The 2008 season for the Buffalo softball team began in Arizona as they participated in the Arizona State University Tournament. The Bulls had a tough weekend as they faced off against some very good competition.
"I thought we did a lot of good things for our first time being on the field together," said head coach Marie Curran. "We struggled at certain points in all of the games and just had a few bad innings that really hurt us."
In their first game of the weekend, Buffalo faced off against Iowa but came out on the wrong side of a 6-1 score. The Hawkeyes jumped out to an early lead scoring four runs through the first two innings. In the fourth, Buffalo sophomore outfielder Kristen Gallipani reached on an error and later stole second base. Junior catcher Wendy Sheehan recorded the first hit of her career as she singled to score Gallipani for the Bulls' first run.
After Buffalo crawled within three runs of Iowa, the Hawkeyes added one run in the bottom of the fourth and another in the sixth to secure the victory.
Buffalo junior third baseman Erin Zilka had a solid performance at the plate going 1-for-2 with a walk, while the rest of the team was held to only one other hit: Sheehan's RBI single.
In her first career appearance on the mound for the Bulls, sophomore Katie Ivancich threw a complete game and recorded two strikeouts while giving up only three earned runs.
In the second game, Buffalo faced off against Arizona State, the number two team in the nation. The competition proved to be too strong as the Bulls fell 12-3. The Sun Devils scored seven runs in the first inning, three in the second, and added two more in the third to take an early 12-0 lead.
In the top of the fourth, a pair of two-out walks allowed the Bulls to get on the board after sophomore pitcher Sharon Barr singled through the left side to score freshman Lindsey Hampton.
After holding Arizona State scoreless in the bottom half of the inning, Buffalo added two more runs in the fifth. Freshman pitcher Stephanie Visperas led off the inning by reaching on an error, and freshman second baseman Alex Bejarano recorded her first career RBI as she hit a double that plated Visperas. After senior center fielder Mary Russell reached on another error, a delayed stolen base drew a throw and gave Bejarano time to score the Bulls third run. Buffalo was held scoreless the rest of the match, falling 12-3.
In Buffalo's third game, they faced off against Radford. Buffalo's defense was again sub-par giving up 12 runs for the second consecutive game. The Bulls' offense was not much better as they only scored two runs in their 12-2 loss. Buffalo fell behind early as Radford scored seven runs in the first and added five more in the second.
Buffalo scored one run in the third inning and one in the fifth but it was not enough to overcome the Highlanders substantial 12-0 lead.
Russell and senior shortstop Marcy Hansen both turned in solid performances at the plate, as they finished the game 2-for-3 with one RBI each.
The Bulls battled against conference rival Miami (OH) in their fourth game of the tournament, but fell to the RedHawks 6-1.
Miami grabbed an early lead by scoring one run in the top of the first, but the Bulls kept it close as Bejarano doubled to left and later scored on a single by Hansen. Tied 1-1, Miami put two runs on the board in the bottom of the fourth and three more in the sixth to secure the victory.
Hansen finished the game 2-for-3 with a walk and one RBI. Bejarano added a double and a walk in three plate appearances.
In Buffalo's final game, the Bulls squared off against the Illinois State Redbirds but came up short again, falling 10-0.
Two Buffalo errors helped Illinois State score eight runs in the second inning, and the Redbirds would tack on two more in the fifth for the 10-0 win.
In the loss, the Bulls recorded only three hits as Bejarano and Barr both hit doubles, and Gallipani beat out a bunt. In her collegiate debut, Bejarano had a solid weekend at the plate hitting three doubles and adding an RBI.
"Alex did a very nice job," Curran said. "She did a nice job on defense, and her hits came in key situations and helped start rallies."
The Bulls struggled at the plate all weekend, as they were only able to manufacture 16 hits and seven runs over the course of five games. Buffalo was outscored 46-7 over the weekend tournament.
"We need to be more confident in ourselves," Curran said. "We have to go to play knowing we're going to hit the ball."
In search of their first win of the season, the Bulls play a doubleheader on Feb. 29 in the UT Chattanooga Tournament in Chattanooga, Tenn. The first game is against Morehead State at 2:15 p.m., while the second game is versus Marshal, with first pitch scheduled for 6:45 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
