Roster Changes

I was looking at the Buffalo 2012 softball roster today when I noticed that freshmen Cheyanne Knepper and Samantha Brown were not on it, leaving the Bulls with only 16 players.

Can anyone tell me what happened to these players?

UB Athletics Hall Of Fame Ceremony

Tickets for the 39th UB Athletics Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony, which will include Bulls' softball legend Breanne Nasti, may be obtained by visiting here:

https://secure.www.ubconnect.org/olc/pub/BUF/event/showEventForm.jsp?form_id=114019

The event will be held on January 13, 2012 at 6pm at the Alumni Arena, just around the corner from Nan Harvey Field.

Breanne Nasti To Be Inducted Into UB Hall Of Fame

The greatest player in UB history will be inducted into the University at Buffalo Athletic Hall Of Fame on January 13th.

Breanne Nasti ('04) arrived on the Buffalo softball scene just as the Bulls were beginning Division 1 play and were entering their first year of competition in the MAC. She gave the Bulls instant credibility as an All-MAC performer and three time Regional All-American. A career .387 hitter, Breanne still owns the MAC record for batting average in a season (.451), and most of the major offensive records at Buffalo. She is the Bulls' career leader in: batting average (.387); home runs (27); hits (197); doubles (46); runs (93); RBIs (113); and walks (66). Twice a .400 hitter, she holds UB's top three spots for average in a season. She is the single season leader in home runs; doubles; RBIs; and walks. She also happens to own the New York State Public High School records for career batting average (.695), and highest average in a season (.783 !) from her days at Baldwin High. Breanne has been an assistant coach at St. John's, Hofstra, and most recently Stony Brook.

Congratulations Breanne for an honor so well deserved!

All-American Scholar Athletes

The NFCA has announced its 2011 All-American Scholar Athletes, and Buffalo is well represented:

Alex Bejarano
Ashley Bertot
Danielle Fields
Sammi Gallardo
Holly Johnson

Congratulations to all for this impressive accomplishment!

BTW, former Bull Ashley Bertot will be continuing her career at Nicholls State, a division 1 program that plays in the Southland conference.

Lost Weekend

The weather has forced the cancellation of Buffalo's scheduled game against Canisius Sunday.
Don't know yet if UB will make up their games against Niagara, if not the Bulls will next play on February 10 in Jacksonville against St. Louis.

Saturday's Doubleheader Postponed

UB's scheduled doubleheader vs. Niagara set to be played at Nan Harvey Field has been postponed. The Bulls are still scheduled to host Canisius Sunday at noon.

Bulls Split Day One At Nan Harvey Classic

Andi Saucier was a spark plug today

Covering the Nan Harvey Classic is a headache for yours truly because I can't see everything at once, and there are no scoreboards or box scores! I texted play by play at the Canisius blog this afternoon, so I'll just leave you with my impressions.

I made it a point to watch complete games of all three local teams. Buffalo lost their first game of the day to St. Bonaventure, 4-1. They then won an exciting 8-7 game against cross town rival Canisius.

Unlike the other three teams, Coach Teague did a lot of shuffling around with her lineup. But I saw a lot of impressive performances today. Freshman Alexis Curtiss---wow, she looks like she is going to be a great player. As I said, I was trying to remember what 40 players were doing, but I remember Alexis delivering some big hits. She was playing catcher today, and made an unbelievable catch of a foul ball, diving into the screen to kill a Canisius threat. She has the look of a big time player.

I was extremely impressed today with the play of junior second baseman Andi Saucier. It seemed she got on base every time she was up, including when she laid down a beauty of a bunt that got the Buffalo offense rolling. In fact, Coach Teague went bunt happy for a while, to great effect. Canisius could not handle the speed of the Bulls in their "small ball" game, and found themselves quickly down 5-0. And these were all perfectly executed bunts---Coach must have been pleased with the fundamentals. Anyway, Andi was outstanding defensively also, including a situation where Canisius had two runners on and was threatening to retake the lead. A ball hit to Andi skipped off a pebble or something, but she adjusted quickly and got the runner just in time to kill the rally. It looks like she is completely healthy now.

