Bulls Drop Offensive Shootout at Canisius
3/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BUFFALO, NY - Despite slugging five home runs and putting up 12 runs, the Buffalo baseball team could not get an easy out and allowed the most runs in a single game in almost seven years, falling to Canisius 24-12 on a gorgeous Wednesday afternoon in Buffalo. Thomas Richards hit two home runs in the loss.
The Bulls struck first in the opening frame, with Tom Murphy smoking his second home run of the season over the center field wall with two outs. In the second inning, Richards came up with a man on first. The sophomore outfielder continued a strong opening month with his first career home run, pulling a home run to right field. Dan Scahill followed with a three-run home run down the right field line in the third inning to stake the team to a 7-4 lead after three innings.
Canisius put up three runs in the third and fourth to go up 10-7 before UB used the long ball to square things up again in the fifth. Richards hit a solo home run with one out, and after River McWilliams hit a double to the gap in right center field, Ryan Tulloch hit his first career home run to tie up the game yet again
Unfortunately for the offense, it found itself constantly needing to find a way back from a deficit thanks to a blisteringly hot Canisius offense. The Griffs scored at least two runs in eight of the nine innings, including seven runs in the sixth inning as the host racked up 14 unanswered runs before Buffalo could plate to runs in the top of the ninth. Tyler Mautner scored on a passed ball and Matt Pollock scored on a groundout from Russ Carone in the final frame.
Scahill and Richards led the team with three RBI apiece, while McWilliams went 2-4 to give him a team-leading .385 batting average for the season. The 24 runs were the most allowed by a UB pitching staff since a 25-12 loss to Kent State in 2005. The team will now head to Maryland for a game Saturday against Coppin State. First pitch is scheduled for 4 pm.
