For Mike Van Gorder this is becoming a habit.

For the second consecutive series, the Binghamton baseball team trailed two games to one, and turned to the junior right-hander to salvage the weekend. And for the second consecutive series, Van Gorder delivered, allowing one run over six innings en route to a 6-4 victory over the Hartford Hawks Sunday, earning the Bearcats a crucial conference split.

“I like to pitch in the pressure situations and important games, because it is much more exciting than pitching when the game is not on the line,” Van Gorder said. “That’s why I play the game — to win, especially in important games.”

The game was knotted at one in the seventh with Van Gorder engaged in an epic pitching duel against Hartford junior Adam Flaherty, when BU junior Jeff Wertepny stepped up with the bases loaded and two outs. Wertepny drilled a bases-clearing double to put BU up for good, and give Van Gorder some much-needed support. The Bearcats would add on runs in the eighth and ninth innings to put the game away for good.

The victory was crucial for BU (24-18-1, 10-8 AE), as a series loss to the lowly Hawks (10-35, 7-13 AE) would not have boded well for the Bearcats’ postseason hopes.

“It was very important to win,” Van Gorder said. “If we had lost I think we would have been tied with Albany for the last playoff spot with only one conference weekend left.”

On Saturday, the bats never woke up for the Bearcats, as Hartford swept the doubleheader 1-0 and 5-0 — the first time all season the Bearcats dropped both games of a twinbill.

Sophomore ace Zach Groh threw another gem in the opener, throwing six shutout innings before allowing the game-winning sacrifice fly with one out in the seventh. The run raised Groh’s ERA to 0.82, still best in the nation. Only four Bearcats registered hits in the contest.

The second game saw senior Jarrod Rampey scatter seven hits over six innings, but two of those hits were two-run home runs. The Bearcats supported Rampey with just five hits, and never had a multi-hit inning.

“It was disappointing, absolutely,” Van Gorder said. “We went up there looking to sweep, just like every weekend. But unfortunately we hit a lot of hard hits right at guys.”

The most impressive game of the series was the opener Friday, as BU destroyed the Hawks 14-0. Last year’s America East Rookie of the Year Scott Diamond returned to his old form, allowing just two hits over eight innings. The lefty struck out four, and walked just one.

The offense exploded for its biggest output since March 4, as every starter reached base and several reserves got to see action. The Bearcats scored four runs in the second inning, and then blew the game open with three in the fourth and three in the fifth.

Junior first baseman Brendan Hitchcock led the charge, going 4-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Junior second baseman Matt Simek added three hits and two RBI, and the catching duo of junior Pat Haughie and freshman Michael Quinn combined for three hits and four RBI.

The Bearcats will head to New Orleans this weekend for a non-conference showdown against the Privateers. The team returns home the following weekend to wrap up the conference slate with a crucial four-game set against Albany.

“We have to go out and bust our butts in practice and keep improving every day,” Van Gorder said. “Hopefully, next time we will have better luck against Albany and our hard hits will fall.”