Though a last-inning rally by Fordham spoiled the Binghamton softball team’s quest for a perfect streak through the JMU Softball Invitational, the Bearcats used two wins over Detroit to improve to 6-9 on the season.
Sunday’s tournament finale against host James Madison was cancelled due to rain.
A school-record two triples by junior second baseman Jessica Bump helped Binghamton to a 9-3 win over the Titans (3-20) on Friday morning while BU junior pitcher Demi Laney led the way with a 7-0 shutout in the afternoon.
In the opener, the Bearcats struck in the first inning with a two-out, two-run double off the bat of senior left fielder Jessica Phillips. Detroit responded with a two-run, first inning homer by junior first baseman Sara Cupp.
But Bump’s first triple and a double by freshman designated hitter Tiffany McIntosh helped Binghamton take a 5-2 lead.
Up 5-3 in the sixth, Binghamton pushed across four runs off another Bump triple and a two-run double by freshman first baseman Lisa Cadogan.
Bump led the Bearcats with three hits and as many RBI, while senior pitcher Rhoda Marsteller tossed a complete game to improve to 2-2 on the season.
In the first inning of the second game against Detroit, McIntosh drove in Bump with a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead. The Bearcats wouldn’t need any more offense to preserve the shutout win, but freshman catcher Taylor Chaffee delivered a solo shot in the second, and junior pinch hitter Chelsey Locatell doubled in two runs and Bump added an RBI single in the fourth.
Binghamton would score one run in the fifth and sixth innings, as Laney continued to shut down the opposition.
Phillips and senior right fielder Shannon Kane led the Bearcats with two hits apiece while Locatell drove in a team-high two runs.
“I thought we came out a little flat in the first game … even though we scored quite a few runs I thought we picked it up in the second game,” Binghamton head coach Michelle Burrell said. “We played with a lot more energy. Overall, we did a pretty good job of keeping pressure on them throughout, especially in game two.”
Laney, who finished with nine strikeouts while allowing just five hits and one walk, picked up her second win of the season and third shutout of her career.
But a day later, she struggled against the Rams (15-9), surrendering nine earned runs on 12 hits and four walks in 6.1 innings.
The Bearcats had ridden home runs by Phillips and Cadogan to a 6-2 fifth-inning lead, but Laney’s effectiveness quickly deteriorated as Fordham scored seven runs on three homers in the bottom half.
Trailing 10-8 in the top of the seventh, Binghamton tied the game on a two-run Chaffee homer.
But senior reliever Kate Price recorded just one out in the following frame before allowing a walk-off three-run shot to Fordham junior infielder Elise Fortier. It was Fortier’s second home run of the game.
Bump, Phillips and Chaffee combined to hit .448 with 13 RBI on the weekend. Cadogan, who led the team with a .500 batting average and seven RBI, was named America East Player of the Week on Monday afternoon.
For the second straight year, Binghamton is scheduled to participate in the Radford Invitational, which opens this weekend at RU Softball Field. The Bearcats are set to face Radford and Kent State twice each over the span of two days.
Binghamton already played the Highlanders on March 9, recording a 4-3 win in extra innings at Maryland’s Miken Invitational. In that game, a two-run, fifth-inning home run by Cadogan gave Binghamton a 3-2 lead, but Radford pushed across the tying run in the sixth. The Highlanders committed an error in the bottom of the eighth, allowing sophomore shortstop Caytlin Friis to score the game-winning run.
First pitch against the Highlanders is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday.