Baseball: Week 2, Buffalo Sweeps in Their First Series

Akron (3-3)

vs. Saint Louis: Win, 2-1

vs. La Salle: Win, 7-1

vs. La Salle: Win, 8-7

at Duke: Loss, 5-2

Fantastic series for the Zips. To start off with a win over Saint Louis, who went 41-21 and won the A-10 tournament last season is always a good way to get that first victory of the year. After last weekend when they had 19 hits in their double header, Akron knocked in 34 hits in the Duke Baseball Classic.

OF, Devan Ahart: Hitless in the first game against Saint Louis, Ahart ended up going 6-for-15 at the plate, walking three times and only striking out once. He also scored four times and stole two bags.

P, John Valek III: Started against Saint Louis, pitched a five-inning one-hitter with one base on balls and four strikeouts.

Ball State (6-2)

vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Win, 3-1

vs. Mississippi Valley State: Win, 12-1

vs. Iowa: Loss, 16-6

vs. Northwestern: Win, 5-4

Another 3-win weekend for the Cardinals, including one in walk-off fashion against Northwestern, has the Cardinals sitting pretty at 6-2. Zach Plesac received his third pitching win against Northwestern, all as a reliever.

OF, Sean Godfrey: Didn't generate a ton of hits (5-for-19), but he did have seven runs batted in and scored three times.

P, Tyler Jordan: After Scott Baker's 4-inning start against Milwaukee-Wisconsin, Jordan took over for the rest of the game only allowing two hits through five innings with a pair of strikeouts and no runs scored against him.

Bowling Green (2-4)

at Murray State: Win, 5-3

at Murray State: Loss, 5-4

at Murray State: Loss, 6-3

Another okay weekend at-best, but it's still early in the year. Through these first six games, the Falcons only let up 22 runs against them, which is the fewest by any BGSU pitching staff through six games since 2006.

OF, Patrick Lancester: Hitless on Sunday, ending his 8-game hitting streak. He was still productive, going 4-for-15 at the plate and crossed home twice.

P, Andrew Lacinak: The Sunday starter threw for five innings, letting up six hits and only one run with a pair of walks and strikeouts.

Buffalo (3-0)

at Norfolk State: Win, 7-1

vs. Villanova: Win, 4-2

at Quinnipiac: Win, 10-1

Mike Burke is underrated. He, Tyler Mutner and Matt Pollock all had a great start to their season at the plate. The Bulls scored in all but two innings against Quinnipiac.

3B & P, Mike Burke: Burke had five hits in his eight at-bats, including a double and a home run, scoring two runs. He also started on Sunday against Quinnipiac, going six innings, allowing eight hits and only one earned run with 10 strikeouts.

P, Anthony Magovney: Against Villanova, Magovney tossed 7.1 innings, allowing two hits and no runs with five strikeouts and a pair of walks.

Central Michigan (2-6)

at Troy: Win, 4-1

at Troy: Win, 3-2

at Troy: Loss, 5-4

at Troy: Loss, 3-2

The Chippewas won their first pair of games of the season against the Troy Trojans. Matt Towbridge anchored down the back-end of the bullpen with a pair of saves and the rest of the top prospects showed what they are made of as well.

OF, Nick Reginer: And he keeps showing why he's one of the top prospects in the Mid-American Conference. 7-for-15 at the plate, scoring three runs as well as picking up three walks for the series.

P, Jordan Foley: This kid is an animal. Through seven innings, Foley only allowed one run off of two hits with a pair of walks, striking out eight.

Eastern Michigan (3-3)

at Tennessee Martin: Win, 17-3

at Tennessee Martin: Win, 18-6

at Tennessee Martin: Loss, 5-3

I know what you're thinking, "That's a lot of freaking runs, man." And it is. As a team, EMU smashed four home runs for the weekend. The pitching wasn't half-bad for the Green and White, either.

1B, Lee Longo: It's not everyday you hear about somebody having a steak of games with doubles hit. Longo's streak of five ended on Sunday. For the weekend, he went 7-for-13 with a pair of doubles and a home run, scoring four runs, driving in five.

P, Jake Andrews: Andrews remained the Friday starter even with Steve Weber returning to the starting rotation. He tossed seven innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs while walking three and striking out eight.

