University at Buffalo
4-7
Wright State
8-8
Wild Friday Leads To Split At Woo Pig Classic
3/4/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
FAYETVILLE, AR – The University at Buffalo softball team scored a combined 22 runs on Friday as the Bulls split their two games at the Woo Pig Classic at the University of Arkansas. The Bulls beat Wright State in extra innings before dropping a crazy 15-14 decision to the host Razorbacks.
The Bulls opened play on Friday with a big extra innings victory over Wright State as they got out to an early lead and kept fighting back in the game. Freshman Katie Weimer singled through the right side in the top of the first to get the Bulls on the board and a solo home run by sophomore Danielle Lallos in the top of the third put UB ahead 2-0.
The Raiders tied it up with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Bulls came right back in the top of the fifth as junior Ashton Earnhardt hit a leadoff triple to left field and came in to score on a Wright State throwing error. The Raiders scored two in the bottom of the fifth to take a 4-3 lead, but freshman Courtney Gilbert tied the game back up with her first career home run in the top of the sixth.
The game remained tied into extra innings as the Bulls got on the board with a run in the top of the eighth on a pinch-hit single from freshman Catrell Robertson. The Raiders tied it up in the bottom of the eighth, but UB regained the lead in the ninth. Buffalo loaded the bases with two away when senior Lauren Gambone doubled down the left field line, clearing the bases. Wright State made one last push in the ninth as the Raiders loaded the bases with one out. The Raiders had already pulled within one when Wright State's Hanna Floyd hit a fly ball into center field, which was caught by Leandra Jew who threw a strike to the plate to complete the game-ending double play.
Sophomore Charlotte Miller picked up the win in relief, while freshman Lace Smith recorded her first save. Jew and Earnhardt both had three-hit games for the Bulls, who had 12 hits in the game, which came from eight different players.
In the second game, the Bulls and Razorbacks combined for 29 runs in seven innings. The Bulls got on the board first as Gambone hit a two-run home in the first and freshman Ally Power singled in a run in the second to give UB the early 3-0 lead. Arkansas then scored nine unanswered runs to take a 9-3 lead, but UB came through with an eight-run fourth.
The Bulls sent 12 batters to the plate in the fourth inning as Taylor Light drove in a run as did Lallos, which pulled UB within 9-5 when Weimer cleared all the bases with her first career grand slam, which tied the game up at 9-9. Gambone followed it up with a solo shot of her own and Robertson drove in a run with a single down the line to give the Bulls an 11-9 lead.
Four runs in the fifth put Arkansas back ahead 13-11 after five innings and that remained the score heading into the seventh. The Bulls loaded the bases with one away in the inning when Weimer drove in a run on a ground out to pull the Bulls back within one. Gambone was the next batter and she hit one to short, but the short stop threw it away, scoring two runs and giving the Bulls a 14-13 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.
However, in the bottom of the seventh Arkansas opened the inning with a double and then ended the game with a two-run walk-off home run by Nicole Schroeder. Five different UB players saw time in the circle as Power picked up the loss. The Bulls had 11 hits in the game led by two each from Gambone, Jew and Robertson. Weimer had a career-high five runs batted in as she combined with Gambone for eight runs batted in against their SEC foe.
"We showed a lot of fight today," said head coach Trena Peel. "In the first game we went nine innings and a lot of different people stepped up. Even in the second game to put up 14 runs against an SEC school, even though I am upset with the loss, I am proud of all the girls for competing and showing that we can compete with anybody in the country if we come prepared to play each day."
The Bulls will play two more games at the Woo Pig Classic on Saturday as they will have a rematch with Wright State at 11:00 am EST and then they will face Northern Iowa right after that.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Moll (4-6)
L: Power, Ally (0-5)
Batting:
2B: Jew, Leandra 1 ; Robertson, Catrell 1
HR: Weimer, Katie 1 ; Gambone, Lauren 2
RBI: Lallos, Danielle 1 ; Weimer, Katie 5 ; Gambone, Lauren 3 ; Robertson, Catrell 1 ; Power, Ally 1 ; Light, Taylor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Earnhardt, Ashton 2 ; Lallos, Danielle 2 ; Weimer, Katie 2 ; Gambone, Lauren 2 ; Jew, Leandra 1 ; Robertson, Catrell 1 ; Edwards, Sarah 1 ; Light, Taylor 1 ; Scott, Taylor 1 ; Koch, Kenzie 1
Batting:
2B: Russell 1 ; Box 2 ; Schroeder 2
3B: Russell 1
HR: Schroeder 1 ; Hiers 1
RBI: Russell 4 ; Diaz 3 ; Schroeder 4 ; Hiers 1 ; Yannetti 1 ; Archuleta 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Russell 2 ; Diaz 1 ; Box 1 ; Felts 1 ; Schroeder 2 ; Hiers 2 ; Clark 1 ; Mullen 2 ; Archuleta 3
SB: Archuleta 1
HBP: Hiers 1
