Bulls Unable to Close Out La Salle

Friday, March 16

3 pm

University at Buffalo

6-7

La Salle

8-8

Buffalo

La Salle

3/16/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

PHILDELPHIA, PA - Despite holding a 13 to seven advantage in hits over La Salle, the Buffalo baseball team would find the Explorers' seventh hit to be one too many Saturday afternoon, losing 7-6 on a walk-off single. Dan Scahill led the Bulls with four hits in the game.

Trailing 2-0 in the third, Buffalo used the long ball to claim the lead. Jon Mestas led off with a double and moved to third on a single by Matt Pollock. Jason Kanzler converted on a suicide squeeze bunt that scored a run, but the team would not need to manufacture any more runs after that in the inning. Murphy hit his fifth home run in the past six game to give the team a 3-2 lead, and Scahill followed in kind with a solo shot to extend the lead.

After the Explorers scraped together a run in the bottom of the third, Buffalo tacked on another run in the fourth to hold them at bay. Freshman Tyler Mautner and Mike Scarcello started off the inning with singles, and Pollock converted a sacrifice fly to stake the Bulls to a 5-3 lead. The lead would hold until La Salle plated a pair in the sixth inning and took the lead in the seventh.

Pressed into a must-score situation in the eighth inning, the Bulls came through. Mautner reached with a single and was pulled for pinch runner Russ Carone, and Scarcello was hit by a pitch. Mestas put a single up the middle that would bring in the tying run. The Bulls put a runner on base to lead off the ninth inning, but a botched hit-and-run attempt led to a double play that would stunt the team's attempt to take the lead.

In home half, the Bulls committed its third error of the day to put a runner on first with no outs, and a pair of walks loaded the bases. A single by the Explorer's Marc Schoch, who finished the day 4-4, ended the game and handed Buffalo its fourth walk-off loss of the season. Starting pitcher Cameron Copping had another quality start for the Bulls, allowing only four earned runs on six hits while striking out six and walking only one. Kevin Crumb was the hard-luck loser after throwing two innings of relief.

The loss snaps the team's modest four-game win streak and drops Buffalo to 6-7 on the season. The team will not have to travel too far for its next game as it takes on St. Joseph's tomorrow at 1 pm.