Heading into the two biggest weekends of the season, the Binghamton baseball team sure has built some positive momentum.

Zach Groh hasn’t allowed an earned run in 30 innings and leads the nation in ERA, Brendan Hitchcock is the reigning America East Player of the Week and the team has won five of its last six games.

BU took two out of three from conference rival UMBC this weekend, before sweeping Canisius in a doubleheader Tuesday. The Bearcats will look to keep their winning ways going, as they take on undefeated America East leader Vermont this weekend and perennial conference powerhouse Maine next weekend.

“The conference is so balanced and so wide open this year that it doesn’t matter who we play; whether they’re last place or first place, we gotta win them all,” said head coach Tim Sinicki.

That attitude was shown this weekend, as the Bearcats controlled UMBC for most of the series. The Bearcats were one out away from winning the first game on Saturday, when Retrievers left fielder Joe Fowler drilled an 0-2 pitch from BU senior Jarrod Rampey over the right field fence for a game winning three-run home run.

Aside from that one swing, the Bearcats dominated the entire series, including the first six innings of the loss, where Groh once again did not allow an earned run.

“This streak is borderline silly right now,” Sinicki said. “It’s not supposed to be like that in this era of bigger players and aluminum bats.”

Groh departed with a 4-3 lead in the sixth, but none of the runs he allowed were earned. His ERA now stands at 0.51 on the season, the lowest in the entire nation.

“I just keep going out there, doing what I’ve been doing,” Groh said. “I don’t really think about it, the streak just kind of started.”

In the second game that day, junior pitcher Mike Van Gorder turned out a gem, scattering five hits over seven innings in a 5-1 victory. Van Gorder added six strikeouts, and improved his record to 3-0.

Van Gorder was backed by solid hitting, as Hitchcock went 2-for-2 with a home run and two runs scored. Hitchcock had previously been hitting fourth in the lineup, but before the UMBC series, Sinicki moved him to second. Hitchcock responded, hitting .500 with two home runs and eight RBI in the series en route to being named conference Player of the Week.

“I don’t think the spot has anything to do with it,” Hitchcock said. “I’ve just been seeing the ball really well. It was a good week.”

“The two-spot has really been a tough thing for us to settle on this season,” Sinicki added. “We decided to put one of our best hitters in there and see what happens.”

In the first game of the series, the Bearcats exploded for eight runs in the third inning en route to a 13-5 stomping of the Retrievers. Hitchcock went 4-4 with four RBI, while junior second baseman Matt Simek, junior designated hitter Jeff Wertepny and senior center fielder Aaron Davis each had two hits in the contest.

On Tuesday, against the Golden Griffs, the Bearcats once again flashed their offensive dominance in the first game, cruising to a 13-4 victory. Twelve BU hitters turned four hits and three walks into eight runs in the fifth inning to put the game out of reach. Hitchcock, Simek, Wertepny and junior right fielder Jeff Monaco had two hits apiece, and Wertepny added a solo home run in the second inning.

The Bearcats had to work a little harder for the win in the second game. BU jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first behind an RBI single from Simek, and a two-out two-run single from junior catcher Pat Haughie. The Griffs would slowly claw back into it, scoring runs in the third and fifth innings, but sophomore starter Ron Miller and sophomore lefty Gio Yannuzzi combined to shut the door on the comeback attempt.

Miller, who transferred this season from Monroe Community College, allowed seven hits in five innings and earned his first victory as a Bearcat.

“I like it here, we have a really good pitching staff,” Miller said. “I would say if we don’t win the conference, it’s not a successful season. I think we’re that good of a team.”

The Bearcats will attempt to move one step closer to achieving that goal when they take on Vermont this weekend in Burlington.

“Vermont’s a tough place to play,” Hitchcock said. “They’re gonna have a good team so we’re really going to have to step up our games. These next two weeks are really big.”

ZACH GROH CONTINUES TO SHINE:

Zach Groh didn’t even think he would be pitching at this point in the season, let alone leading the entire country in ERA.

The sophomore pitcher had Tommy John surgery last year, forcing him to miss the entire season, and was expected to be out until late into conference play this season. Thanks to a speedy recovery and a scoreless streak that has now reached 30 straight innings, people are talking about Groh — not just his doctors.

“I wasn’t even supposed to be pitching yet,” Groh said. “I never thought this streak would happen like it did; it’s kind of weird.”

Groh has been named America East Pitcher of the Week twice during the streak, and currently leads the conference in strikeouts per game (8.5) and batting average against (.149).

The last time Groh let up an earned run was on March 15, off a home run in the second inning against a very talented Fresno State squad. That homer is one of just three extra base hits Groh has allowed all year.

His 0.51 ERA ranks first in the entire nation and no, that is not a typo. Groh’s nearest competitor is from the College of Charleston with an ERA of 0.71.

“It’s pretty early in the season; I’d like to be first when it’s all over,” Groh said. “But I’ve never been first in the nation in anything, so it’s pretty cool.”

Despite all of the attention that has been heaped on Groh, he has remained the same levelheaded guy.

“He’s a very cerebral pitcher and he knows what he does best,” said head coach Tim Sinicki. “To his credit, he hasn’t let anything go to his head. He’s the same kid he was when the streak started.”

Groh will look to extend his streak on Saturday, when he pitches the first game of a doubleheader against the Vermont Catamounts.

“I need to keep doing the same things I’ve been doing: getting the guys out, and letting the guys behind me do the work,” Groh said.