically mowed down Akron's lineup. Thompson had command of his pitches and stayed ahead of batters, throwing strikes early in counts and making batters chase late. He had seven strikeouts on the day, but it couldn't last, as the Zips finally made things interesting, scoring three in the eight and running Thompson.

"I think he ran out of gas, we were pushing him. He was throwing well, he had them off balance, he was in control the whole game and I think he just got tired," Torgalski said.

The Bulls were eventually able to tie the game, and both teams settled down as the game extended for a wild 16 innings in total. The Zips were able to bring a run in at the top of the 16th, as the Bulls could not respond.

For the Bulls the loss was a tough one to swallow, but Torgalski rounded his team up and told them to put it behind them, and that the team that is mentally tougher will come out on top.

His words would prove to be prophetic, as the Bulls were able to take that game and the series.

The Bulls will stay home, as they take on local rival Niagara (13-18, 5-6 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) in a doubleheader at Amherst Audubon Field on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.

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