The UB baseball team (3-13, 0-0 MAC) will look to right themselves today against the Canisius Golden Griffins (0-8) in an all-Buffalo doubleheader at Canisius' Demske Sports Complex.
The Bulls will look to best the Golden Griffins, a team against which Buffalo has won five of their last seven meetings, dating back to the 2001 season.
"If we can win a couple of games we will have a ton of confidence going into our conference opener against Akron," said UB's head coach Bill Breene.
UB's second baseman Joe Mihalics, who is currently tops in runs batted in and second on the team with a .417 batting average, is off to a quick start this season, riding an 11-game hitting streak in which he has hit at a .447 clip.
Buffalo will also look to their other main source of power for offense in first baseman James Kingsley. Kingsley leads the team in homeruns, with three on the season.
Because of injuries to Buffalo senior pitchers Dustin Clark and Nick Bellacose, Breene will be sending a pair of freshmen out to the mound for the double-header. Jeff Loveys (0-2, 7.74 ERA) and Mark Tourangeau (1-1, 10.50 ERA) will be looking to befuddle the Canisius hitters.
"Unfortunately, we've had to throw young guys out there that we had hoped to give more time in order to get ready, but because of injury, they've had to play early on," said Breene.
But Tourangeau, a Seattle Mariners 2003 draftee, and Clark have all the confidence in the world of Breene, who thinks they'll be able to fit in quite nicely.
"I'm confident that if our freshmen pitch up to their abilities, we'll be able to be in games, and hopefully they can just get out there and handle the pressure," Breene said.
As for Canisius, they too are struggling mightily on the young season. They come in to the match up with a 0-8 overall record.
The first pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Canisius.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
