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Buffalo Bulls Baseball downs Western Michigan

After getting the two best teams in the conference out of the Way Buffalo looked to assert themselves against the Western Michigan Broncos in a three game series at Monroe Community College.

By Tim Riordan

It could be said that this weekend "Nobody Circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bulls". Both UB and Western Michigan needed a strong series to keep pace in their respective divisions. In the first two games the Bronco's took leads into the late stages of the games but each time they were unable to stave off UB comebacks, in the third game UB would never trail, beating WMU 7-3 and sweeping their first conference series of the season.

Game 1

Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Western Michigan (13-16, 4-6) 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 2 0 7 13 3
Buffalo (14-12, 5-4) 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 8 8 5

The Bulls literally won the game in walkoff style when Kyle Figgens drew a walk with scored Matt Pollock. Despite poor fielding and being out-hit 14-8 UB's late heroics handed Cory Folk his second win of the season.

It started in the 9th when Nick Sinay hustled around first on a high fly ball which was dropped by a Bronco outfielder. The trip to second was followed up by a Matt Pollock double which scored Sinay and tied the game. Two batters later WMU intentionally walked Mike Burke to put men on first and second.

Next up Vinny Mallaro hit a sharp grounder to short, but WMU committed their second error of the inning when the trow to second was botched. With two Figgins would step to the plate and patiently let himself get walked out of a 0-2 hole.

Game 2

Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Western Michigan (13-17, 4-7) 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 4 9 1
Buffalo (15-12, 6-4) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 1 5 12 1

In game two it was once again Matt Pollock killing Broncos but this time rather than being walked in Pollock drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth.

Heading into the bottom of the eighth UB trailed 4-1. The team played a bit of small ball to even the score.  Mike Scarcello got a lead off hit which was followed bye two well placed bunts from  Jimmy Topps and to load the bases with no outs.

Pollock scored Scarcello and advanced the other runners with a line drive. After a sacrfifice fly from Tyler Mautner for the first out scored Topps, Vinny Mallaro would come on as a pinch hitter and slapped a 2-2 fastball to the opposite field that tied the game up 4-4.

In the next inning Scarcello got UB's hitting started off for the second straight inning when he hit a one-out infield single. Topps would poke a double to left field that put the winning run just 90 feet away and then Nick Sinay would be put on with a walk.

Pollock got his second bases loaded at-bat in a row and the UB Senior hit a line drive which hugged the left field line landing just foul. The next pitch saw a similar hit go foul before Pollok took the 1-2 pitch and drove it inside the line, ending the game.

Game 3:

Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Western Michigan (13-18, 4-8) 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 7 1
Buffalo (16-12, 7-4) 0 0 2 1 1 2 0 1 X 7 11 0

Buffalo secured the sweep behind a complete game win by Mike Burke. The Bulls took the lead early and despite letting the Bronco's close the game to one run in the sixth UB never trailed.

In the third, Mike Scarcello laced a single through the left side and Jimmy Topps would follow with a slicing ground-rule double to left. After the first out of the inning was made, Pollock would open the game's scoring with a double to left as well. Despite loading the bases with just one out, that would be all the damage the team could muster.

UB would add one more in the 4th and get the eventual game winning run in the 5th off of a RBI groundout from Brian Dudek.

Next weekend UB has their most important conference series to date when they go to Kent to take on the Flashes, but first the Bulls do have a scheduled doubleheader at home Tuesday against Niagara, weather permitting. Those games are scheduled to begin at 2 pm.

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