The women's softball team broke their six game losing streak by bringing back a win from a spilt in their Tuesday doubleheader against St. Bonaventure.
The Bulls shot down the Bonnies, handing them a goose egg in the first game 6-0 only to end up crushed in the second game by St. Bonaventure 8-3.
In the first game, sophomore right fielder Kristen Gallipani put Buffalo in the lead by hitting a home run after two scoreless innings.
With freshman second baseman Alexandra Bejarano on first after a fielding error, freshman outfielder Candice Sheehan walked to first base, moving Bejarano to second. Thanks to another Gallipani homer, the Bulls expanded their lead to 4-0.
Senior pitcher Sharon Barr wasn't throwing any meatballs this game, keeping the Bonnies to only three hits the whole game.
"(Barr) didn't let anything frazzle her at all during the game. She did a really nice job, and again, the key word for the day was focus and Sharon did a really nice job. She hit her spots her and (junior catcher) Erin Zilka and her worked really well calling the game and did a nice job for us behind the plate," said Head Coach Marie Curran.
Both Buffalo and St. Bonaventure remained scoreless during the fifth and sixth innings. Zilka and teammate junior Dana Carter shook things up in the top of the seventh. Zilka hit a triple down the right field line and was sent home by Carter's sacrifice groundout. Buffalo hit their 6-0 lead when senior first baseman Lacy Schneider touched them all with a home run.
"The team played very well and stayed focused the whole game. It was nice to see them put everything together," Curran said. "We knew we had the ability to beat St. Bonaventure."
The Bonnies were not going to hand over another victory to Buffalo as they entered the nightcap scoring the first two runs getting a 2-0 lead. However the Bulls battled back, tying up the score in the second 2-2. Freshman catcher Samantha Bundy made her first season appearance as Buffalo's catcher and hit a single in the beginning of the second. An RBI from senior shortstop Marcy Hansen sent Sheehan to the home from third. Senior center fielder Mary Russell gave the Bulls two runs after coming into home thanks to a St. Bonaventure error.
After Buffalo tied the game, St. Bonaventure took control. They scored six runs in the fourth and fifth innings, giving the Bonnies an 8-2 lead.
Going from a strong win in the first game to a loss in the second game, Curran believed it had to do with the Bonnies' switching up their pitcher.
"Their second pitcher was a lot faster and I really believe that our team enjoys hitting so much that sometimes when we struggle on the plate we bring it to the field. I don't think we had a horrible performance, we just weren't hitting, which really upset the outcome of the game," Curran said.
Bundy started the sixth inning with her second career hit, a double to right center field. Sheehan's single advanced Bundy to third and was then sent home off of Galapani's fifth RBI of the day.
Buffalo finished the inning and the game trailing St. Bonaventure, 8-3.
Curran was overall pleased with her team's performance.
"I thought they did a great job of not letting them take advantages of their errors. If we made an error on field, they really just stood strong. They did a nice job on remaining focused on what they needed to do," Curran said.
For the rest of the season, the team will be working on staying focused and remaining consistent.
"We just need to be consistent every day, to bring our game consistently, to stay consistent hitting pitching and playing defense. I think we'll have a lot of games out there to win this year," Curran said.
The Bulls are back at home on Friday against Miami (OH) in a Mid-American Conference double header at Nan Harvey Field.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