Kent State (5-2)

vs. Coppin State: Win, 5-0

at Winthrop University: Win, 8-5

at Winthrop University: Win, 9-4 (15 innings)

vs. Coppin State: Win, 11-1

A four-game sweep is always the perfect remedy to rebound going 1-2 against Arizona. After staying out on the mound in extra innings, the Golden Flashes finally beat up on Winthrop's Jason Driver, knocking in five runs in the 15th inning off of him.

OF, Alex Miklos: The outfielder totaled seven hits out of his 17 at-bats over the weekend, including a trio of doubles. Miklos also had two stolen bases, scoring three times.

P, Eric Lauer: Picking up his second win in the series finale against Coppin State, Lauer went five innings without allowing a hit or run, allowing only one walk and striking out three.

Miami (1-5)

vs. Belmont: Loss, 9-8

vs. Middle Tennessee State: Loss, 4-3

vs. Lipscomb: Win, 9-3

Ending the weekend on a high note is always a plus, especially if it's your new head coach's first win at the helm. After a good series last week, Dan Walsh moved up to be the new 2-hitter in the Miami lineup. For the weekend, the RedHawks outhit their opponents 32-to-21.

OF, Jake Romano: The leadoff hitter had as a productive weekend as you could ask for. He went 7-for-13 at the plate including three doubles. Romano also had three walks, four stolen bases and scored four runs.

P, Seth Varner: Didn't get the win, but still had a good start on Friday. Five innings pitched, Varner only allowed three hits off of four hits, walking three and had 11 strikeouts.

Northern Illinois (0-6-1)

vs. Missouri State: Loss, 9-8

at New Mexico: Loss, 12-0

vs. Missouri State: Loss, 11-0

at New Mexico: Tie, 3-3 (10 innings)

Two weird things happened this weekend. The Huskies scored eight runs in the bottom of the ninth against Missouri State and still ended up losing. Also, who ties in baseball? I didn't even know that was a thing anymore.

1B, Brandon Malder: Malder was the top Huskies batsman for the weekend, going 7-for-14 for the weekend with one double and three RBI.

P, Anthony Andres: Appearing in two games for relief, Andres pitched three and a third innings, allowing only two hits, allowing no runs, walking three and striking out four.

Ohio (2-4)

vs. Liberty: Loss, 8-5

at UNC-Wilmington: Loss, 6-3

vs. Liberty: Win, 4-3

at UNC- Wilmington: Loss, 9-1

Maybe I'm just stat-watching here, but Mitch Longo is going to be a fun watch for Bobcat fans once the weather warms up enough for games to start up in Athens. But when a true freshman is an impact like he is now, it's hard not to be excited about him.

OF, Mitch Longo: Moved up to be the 'Cats leadoff hitter, Longo was 5-for-17 on the weekend with a trio of RBI and his first career home run.

P, Jake Roehn: Had there not been a lot of errors in the first game, Roehn probably could have had a better final line. Pitching 4.1 innings, Roehn allowed five hits with seven runs against him, but only two were earned runs. He also struck out four, walking two.

Toledo (2-3)

vs. Texas Southern: Win, 1-0

at LSU: Loss, 15-1

I mean, LSU is awesome, what do you expect? Also, the scheduled third game against Virginia Tech was cancelled due to inclement weather. Womp womp.

DH, Jacob North: The designated hitter went 3-for-5 in the two games, walking twice.

P, Ryan Wilkinson: Wilkinson didn't have to go up against LSU, which is good for his stats. Against Texas Southern, Wilkinson went six innings, allowing five hits but did not give up a run. He also walked three while striking out seven.

Western Michigan (1-5)

at Louisville: Loss, 21-8

at Louisville: Loss, 8-0

at Louisville: Loss, 4-2

The Broncos knew they were going to be playing against a tough Louisville team, who is ranked #20 by Baseball America. Even after a pair of big losses to open up the series, Western Michigan ran away with one upset victory before heading back to Kalamazoo.

SS, Andrew Sohn: Like most of the team on Saturday, Sohn's bat was quiet on Saturday, but was still 4-for-10 at the plate with a triple, walking three times, scoring two runs and stole one bag on the series.

P, Gabe Berman: Berman went in for Keegan Akin in the series finale for relief, throwing a five-inning one-hitter, not allowing a single run. He also struck out six and allowed only one walk.

Pitchers and Players of the Week:

East:

Buffalo- Mike Burke

Kent State- Eric Lauer

West:

Eastern Michigan- Lee Longo

Central Michigan- Jordan Foley