It’s tough to play baseball in Binghamton. It’s cold, it’s wet and you have to practice inside.

Knowing this, the Binghamton baseball team packed up its bags and headed out west for the Johnny Quik Classic in Fresno, Calif. The Bearcats would finish the tournament in fifth place out of seven teams, winning two out of the five games they played.

Binghamton opened up with a strong defensive performance against Lafayette, defeating the Leopards 4-1 in the opening game of the classic. The Bearcats broke the game open in the eighth inning, when junior second baseman Matt Simek delivered a two-out two-run double to stretch the lead from 2-1 to 4-1. The team rode dominating pitching as sophomore Scott Diamond, junior Mike Van Gorder and senior Scott Redemacker combined to hold Lafayette to just four hits.

Two days later, the Bearcats lost a tough one in extra innings to the host Fresno State Bulldogs, 7-6. The Bulldogs rallied back from a three-run deficit to tie the game up, and eventually won it in the 12th following a lead-off walk and back-to-back singles.

The bad luck continued for the Bearcats the next day, as Miami Ohio dominated them in the third game 9-1. The Red Hawks scored in each of the first three innings and never gave Binghamton a chance. Freshman third baseman Kyle Klee drove in Binghamton’s only run with a single in the second. The top four hitters of the BU lineup went a collective 2-for-15 with six strikeouts.

Saturday, Gonzaga gave Binghamton its worst loss of the season, defeating the Bearcats 12-1 after jumping on Diamond for 10 runs in the first three innings. Freshman catcher Michael Quinn delivered the team’s only RBI with a pinch-hit ground out in the seventh.

BU ended the tournament on a high note, coming from behind to defeat Bucknell 10-5 in the final game of the tournament. Trailing by one with two outs in the third, BU exploded for six runs. Senior centerfield Aaron Davis delivered a two-run double and freshman third baseman Kyle Klee followed with a two-run single. Quinn then delivered an RBI single. The trio who hit 7-8-9 in the lineup produced seven hits and seven RBI.

The Bearcats have no games scheduled until a showdown at Lehigh Saturday afternoon.

Check out our Binghamton baseball season preview Friday.