Buffalo Bulls baseball

Last updated
Buffalo Bulls
Buffalo Bulls logo.svg
Founded1894 (1894)
Defunct2017
University University at Buffalo
Conference Mid–American
East Division
Location Amherst, New York
Home stadium Amherst Audubon Field (2001–2017)
Dunn Tire Park (2000)
Nickname Bulls
ColorsRoyal blue and white [1]
   
Regular season conference champions
1980 [2]

The Buffalo Bulls baseball team was a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of the University at Buffalo in Amherst, New York, United States. [3] From 2001 to 2017, the team was a member of the Mid-American Conference East division, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level. The Bulls played their home games at Amherst Audubon Field on the UB campus. [4] The Bulls were coached by Ron Torgalski for the program's final 11 seasons, from 2007 through 2017. At the conclusion of the 2017 season, the program was eliminated by the university. [5] [6] [7] [8]

Contents

History

The year 1949 is considered the official inaugural season of UB varsity baseball. But baseball’s start at UB goes back much further. There are newspaper accounts of a UB team from as early as 1894. From 1914–1917, several good UB teams took to the diamond playing some of the best teams in the country including Pitt, Army, Michigan State and Syracuse. [9] [10] [11] [12]

Year-by-year results

Statistics overview
SeasonCoachOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Records unavailable (1914–1917)
No program (1917–1948)
Records unavailable (1949–1987)
No program (1988–1999)
Independent (2000)
2000Bill Breene 12–35
Mid-American Conference (2001–2017)
2001 [13] Bill Breene 11–395–237th (East)
2002 [14] Bill Breene 16–286–176th (East)
2003 [15] Bill Breene 16–375–216th (East)
2004 [16] Bill Breene 15–394–186th (East)
2005 [17] Bill Breene 19–30–15–14–16th (East)
2006 [18] Bill Breene 15–376–216th (East)
2007 [19] Ron Torgalski 16–3511–163rd (East)
2008 [20] Ron Torgalski 14–387–196th (East)
2009 [21] Ron Torgalski 20–356–206th (East)
2010 [22] Ron Torgalski 23–299–185th (East)
2011 [23] Ron Torgalski 14–383–226th (East)
2012 [24] Ron Torgalski 20–3610–164th (East)
2013 [25] Ron Torgalski 33–2419–72nd (East)
2014 [26] Ron Torgalski 26–2613–134th (East)
2015 [27] Ron Torgalski 16–357–206th (East)
2016 Ron Torgalski 13–286–156th (East)
2017 Ron Torgalski 17–348–165th (East)
MAC:304–568–1130–296–1
Total:

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Bulls in Major League Baseball

The first Buffalo alumnus to appear in Major League Baseball was Bill Schuster, who debuted with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1937. The most notable Bull from the pre-draft era was Eddie Basinski, who picked up 147 hits in 203 games with the Pirates and Brooklyn Dodgers between 1944 and 1947. [28]

Since the Major League Baseball Draft began in 1965, Buffalo has had 33 players selected. [29]

Joe Hesketh, a 1980 draftee of the Montreal Expos, accumulated a 9.0 WAR over eleven seasons as a left-handed pitcher from 1984 to 1994. [30] Pitcher Steve Geltz played for the Bulls and was undrafted in 2008. He made his Major League debut in 2012 for the Los Angeles Angels.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University at Buffalo</span> Public university in Buffalo, New York

The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 as a private medical college and merged with the State University of New York system in 1962. It is one of the two flagship institutions of the SUNY system. As of fall 2020, the university enrolls 32,347 students in 13 schools and colleges, making it the largest and most comprehensive public university in the state of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University at Buffalo Stadium</span> College football and track stadium

UB Stadium is a stadium in Amherst, New York on the campus of the University at Buffalo. It is primarily used for football, soccer, and track and field events, and is the home field of the Buffalo Bulls. It opened on September 4, 1993, with a game against the University of Maine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo Bulls men's basketball</span> Mens college basketball team

The Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team represents the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York, United States. The team currently competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division. Buffalo began play in 1915 and joined the MAC in 1998. They won their first MAC East Division title in 2009, and won a third MAC East Division title in 2015 along with their first outright MAC Regular-Season championship and first MAC Tournament title to earn the program's first bid to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The Bulls also have six appearances in the NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship between 1957 and 1965 and two appearances in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Their current coach is Jim Whitesell, who was hired in April of 2019 to replace Nate Oats. Home games are played at the 6,783-seat Alumni Arena, which opened in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo Bulls</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of the University at Buffalo

The Buffalo Bulls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University at Buffalo (UB) in Buffalo, New York. The Bulls compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level as a member of Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division, having joined the conference in 1998. Buffalo sponsors teams in seven men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The football team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level for college football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Hesketh</span> American baseball player

Joseph Thomas Hesketh is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1984 through 1994 for the Montreal Expos (1984–90), Atlanta Braves (1990) and Boston Red Sox (1990–94). Listed at 6' 2", 170 lb., Hesketh batted and threw left-handed. He was selected by the Expos in the 1980 draft out of the State University of New York at Buffalo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo Bulls football</span> Football team for the State University of New York at Buffalo

The Buffalo Bulls football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University at Buffalo located in the U.S. state of New York. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Football Bowl Subdivision and is a member of the Mid-American Conference. Buffalo's first football team was fielded in 1894. The team plays its home games at the 25,000+ seat UB Stadium on University at Buffalo's north campus in Amherst, New York. The Bulls are coached by Maurice Linguist.

