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BUFFALO — University at Buffalo senior Vinny Mallaro and junior pitcher Brent Cleland swept the Mid-American Conference weekly awards, the conference office announce on Monday afternoon.
Mallaro had a huge weekend at the plate for the Bulls as he helped UB claim their first MAC series of the season over Northern Illinois. In the series opener on Saturday night, Mallaro was outstanding as he finished 3-for-4 with a season-high four RBI and a run scored in the Bulls 6-2 win over NIU. On Sunday, Mallaro went 2-for-4 with the lone RBI in the loss to NIU in the first game of the doubleheader before closing out his weekend going 1-for-4 in the final game. Mallaro has now notched at least one hit in six straight games as he boosted his season average to .317 on the season. The senior now ranks third on the Bulls with 19 RBI on the season.
Cleland put together another strong start on the mound for the Bulls on Sunday as he was able to clinch the series for the Bulls. Cleland finished off his game going 8.0 innings while scattering five hits, one run and striking out three batters as he improved to 2-2 on the year. After returning to the UB rotation after missing a season, Cleland has made a steady improvement and will take over Sunday duties for the Bulls weekend rotation. On the year, the junior is 2-2 with a 5.18 ERA.
The Bulls are back in action Tuesday afternoon when they head to Canisius for a doublehader with a 3 p.m. first pitch.
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