The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Buffalo
Zips Drop First Game of Friday Doubleheader at Buffalo
April 13 | Baseball
BUFFALO, N.Y. - A ninth inning Akron rally fell one run short as Buffalo grabbed a 3-2 win in Friday's opener.
UA (13-20, 6-4 Mid-American Conference) squandered another 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.
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.
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.
