For a long time, Binghamton students have looked for an athlete to garner national attention for the school.

This spring, they may have found their man.

Zach Groh continued to roll this season as the sophomore pitched six shutout innings, lowering his national-best ERA to 0.44, while stretching his streak of not allowing an earned run to 36 innings as the Bearcats split two separate doubleheaders this weekend at Vermont.

Groh improved to 4-0 on the season, after winning the second game of a twin bill on Friday by a score of 8-0. He allowed only four hits and struck out 10 batters for Binghamton, and has now allowed only two runs in 41 innings this year.

“Zach has been tremendous this season,” said junior second baseman Matt Simek. “Every time he takes the mound we know that he is going to give us a chance to win.”

The offense supported Groh as well, as Simek and senior center fielder Aaron Davis each had two hits and an RBI. Junior first baseman Brendon Hitchcock and freshman third baseman Kyle Klee each had two hits and two RBI for the Bearcats, with Hitchcock and junior catcher Pat Haughie adding home runs in the game.

“Zach has been outstanding for us this season,” said senior pitcher Tom Gaube, who relieved Groh for an inning to complete the shutout. “He has unbelievable potential. He is our workhorse this season and has been dominant.”

Binghamton lost the first game on Friday as Vermont’s Joe Serafin blanked the Bearcats (19-13-1, 6-4 AE) over 7.2 innings, allowing just five hits and striking out 11, leading the Catamounts (8-25, 6-2 AE) to an 8-0 win.

On Saturday, the teams picked up where they left off the day before, with one team totally dominating the other in the first game. It was the Bearcats who came out on top as senior Jarrod Rampey pitched a complete-game two-hit shutout, striking out five and walking none, leading Binghamton to a 13-0 win over the Catamounts.

Every starting position player picked up at least one hit in the opener for Binghamton. Junior shortstop Justin Smucker, junior designated hitter Jeff Wertepny and third baseman Klee each picked up three hits, while Simek, Hitchcock and Haughie had two hits apiece. Hitchcock had three RBI while Davis and Klee added two.

Vermont’s offense came back to life in the nightcap, as the Catamounts won a slugfest, 11-9. Vermont’s Kyle Brault had three hits and three RBI, and Kyle Massie went 3-for-3 while driving in two runs. Haughie and Hitchcock each had three hits for the Bearcats, with Haughie driving in three in the losing effort.

“Anytime you go on the road you want to at least split the series,” Gaube said. “However … we did let one get away from us on Saturday. We had a five-run lead and we just had some letdowns that proved to be costly.”

BU seemed satisfied coming away with a split, but knows there is a lot of work to be done.

“I think that we played well this weekend, but lost an opportunity to really gain some ground in the conference standings,” Simek said.

The Bearcats return to action tomorrow afternoon when they travel to Le Moyne, before returning home this weekend to host a four-game series against Maine.