Bulls Face Top Talent at Georgia Bulldog Invitational

Friday, March 7

6 pm

6-2

Georgia

8-6

Buffalo

Georgia Bulldogs

Bulls Face Top Talent at Georgia Bulldog Invitational

3/7/2014 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

ATHENS, GA - The Buffalo baseball team will have a major test on its hands as it heads to the deep south this weekend for the Georgia Bulldog Invitational, hosted by perennial SEC power Georgia. The team will take on the Bulldogs Friday evening before games against Western Carolina and North Florida on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. It will be UB's first meeting ever with all three teams.

Last weekend, the team went 3-1 at the VMI tournament, beating Maryland-Eastern Shore twice and splitting with the host Keydets. Now 6-1 this season, the Bulls have the best record to start a season since the 1967 team under coach Jim Peelle started out 8-0 en route to a 16-1 record. That fast start has been keyed by a pitching staff that ranks among the nation's best through the first few weeks of the season. The Bulls' pitching staff has a 1.71 earned run average through seven games, which ranks eighth among the 291 Division I baseball teams.

Friday's foe Georgia will have a familiar face in its dugout, as the Bulldogs are coached under former Kent State skipper Scott Stricklin. In his first season with the team, Stricklin has led the team to a 7-6 overall record - but the team has won five straight coming into Friday night. Junior Hunter Cole leads the offense with a .367 batting average and five doubles. On the mound, Ryan Lawlor is expected to make the start for the team in the weekend opener. The lefty has a 4.80 ERA over 15 innings and three starts. The Bulldogs have plenty of arms to lean on in the bullpen, using 16 different pitchers through the first 13 games of the season.

Saturday opponent Western Carolina is coming off a shootout win over 15th-ranked Clemson on Tuesday night, winning 18-10. The Catamounts are also coming in on a hot streak, winners of seven straight while averaging over 11 runs per game in that span to run out to an 8-2 overall record. With a healthy offense, the pitching staff has also been able to try out a handful of pitchers, with 17 different arms used through the team's first 10 games.

The weekend wraps up Sunday with a matchup with North Florida, who comes in with a 4-6 record but has faced a difficult schedule that has featured five opponents ranked in the top-20 nationally. Drew Weeks has been a standout for the Osprey offense, with at least one hit in each of the first ten games and six multi-hit games. Tyler Moore will likely be the starting pitcher for the Sunday game. He has pitched five innings over two appearances, and has a 9.00 ERA with four strikeouts.

Live stats and a premium video feed will be available through the weekend.