Saluting UB Baseball's five-man senior class

At least, unlike Softball, Baseball has a few weeks' games left before the season ends, even if I missed the appropriate time for a Senior Salutes post yesterday morning.

A late collapse -- Kent State scored 11 times in the last two innings -- ended any chances of a Senior Day win, but UB still honored their five seniors in the final MAC home game of their Buffalo careers, and here we'll do the same.

Brandon Bentley -- P -- Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

Senior Stats: Brandon has appeared in ten games this season as a pitcher, recently stepping into the starter's role for midweek games late in the season. In 21 innings over ten appearances and three starts, he's got 11 strikeouts, a win, and a save on the year.

Before UB: Playing high school ball at Tesoro High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, Bentley threw a no-hitter in his first game as a freshman in high school and finished with the sixth-lowest career ERA in his school's history.

UB Career: Brandon came into this season with just 8.2 innings over seven appearances in his time at Buffalo.

Senior Moment: Brandon took the loss in a 7-5 game against Canisius back on April 15th, but he didn't deserve it, pitching into the seventh inning in his first start of the season, allowing just one earned run and striking out four while giving up just four hits.

Mike McGee -- P -- Drexel Hill, PA

Senior Stats: McGee has started 11 games this year, and though a 3-6 record isn't the brightest, he has averaged over a strikeout per inning and has surrendered only a single home run in 44 innings on the season.

Before UB: McGee has always been a strikeout pitcher, both with his Upper Darby High School team and in club competitions as well. Coming out of high school he threw around 90 miles per hour and was, in the words of several of his teammates; "the best pitcher I've ever seen."

UB Career: Mike burst onto the scene as a sophomore with the Bulls, starting 15 games to tie a program record, but his junior season was a tougher go, as in just nine games he put together a 1-3 record.

Senior Moment: If you want a win, look to UB's 5-1 win over Northern Illinois on March 22, when McGee gave up no runs in five innings while striking out nine. If you want his best performance, you can't get a much better start than he delivered on his own Senior Day yesterday, when Mike went 5.2 innings, striking out 10, and giving up just two runs.

Anthony Magovney -- P -- Watertown, NY

Justin Gonzalez -- C -- Cicero, IL

Senior Stats: Appearing in 35 games, Gonzalez has a .221 batting average bolstered by seven doubles. He's thrown out nearly 15% of runners trying to run on him.

Before UB: Justin holds the career home runs record at Nazareth Academy in Illinois and hit .407 in his senior season, as he was named all-conference for the second consecutive season and helped lead his team to a fourth-place finish in the state.

Buffalo Career: Justin's seen more time this year than his first three combined; in 19 career games through his first three years he barely made a dent in the box score before becoming a more regular part of the lineup this year.

Senior Moment: In an April 17th 11-7 win over MAC-leading Central Michigan, Gonzalez was 3-4 with a pair of doubles, a run, and an RBI

Tanner Robinson -- INF -- Antioch, CA

Senior Stats: Robinson has just two hits in 19 at bats over 11 games this season, but both has been for extra bases, which puts his ISO at a pretty-good .158. Small sample size? I can't hear you.

Before UB: Tanner earned All-Conference recognition both at De La Salle High School and his first college stop, Ohlone Community College near Fremont, CA.

UB Career: Robinson saw just a smidge more action as a junior than this year, appearing in 18 games and knocking in six runs.

Senior Moment: In UB's 5-1 win over Northern Illinois on March 22nd, Tanner's first-inning triple drove in Nick Sinay right out of the gate, and he added another RBI with a sacrifice fly later in the game.

***

Baseball still has a handful of games left, so we haven't seen the last of them quite yet, but they did honor their five seniors yesterday, so so do we. Thanks for your time in Amherst and best of luck in the future, guys.