After 41 days, 19 road games and four cancellations, Brendon Hitchcock, Mike Van Gorder, Joe Charron and the rest of the Binghamton baseball team will play their first home game of the season this weekend, part of a four-game set against the 2006 America East regular season champion Vermont Catamounts.

Vermont (0-0 AE, 9-14) was picked to finish third in the conference’s preseason coaches’ poll, while the Bearcats (4-0 AE, 9-10) were ranked second.

‘Every conference series is huge,’ junior lefty Scott Diamond said. ‘It’s going to take a ton of effort from every guy on our bench. If we work hard and play right, I really think we’ll do well.’

Vermont is second in the conference in team batting, and with dangerous infielder Kyle Massie currently second in batting average in the AE, the Bearcats’ pitching staff will have to be on top of its game.

Luckily for BU, that pitching staff has been phenomenal so far this year. Reigning AE Pitcher of the Year Zach Groh takes his 1-1 record to the hill tomorrow. Groh is third in the conference with 32 strikeouts this season. The twin bill Saturday will see Diamond, who is coming off his best start of the season, and sophomore lefty Jeff Dennis and his 2.66 earned run average take the mound. AE ERA leader Van Gorder will pitch the final game of the series Sunday. Van Gorder is 3-1 with 1.71 ERA.

The pitching staff as a whole currently ranks second in the AE with a 5.22 ERA.

‘Our pitching staff has worked a lot harder in terms of our lifting and running this season,’ Diamond said. ‘I really feel like our staff is well united and we can turn to each other if we need any help.’

Backing up that pitching staff will be a lineup that is third in the AE in batting average right now, hitting at a .275 clip ‘ just .002 behind the Catamounts.

Hitchcock has been the go-to guy all year in the lineup. The senior first baseman, and former AE batting champ, is leading the conference with a .426 average, 54 points higher than Massie.

Charron has also boosted the lineup. The freshman has torn the cover off the ball, belting a conference-best four home runs and hitting .327 so far.

The Bearcat lineup will be challenged by Vermont’s talented right-handed pitching duo of senior Bryan Rembisz and junior Kyle Henry. The pair ranks second and third, respectively, in the AE in ERA. The Collegiate Baseball News honored Rembisz as Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week earlier in the season.

The Bearcats are currently tied with Stony Brook and Hartford for first place in the conference. Vermont has not played a conference game yet.

Game times are set for 3 p.m. tomorrow; noon on Saturday, with the second game to follow; and noon on Sunday at Varsity Field next to the Events Center.