"Bulls, Bobcats reach stalemate"

At around 3 p.m. on Friday, the first pitch was thrown to start the game between the Bulls and the Bobcats.

Four errors, 24 hits, 16 runs and 12 1/2 innings later, there was no final result. Buffalo (11-19-1 overall, 1-6-1 Mid-American Conference) and Ohio (17-14-1 overall, 6-4-1 MAC) battled to an 8-8 tie.

The game was called a tie after the top half of the 13th inning due to the impending inclement weather in Buffalo. Competition was originally rescheduled for Saturday, but the games on Saturday were canceled because of the continuous bad weather. Due to the distance between Buffalo and Athens, Ohio, the games will not be made up.

Friday's game between the Bulls and the Bobcats was a hard-fought bout that saw two lead changes before it was through. Bulls starting pitcher Matt Johnson threw six full innings and left the game with the Bulls down 4-2. Johnson gave up three earned runs and six hits while striking out three.

Entering the bottom of the eighth inning, the Bulls were down by a hefty four run margin, but they were able to chase Ohio starter Derek Witt out of the game.

Witt started the inning by getting two quick fly-outs, but those would be the last two outs he would record. It started with a walk to Mike Folli, a single by Phil Vanhorne, another single by Joe Mihalics to score Folli, which in turn set up a big situation for James Kingsley, who stepped up to the plate, blasting a three-run homerun. After Kingsley's round-tripper, the Bulls were able to get one more run off of an RBI single by Mike Connelly.

The Bulls' offense had been disappointing in the last few games leading up to this match-up with Ohio. Additionally, the team's intensity had been called into question by its head coach, Bill Breene, after their last game against St. Bonaventure.

"We had a team meeting after Wednesday's St. Bonaventure game, to kind of talk some things over, and everybody said what they had to say, and I think they came out with a little better attitude, more intensity definitely," said Breene.

That offensive surge gave the Bulls a 7-6 lead going into the ninth inning.

Adam Ruszkowski, who had already given up two runs, gave up the Bulls' first and only lead of the game in the top of the ninth.

UB answered Ohio, however, and was then able to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI triple by Mihalics to score Vanhorne.

That sent the game to extra innings, as Sean McWilliams replaced Ruszkowski on the mound with one out in the ninth inning. McWilliams did not give up a run over 3.2 innings pitched, though he did find himself in a few tough situations, he was ultimately able to pitch his way out of a handful of jams including two walks and two hit batters.

"I thought (McWilliams) did a great job," said Breene. "Ohio had runners on base in a number of the extra innings and he kept the ball down, he put it around the plate, and he got outs when he needed to get outs."

Of course, this was no surprise for Breene, who has seen McWilliams pitch well in the past. McWilliams has a 4.43 ERA in 12 appearances and 22 innings.

"He's pitched solid for us all year, it was good for him to step up and take over when he did," said Breene.

Although the pitching and the defense were able to hold the Bobcats scoreless, the Bulls were not able to make an offensive run to bring home the victory.

"We were playing them heads up," said Breene. "We had a couple opportunities to win the game in extra innings, but unfortunately Mother Nature stepped in."

In the eleventh inning the Bulls had a leadoff single, but that was squandered as the next batter gave up an out on a sacrifice bunt, Vanhorne struck out and Kingsley hit into a force-play at second base to end the inning.

"I think they were a little disappointed because we did have opportunities in both the 11th and the 12th to score a run," said Breene. "But I don't think this is anything that will shake them up emotionally."

The Bulls were held scoreless and they were able to hold the Bobcats scoreless through the duration of extra innings as the weather worsened after the top half of the 13th inning and Buffalo was never able to even come to bat in the 13th before the game was called.

UB will be in action again on Tuesday for its first game in the Big 4 tournament against St. Bonaventure.

"The way we were playing over the weekend, it helped us get out of our slide," said Breene. "Certainly playing Saturday and Sunday could've helped us, but the other schools were in the same boat we were, getting canceled, it's not like any of the four are at a disadvantage."

The game against the Bonnies serves as a rematch of last Wednesday's game where the Bulls dropped a 6-1, six-inning decision, losing their seventh game in a row.