Baseball Splits Doubleheader at Buffalo; Wins Nightcap in 16 Innings

April 13 | Baseball

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University of Akron baseball team earned a doubleheader split at Buffalo on Friday afternoon. UA dropped the opener, 3-2, before winning a 16-inning marathon, 5-4, in the nightcap.

The split moves Akron to 14-20 overall and 7-4 in Mid-American Conference play. Buffalo falls to 9-20 and 2-8 in the league.

The rubber match of the series is slated for Saturday at 1 p.m. at Amherst Audubon Field.

Game One Recap

A ninth-inning Akron rally fell one run short as Buffalo grabbed a 3-2 win in Friday's opener.

UA squandered an outstanding start from senior Andrew Brown. Brown (4-5) allowed three runs – with just one earned – in an eight-inning complete game. The senior righty struck out a career-high 10, and allowed just five hits as he went the distance for the third time in his last four starts.

"Andrew had another outstanding start," first-year Akron coach Rick Rembielak said. "He pitched well enough to win, but we didn't give him any offensive support."

Junior Jared Turocy went 3-for-4 with an RBI to lead Akron at the plate. Senior Sam Watkins also tallied an RBI.

Cameron Copping (2-2) picked up the win for Buffalo, going 8.1 innings, allowing two runs, and striking out eight.

Trailing 3-1 after eight, Darius Washington sparked a late Akron charge with a one-out double down the right field line. After Samuel Trecaso walked, Turocy connected for a single up the middle to bring around Washington. Reliever River McWilliams was brought in to close out the game for Buffalo, striking out pinch hitter Kurt Gamby and inducing a groundout from Devan Ahart.

After Buffalo loaded the bases in the first with nobody out, Brown did well to stall a potential big inning. Brown induced clean-up man Tom Murphy into a tapper back to the mound, forcing out Matt Pollack at home. However, catcher Brady Stewart's throw to first on the turn skipped off Murphy's helmet and into foul territory allowing Jon Mestas to score. Brown then got a pop out and his first strikeout to end the inning with only one run coming across.

"It took Andrew an inning to get it going and he walked a couple of guys to get in to trouble in the first," Rembielak said. "After that he really settled in and pitched well."

Akron knotted the game at one in the fourth, taking advantage of an error on UB third baseman Mike Scarcello, who overthrew first on Ahart's grounder to open the frame. Ahart advanced to second on the error and was driven in by a Watkins double to center in the next at-bat.

An error on shortstop Matt Rembielak to start the sixth opened the door for Buffalo to retake the lead. Dan Scahill reached on the blunder and scored on Murphy's double to left center. Murphy would then score on a Thomas Richards two-bagger down the right field line to give UB a 3-1 lead.

UA missed chances to cut into the Buffalo lead in both the seventh and eighth innings. In the seventh, Turocy reached on a two-out single to right center and advanced to third on an error by Murphy behind the plate. Copping would punch out Rembielak to strand Turocy on third. Ahart led off the eighth with a double, but was left at second as Copping retired the next three Akron batters.

Zips Notebook: Andrew Brown's previous career-high for strikeouts was eight, set against Ohio on May 14, 2010 ... Brown also tied Tom Farmer for sixth on the UA career strikeouts list with 232.

Game Two Recap

Akron used a go-ahead single from freshman Matt Rembielak and a remarkable relief effort from senior Scott Foster to take Friday's nightcap 5-4 in 16 innings.

Foster (3-3) tossed nine innings allowing two runs – one earned – and seven hits to take the win. The southpaw struck out six and got out of bases loaded jams in both the 10th and 11th.

"You can't say enough about Scott Foster's effort today," first-year Akron coach Rick Rembielak said. "He really saved the day for us."

Freshman starter Pat Dyer took a no-decision, going six innings and allowing just one earned run. Dyer struck out five and allowed five hits. Sam Watkins, Brady Stewart, Darius Washington and Joey Havrilak all had multi-hit outings for UA.

River McWilliams (0-4) took the loss for Buffalo. McWilliams went seven innings in a relief effort, but gave up the game-winning run in the top of the 16th. Tom Murphy had three hits for Buffalo.

Rembielak put Akron ahead in the top of the 16th, singling home Samuel Trecaso. Trecaso had singled to lead off the inning and moved to second on a groundout.

"Foster wanted to go back out there and close it out," Rembielak said. "He delivered."

After trailing for the first seven innings of the game, the Zips took the lead in the eighth with three run, two-out rally. Watkins doubled down the left field line to start the spurt. After a Tyler Begun walk, Stewart singled to bring in Watkins and chase Thompson from the game. Havrilak would then rip a two-run, go-ahead single to left off reliever Anthony Magovney.

"We got to them for that one big inning in the eighth," Rembielak said.

A double down the left field line by Andy Smietana and pinch-hit single by Mike Scarcello got Buffalo in motion in the ninth. Smietana scored from third when Jason Kanzler lined out to Foster on the mound, and Foster threw the ball away trying to turn the double play. After Scarcello advanced on a balk, Jon Mestas singled up the middle to tie the game at four.

The Bulls had a great opportunity to grab the win in the tenth. Murphy led off the inning with a triple, forcing Foster to intentionally walk the next two batters. Foster and the Zips then got force-outs at the plate with back-to-back groundouts by Smietana and Scarcello. The game went to the 11th when Kanzler flew out to center to leave the bases loaded.

UB had the bases loaded again in the 11th, but Foster got out of the jam when Michael Burke flew out to center.

"Scott did an unbelievable job to get out of two huge jams in the tenth and the eleventh," Rembielak commented.

An unearned run in the second put Buffalo in the early lead. Smietana tripled down the right field line with two outs and then scored when Rembielak couldn't handle Kanzler's ground ball to short.

A Murphy single followed by an Alex Baldock double plated the second Buffalo run in the third. Both hits came with two outs in the inning.

UA was able to add an insurance run in the top of the ninth. The Zips loaded the bases with one out on a hit batsman, a walk, and a bunt single by Jared Turocy. Watkins then hit into a fielder's choice to short, beating out the double play to allow Trecaso to score.

Zips Notebook: The game was the longest Akron contest since going 18 innings in a loss to North Carolina State in 2009 ... Scott Foster matched his career-high for innings pitched. Foster also threw nine innings against Eastern Illinois in 2010.