Amherst Audubon Field is a baseball field located on the campus of the University at Buffalo in Amherst, New York, United States. The field was built as the home of the Buffalo Bulls baseball team, which competed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) until 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo Bulls softball</span>

The Buffalo Bulls softball team represents the University at Buffalo in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The team plays its home games at Nan Harvey Field located on the university's campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo Bulls wrestling</span>

The Buffalo Bulls wrestling team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of the University at Buffalo in Amherst, New York, United States. The team is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The team plays their home matches at Alumni Arena in Amherst, New York. The Bulls are coached by John Stutzman.

The 2013 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on December 21, 2013 at Bronco Stadium on the campus of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. The seventeenth annual Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, it featured the Buffalo Bulls of the Mid-American Conference against the San Diego State Aztecs of the Mountain West Conference. It began at 3:30 p.m. MST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2013–14 bowl games that concluded the 2013 FBS football season. San Diego State defeated Buffalo, 49–24.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Buffalo Bulls football team</span> American college football season

The 2014 Buffalo Bulls football team represented the University at Buffalo in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led for the season's first seven games by fifth-year head coach Jeff Quinn before his midseason firing on October 13, and by interim head coach Alex Wood for the remainder of the season. The team played their home games at University at Buffalo Stadium and competed as a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They fished the season 5–6, 3–4 in MAC play to finish in third place in the East Division. They only played 11 games due to their November 19 game vs Kent State being canceled due to inclement weather. The failure to reschedule that canceled game cost the Bulls a chance at bowl eligibility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo Bulls women's volleyball</span> American college volleyball team

The Buffalo Bulls women's volleyball team represents the University at Buffalo in NCAA Division I college volleyball. The team participates in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Bulls are currently led by first year coach Scott Smith, who took over in 2019 when the previous coach, Blair Brown Lipsitz, resigned. Smith was an assistant for four years under Lipsitz, and this is his first head coaching job at the NCAA level. The team plays its home games at Alumni Arena, located on the university's campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo Bulls football statistical leaders</span>

The Buffalo Bulls football statistical leaders are individual statistical leaders of the Buffalo Bulls football program in various categories, including passing, rushing, receiving, total offense, defensive stats, and kicking. Within those areas, the lists identify single-game, single-season, and career leaders. The Bulls represent the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (UB) in the Mid-American Conference of NCAA Division I FBS.

Buffalo Bulls baseball represents the University at Buffalo in college baseball at the NCAA Division I level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Buffalo Bulls football team</span> American college football season

The 2015 Buffalo Bulls football team represented the University at Buffalo as a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by first-year head coach Lance Leipold, the Bulls compiled an overall record of 5–7 with a mark of 3–5 in conference play, placing fourth in the MAC's East Division. The team played their home games at University at Buffalo Stadium in Amherst, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Licata</span> American football player and coach (born 1992)

Joe Licata is an American football coach and former quarterback. He played college football at Buffalo. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2016.

Claude Allen Greene IV, is the former director of athletics for Auburn University from 2018 to 2022. He previously served as athletic director for the University at Buffalo, and as assistant athletic director for the University of Mississippi. Greene attended college at the University of Notre Dame, and was a two-year starter on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball team. He was a ninth-round draft pick of the New York Yankees in the 1998 Major League Baseball draft, and went on to a four-year career in the minor leagues for the Yankees, playing for the Oneonta Yankees, Greensboro Bats, Tampa Yankees, and Elmira Pioneers. He grew up in Bellevue, Washington and attended O'Dea High School in Seattle, playing baseball and basketball, graduating 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017–18 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2017–18 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team represented the State University of New York at Buffalo during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulls, led by third-year head coach Nate Oats, played their home games at Alumni Arena in Amherst, New York as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 27–9, 15–3 in MAC play to win the MAC East Division and regular season championships. they defeated Central Michigan, Kent State, and Toledo to win the MAC tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 13 seed in the South region, they upset Arizona in the First Round before losing to Kentucky in the Second Round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Buffalo Bulls football team</span> American college football season

The 2017 Buffalo Bulls football team represented the University at Buffalo in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulls were led by third-year head coach Lance Leipold and played their home games at University at Buffalo Stadium as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. The Bulls finished the season 6–6, 4–4 in MAC play to finish in a tie for third place in the East Division. Despite being bowl-eligible, the Bulls did not receive an invitation to a bowl game.

Blake Ellis Hamilton is an American professional basketball player for APOEL of Cyprus Basketball Division 1. He played college basketball at Buffalo.

References

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