The baseball team has found just about every way to lose this year. It has watched other teams celebrate walk-off victories, its pitching has allowed more runs than the offense can keep up with, and the offense has been completely silent.
On Tuesday, the Bulls (10-22, 3-8 Mid-American Conference) found a new way to lose: they didn't show up to play.
Buffalo lost a doubleheader to Big Four rival Niagara (15-18, 5-6 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) at home, 9-6 and 12-5, giving up 21 runs in just 14 innings. Their bats were unable to keep up with the Purple Eagles'.
"I thought we had some guys that were disinterested," said head coach Ron Torgalski. "They didn't want to be out there today and we are going to correct that. I didn't like our approach. I think we had some guys that thought that we just needed to show up to win and that is never going to happen. We are not good enough to do that."
Torgalski cited the draining emotional conference games that the Bulls played this past weekend against Akron (14-22, 7-5 MAC) as a possible reason for his team's disinterest, but immediately mentioned that Niagara had played this past weekend as well and was just as drained.
The Bulls' pitching, which has been taking steps forward as of late, took a large step backwards. Niagara's 21 runs were just the start, as the pitching staff allowed 21 hits and walked seven batters. Pitching from behind in the count all day, Buffalo didn't challenge hitters and walked too many batters as a result.
A few Bulls had strong performances at the plate despite the team's overall performance. Junior outfielder Jason Kanzler had four hits, two RBIs, and scored two runs in both games combined.
Torgalski gave senior outfielder Jordan Camp the starting spot as the designated hitter in the first game and Camp took advantage, going 2-4 with an RBI.
Sophomore infielder Michael Scarcello went 2-2 with a home run, two RBIs, and a walk.
Despite those strong offensive performances, the Bulls' bats couldn't capitalize in clutch situations. They had a chance to close the gap on the Purple Eagles' five-run lead in the fifth inning of the second game. With one run already in, the Bulls loaded the bases with no outs. The next three batters, Buffalo's 2-3-4 hitters, flied out twice and struck out swinging. They only scored one run as a result and left the inning trailing by four.
All season long Torgalski has attributed the Bulls' struggles to their lack of a go-to guy in the late innings.
"Nobody wants to be the guy to step up and get the big hit," Torgalski said. "And until we get some guys that want to be the guy and want to step up, we are going to continue struggling."
The Bulls face a quick turnaround, as they host Canisius (21-19, 7-2 MAAC) on Wednesday. Torgalski's quick fix is to substitute the guys who lacked energy Tuesday for new players willing to give the team a much-needed boost.
He challenged his guys to come out Wednesday "focused and ready to play." He told them that he was disappointed in their effort on Tuesday, and he thought that it was pretty clear that the whole team needed to be focused and into the game in order to be successful.
The Bulls' game against rival Canisius will take place at Amherst Audubon Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
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