The Binghamton baseball team’s chances of sweeping Hartford looked bleak entering the bottom of the ninth inning on Sunday afternoon.
After capturing both games of a doubleheader the day before, the Bearcats (14-18, 10-2 America East) found themselves trailing, 9-4, with only three outs separating BU from defeat. But Binghamton rallied for six runs in the frame to secure a 10-9 victory and clinch a three-game series sweep of the Hawks (21-12, 5-7 AE).
“[Hartford]’s a good ball club,” said BU head coach Tim Sinicki. “They’re very talented and well-coached. To beat a team like that three straight is really an uplifting weekend for our guys.”
Three Binghamton pitchers combined to allow seven runs through the first six innings, while the Bearcats offense left seven men on base during that time frame as the Hawks jumped out to a 7-1 lead. But, sophomore pitcher Jake Erhard entered the game and didn’t allow Hartford to extend its lead out of BU’s reach. He surrendered just one run over 2 1/3 innings pitched to keep the Bearcats within striking distance.
“It’s been a bit of a struggle all year at times with the bullpen,” Sinicki said. “We’re just trying to find the right guys really who can come in. All you do is ask them to keep you around the ballgame and they kept us close enough to win.”
Binghamton plated three in the sixth off of an RBI double from sophomore designated hitter Nick Wegmann and a two-RBI single from sophomore outfielder CJ Krowiak to start its comeback. Hartford scored one in the top of the eighth and one in the ninth to grow its lead back to five before Binghamton mounted its stunning comeback off of Hawks sophomore closer Collin Ferguson, who’d allowed just one run in the season entering the game.
Senior infielder Reed Gamache opened the inning with a double and the next two Bearcat batters walked to load the bases with no one out. The Bearcats then plated runners on an RBI groundout, an error, an RBI single by Krowiak and back-to-back wild pitches to tie the score at nine. Gamache then stepped to the plate for the second time in the inning and roped a line drive to left field to deliver the walk-off victory for Binghamton.
“I was just looking for anything in the zone,” Gamache said about his at-bat. “My first at-bat in that inning I was trying to make him come to me. I knew he was just trying to get pitches in the zone toward the end so I was just looking to attack.”
The Bearcats put themselves in a position to sweep after topping Hartford, 5-3 and 12-1, in a pair of games on Saturday. In the first game, Binghamton rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the first four innings to score five unanswered runs and secure the series opener. In game two, Binghamton senior pitcher Mike Bunal dominated Hartford, allowing just four hits over seven innings en route to the victory. Five different Bearcats recorded at least two hits apiece and sophomore infielder Paul Rufo drove in a career-high five RBIs in the contest.
“Every single guy on this team is doing a great job and it’s pretty impressive,” Gamache said. “It’s fun to be around.”
With the sweep, Binghamton maintains control of first place in the AE over Stony Brook and UMBC. SBU currently holds a 7-3 record in conference play, while UMBC sits at 6-5.
The Bearcats are set to return to action on Wednesday with a non-conference doubleheader against Marist. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. from the McCann Baseball Field in Poughkeepsie, New York.