Niagara
Bulls Pile Up Runs in 28-4 Victory over Niagara
4/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo baseball team had a record day as they defeated Big Four rival Niagara, 28-4, on Wednesday evening at Amherst Audubon Field. The Bulls broke the all-time game record for most runs scored (28) and total bases (50) while also tying the all-time game record for most hits (29). In the Bulls' victory, senior shortstopJacob Rosenbeck drove in a season-high eight RBIs including an eighth inning grand slam.
Buffalo secured its victory in the bottom of the fourth by tallying nine runs to take a 15-2 lead as the Purple Eagles went through three relievers in the inning.
Senior second baseman Brad Agustin opened the Bulls' fourth inning scoring attack with his team-leading seventh home run of the season, giving the Bulls a 7-2 lead. Facing a full count, Agustin's solo shot was Buffalo's 11th leadoff home run to start an inning.
With the bases loaded, Rosenbeck dropped a two-RBI double into left center to extend the Bulls' lead to 9-2. Buffalo kept the runs coming in the fourth as Agustin hit a two-RBI double into right center to give the Bulls a 14-2 lead. Senior left fielder Bobby Pizzuto closed out the Bulls' scoring with an RBI base hit to right field, driving in junior David Neff.
Holding a 19-3 advantage, Buffalo added six more runs to extend its lead to 25-3 in the bottom of the seventh. Both senior catcher Brad Cochrane and freshman pinch hitter Tom Murphy mirrored each other with back-to-back RBI doubles through the left side followed by a grand slam by Rosenbeck, his fourth home run of the season.
Buffalo closed out its scoring onslaught with three runs in the bottom of the eighth. With Agustin on third, Cochrane sent a ball to deep left field for his fourth home run of the season and a Buffalo 27-4 lead. A couple of batters later, Rosenbeck drove in his eighth RBI of the game off his second double of the day to become the all-time single game record holder for most RBIs since the program's reinstatement in 2000.
Buffalo opened the contest by capturing a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first off a failed pickoff attempt at first by Niagara's starter Brett Sabourin, allowing Pizzuto to score from third.
In the bottom of the second, the Bulls fired off five runs to extend its lead to 6-0 with four of their runs coming with two outs. A wild pitch by reliever Tyler Scott moved Pizzuto and Neff, setting up the Bulls to score a pair of runs off a base hit through the left side by Cochrane. In the next at bat, designated hitter Charlie Karstedt capitalized off a misplayed foul pop up by Niagara catcher Evan Wexler, staying alive to drill a two-run shot to right center, giving the Bulls a 6-0 lead.
The Purple Eagles cut into the Bulls' lead with a pair of runs in the top of the third, 6-2.
Pizzuto went a perfect 4-for-4 including two RBIs and two runs scored. Rosenbeck finished the day with four hits, combined with two runs and a game-high eight RBIs. Agustin and Cochrane finished with five RBIs each.
Reliever Brian Pullyblank (3-3) picked the Bulls' victory in 2.0 innings of work, striking out three batters.
In the loss, the Purple Eagles were forced to use 10 pitchers, each allowing at least one run except for reliever Sean Quinlan.
The Bulls complete the sweep of the Purple Eagles in this year's non-conference contests. In three contests, Buffalo combined for 57 total runs and 57 total hits versus the Purple Eagles, who combined for 14 total runs and 26 total hits including 12 combined errors.
Cochrane's double in the bottom of the seventh was his 18th of the season, moving him into a tie for second place on the UB single-season doubles record list.
The Bulls (18-17, 4-8 MAC) return to conference action as they host Kent State for a three-game weekend series beginning on Friday, April 23 at 3:00 pm.
