Brent Cleland K's 12 As Baseball Downs Kent State, 9-3

Friday, May 1

3 pm

University at Buffalo

13-26, 6-13

Kent State

24-19, 11-8

Kent State

Buffalo

Brent Cleland K's 12 As Baseball Downs Kent State, 9-3

5/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Brent Cleland Post Game Interview

BUFFALO, NY - Sophomore pitcher Brent Cleland was dominant on Friday afternoon as he struck out 12 batters to lead UB baseball to a 9-3 victory over Kent State. With the win, UB improves to 13-26 overall and 6-13 in MAC play while Kent State falls to 24-19 overall and 11-8 in the MAC.

"This was a huge win for us and a great way to start the weekend," said head coach Ron Torgalski. "Brent Cleland was a little shaky in the first inning but then he settled in and really threw a great game for us, a dominanting performance by him. (Ben) Hartz came in and filled up the strike zone for three innings which was great for us so we didn't have to go deep in the bullpen. His performance helped us keep some guys fresh for the rest of the weekend."

Pitching was the key to the Bulls success on Friday as Cleland threw the best game of his young career, whiffing a career-high 12 batters in six innings of action. Cleland had some trouble in the first inning as Kent State worked the bases loaded but the righty turned it up a notch and struck out the side, setting the tone for his afternoon early on. He finished the game striking out the side in two innings, improving to 3-5 on the season.

The Bulls offense got on the board in the first inning as Nick Sinay opened the game with his team-leading 21st walk of the season. Ben Haefner then moved Sinay over to third base with a seeing-eye single through the right side. Bobby Sheppard placed a perfect bunt single down the first base line to score Sinay.

After the Golden Flashes tied the game up in the top of the fifth inning after a Cleland balk scored the runner from third base, the UB offense exploded for six runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to put the game away. Sinay started the rally with a single to third base and he advanced to second on his career-high 34th stolen base of the season. Sinay leads the nation in stolen bases and has recorded at least one stolen base in 22 games this season.

Haefner then singled to center to move Sinay to third and Sheppard smacked another single to center to score the Bulls lead off batter. Freshman Charlie Sobieraski then dug in and notched a two-RBI single to left field. Chris Kwitzer then beat out an infield single and Vinny Mallaro loaded the bases up with a single to right field. Ben Vey then ripped a single to left field to score two more Bulls and give them the commanding 7-1 lead.

Cleland's afternoon came to a close after he struck out his final batter in the sixth inning, giving way to Ben Hartz who eventually earned his third save of the season. Hartz came in the game in the seventh and closed the final three innings of the game, giving up four hits while striking out three.

The Bulls added two more runs in the eighth inning as a Vey double was followed by a pair of walks to Brian Dudek and Haefner, loading the bases for Sheppard. The shortstop didn't wait long to score the runners as he took the first pitch of the at bat to right field for his third single of the contest, scoring Vey and Dudek on the play.

The Golden Flashes notched two runs in the top of the ninth off of Hartz but it was not enough as UB prevailed, 9-3 in the opening game of a three game set against Kent State.

Sheppard finished off his career day at the plate going 3-for-5 with a career-best four RBI's and one run scored while Vey finished his day going 2-for-3 with two RBI's and a run scored in the win. Vey also notched his team-leading 13th double of the season. Haefner, Mallaro and Kwitzer all recorded two hits in the victory as UB had a total of 13 for the game.

The Bulls also saw a couple of streaks continue on Friday afternoon as Sinay has now reached base safely in 26 straight contests and 37 of 39 games this season. Haefner also extended his current team-best hitting streak to eight games with his two hit effort.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday at 1:00 pm at Amherst Audobon Field in game two of the three game set as Anthony Magovney will take the mound for the Bulls. UB is aiming for their second MAC series victory of the season.