The Binghamton softball team was welcomed home on Thursday by 40-degree weather, cheers from fans and nine runs by the Orange. Not exactly the homecoming the Bearcats envisioned.
Binghamton (4-19) continued its free-fall, losing a non-conference matinee game to Syracuse (19-14) 9-1 in five innings. The Bearcats have now lost six consecutive games while the Orange extended their winning streak to five games.
“It’s very frustrating,” said senior right fielder Lauren Verrusio. “We’re working hard and very well at practice, but it doesn’t matter how you did in practice if you don’t transfer it to the game.”
Early leads have been scarce for the Bearcats this season and that trend continued Thursday. Following a scoreless first inning, Syracuse tacked on three runs in the top of the second. The Syracuse onslaught continued in the top of the fourth as the Orange added six runs on seven hits, inflating their lead to 9-0. The Orange had four doubles in the inning, including three straight by sophomore Chanel Roehner, freshman Heather Kim and senior pitcher Alexis Switenko. Each of Syracuse’s nine starters finished with at least one hit.
“Getting a jump-start would be amazing,” Verrusio said. “It gives us confidence and takes the stress off of the defense and pitching.”
Verrusio certainly isn’t the only one eager to draw first blood. Sophomore catcher Devin Glezen said it’s always hard to play out of a hole. However, the Bearcats haven’t forgotten that striking first isn’t the only way to win.
“We have seven innings to execute,” said sophomore pitcher Meghan Quinn. “We just need to relax and play the way we know how.”
Binghamton’s lone run came in the bottom of the fourth inning when junior infielder Mia Bieman earned a bases-loaded walk, but the Bearcats would leave the bases packed to end the inning.
The Bearcats would threaten again in the bottom of the fifth after junior left fielder Stephanie Woodcock was hit by a pitch. Verrusio bunted Woodcock to second while reaching first herself. Glezen then sacrifice-bunted the runners over to second and third with two outs as the Bearcats’ power hitter, shortstop Rose Barre, looked to cause some damage. Switenko had other plans, however, as she got Barre to foul out to right, earning her seventh win.
Switenko (7-1) pitched all five innings while giving up three hits and striking out five. Senior starting pitcher Katie Hansen dropped to 2-9 with the loss after giving up three earned runs off seven hits in three innings of work. Quinn relieved Hansen in the top of the fourth but fared no better, allowing six earned runs on seven hits in her lone inning on the mound.
“Our preparation is perfect,” Quinn said. “We put [too much] pressure on our shoulders. Our game [is] ten percent physical and 90 percent mental. We have to break that mental barrier.”
Verrusio offered a solution to break that barrier.
“We have to play smarter instead of trying to play harder,” she said. “In some cases, instead of driving one into the ground, maybe we should try for a sac-fly. We have to be smarter.”
Playing smarter may mean juggling the lineup for an offensive jolt. While head coach Holly Brown has said she has complete confidence in her lineup, her team is open to the possibility of change.
“Nothing can hurt at this point,” Verrusio said. “We’re pretty flexible as far as our lineup.”
Quinn said changing the lineup could be beneficial because it’s another way to try and manufacture runs.
“[We] have confidence in our coaching staff to make the right decisions,” Quinn added. “They’re the ones that know what is best for us.”
Binghamton will try for its fifth win this weekend when it hosts a three-game America East series with Stony Brook (15-16). The two will play a doubleheader on Saturday at noon followed by the potential rubber-game Sunday.
The only certainty for the series is that one losing streak will come to an end. While the Bearcats look to snap their six game slide, the Seawolves have lost four straight following their recent non-conference doubleheader defeats at Marist.
“Some of the best teams have rocky starts and finish on top,” Quinn said. “I just can’t wait to show everyone how good we actually are.”
When they last met in 2005, Stony Brook swept the three-game series by final scores of 11-2, 3-1 and 6-0. The Seawolves scored 20 runs on 21 hits during the series, including four home runs with three of them coming in the first game.
“Every game is a fresh start for us,” Verrusio said. “We’re not forgetting, but we’re moving on. We want to take as many as we can from [Stony Brook]. Syracuse is behind us and we’re going to come off hard on Saturday.”