Good to see Holly Luciano out there chattering away again! She too laid down a perfect bunt, and when she does that, don't even try to get her. A bobble by a fielder, and she is at second in a flash. I love watching Holly play, she has a ton of enthusiasm. In fact, when the substitute players do their run to the fence between innings, even though she's playing and covered with dirt, she'll run out, catch up with them! I hope Coach Teague lets her be creative out there.

Who also came up with big hits today? Who else? Kris Waldron got the game winner, naturally. Looks like the senior will not have to spend any more time behind the plate (she was in the outfield), she can concentrate on unleashing her bat this season. Jessica Griffin contributed an RBI, and was stellar at first as usual.

Senior Holly Johnson started the game against Canisius, and was overpowering at first, mowing Golden Griffins down. But Canisius did touch her for a six run inning, and she was relieved by Tori Speckman who was masterful in shutting down the Griffs. Tori was relieved by freshman Cheyanne Knepper in the final inning. Cheyanne is tall and athletic, and although she did allow a run, she closed out the game for UB.

The Bulls continue Sunday with games against Edinboro and St. Bonaventure.

2012 University At Buffalo Softball Roster

18 Samantha Brown (Freshman, Utility)
5 Alexis Curtiss (Freshman, Third Base)
8 Caitlin Dekker (Freshman, Outfield)
4 Sammi Gallardo (Sophomore, Shortstop)
1 Kelli Gleiser (Sophomore, Outfield)
23 Jessica Griffin (Junior, First Base)
22 Becca Griswold (Sophomore, Infield)
9 Holly Johnson (Senior, Pitcher)
10 Cheyanne Knepper (Freshman, Pitcher)
7 Haylee Land (Senior, Pitcher)
12 Holly Luciano (Sophomore, Outfield)
17 Nora McGuire (Freshman, First Base)
2 Karly Nevez (Freshman, Outfield)
24 Tori Pettine (Sophomore, Infield)
16 Andi Saucier (Junior, Second Base)
21 Tori Speckman (Sophomore, Pitcher)
3 Kris Waldron (Senior, Catcher/Outfield)
11 Alyssa Ward (Junior, Catcher/Infield)

2011 Buffalo Softball Fall Schedule

September 24-25
Nan Harvey Tournament
Canisius, Niagara, St. Bonaventure
10am and Noon both days
Audubon Complex, Amherst, NY

October 1
Niagara (DH)
1pm
Nan Harvey Field

October 2
Canisius
Noon
Nan Harvey Field

UB Brings In Two More

Karly Nevez from Edmund, OK played shortstop at Edmund Santa Fe High School, but Coach Teague projects her as an outfielder. Karly is a classic lead off hitter who has produced high batting and on base averages. An outstanding defensive player, Karly is currently on the roster of the Tulsa Eagles Gold. She will be here in the fall.


Caitlin Dekker is an interesting signing. She's a transfer from Muskegon Community College, an NJCAA powerhouse. Caitlin was a very promising outfielder from Glendale, AZ, where she played at Deer Valley High---unfortunately for her, a shoulder injury nearly ended her softball career altogether, and she apparently fell under the radar. Caitlin is tough however, and has fought her way back; first through rehabilitation, and then a season in junior college. She just completed a big season at Muskegon, and was named NFCA First Team East Region and Second Team All-American after hitting .408, including 20 doubles, in 2011. Her previous coach says she is a tremendous worker; and obviously she is a dedicated athlete. This could turn out to be a huge "steal" for Coach Teague.

The UB site has not announced the Becca Griswold transfer as of yet; probably she has not been officially enrolled. The Bulls will have a very different look this September with seven new players in the fold.