Buffalo Baseball Kicks off 2011 Season in the Southwest

BUFFALO, NY - The new-look Buffalo baseball team will start its 2010 campaign this coming weekend with a pair of doubleheaders against the New Mexico State Aggies. The Bulls will rely on a talented recruiting class and solid returners to build off of last season's 23 wins.

While it will be the Bulls' first game of the season, New Mexico State comes in to this weekend with a 4-0 record after sweeping a three-game series with Houston Baptist along with local rival New Mexico. While the Aggies offense has been dominant - averaging over 11 runs per contest - the team has also given up just under seven runs per game. In the early part of the season, Aggies second baseman Parker Hipp was named the WAC Hitter of the Week after going 6-for-11 at the dish with six RBI and five runs scored in the sweep of Houston Baptist.

The Bulls return only two main positional starters from last year's team, but both are coming off of stellar freshman campaigns. Alex Baldock saw time at second and third base last season and is expected to settle in to the hot corner for the better part of this season. The Ottawa, Ontario native batted .311 with 10 extra-base hits and 18 runs batted in as a freshman. The other returning starter from 2010 is catcher Tom Murphy, who made 36 starts and batted .313 with 12 multi-hit games.

Buffalo's rotation offers the most veterans on the team, returning six hurlers from 2010. Senior Josh Edwards made 12 starts and struck out 23 batters and will most likely be the game one starter this weekend against the Aggies. The Bulls will have a solid bullpen to turn to this season, with Kevin Crumb, Eric Bryce and Jeff Thompson combining for almost 120 inning of work last season.

The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday and Sunday, with game one starting at 3:05 pm and game two starting at 7:05 pm (EST). Fans can follow the game live online.