The Bearcats played their fifth midweek game of the season Tuesday, and unfortunately the result was the same as the previous four as Binghamton produced just three hits and was shut out by visiting Le Moyne, 2-0.
Despite the lack of offense in the non-conference loss, head coach Tim Sinicki isn’t worried.
‘We can’t worry about these things too much,’ he said. ‘The two constants you need are pitching and defense, and we had it today.’
But Le Moyne (17-15), which is in second place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic conference and is now on a nine-game winning streak, also had the pitching and defense working. Dolphins sophomore Brandon Otto (1-4) got his first career victory, pitching four innings, giving up one hit and striking out two.
The Bearcats (15-12, 9-2 AE) used six different pitchers, none pitching more than two innings. Junior Gio Yannuzzi started the game, throwing a perfect two innings, and sophomore Greg Lane followed with a perfect third inning. Junior Mario Roefaro pitched a solid fourth inning, but gave up the Dolphins’ first run in the top of the fifth when senior Ben Gaal doubled to right-center field, scoring junior Corey O’Neill.
Binghamton had a chance to get that run right back in the bottom of the inning, when sophomore Ken Jacobi led off with a double and advanced to third with one out, while Le Moyne catcher Chris Haynes tried to pick off Jacobi at second but threw the ball into center field.
But Michael Quinn struck out swinging on a ball in the dirt, and when Haynes attempted to tag Quinn, who ran to first, he missed but caught Jacobi off guard at third and threw him out for the second out of the inning. Jeff Abrams then walked, but senior Justin Smucker flew out to left field to end the inning.
‘I don’t know where he is going,’ Sinicki said, referring to Jacobi. ‘It’s just a base running mistake.’
Junior Gino Offerman came in for the Bearcats to pitch the sixth. Le Moyne got a runner to second base with two outs, and cleanup hitter junior Phil St. Amant singled him home, giving the Dolphins an insurance run and a 2-0 lead.
Smucker singled with two outs in the eighth to give the top of the Bearcats’ lineup one more chance, but Le Moyne brought in their closer, senior Ryan Woods, who entered the game with a 1.53 ERA and seven saves, and was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Watch List. Woods threw a wild pitch, advancing Smucker to second, but Ryan James grounded out to third base to end the inning.
Woods needed just nine pitches to retire the Bearcats in order in the ninth to end the game.
‘I guess you have to put it in perspective, what we’re trying to do in mid-week games,’ Sinicki said. ‘We wanted to put some guys out there who haven’t had opportunities to play, and some inexperience and lack of at-bats showed.’
The Bearcats will try to put the loss behind them and focus on this weekend’s four-game series at home against Hartford, which currently sits in fourth place in the America East.
Binghamton, on top of the conference right now, is likely to face another round of solid pitching this weekend. In 11 conference games, Hartford pitchers have a 1.80 ERA, led by Chris Greiner, who is 2-0 with a 0.59 ERA, and Weston Szymanski, who is 2-1 with an ERA of 1.00.
‘We just want to continue to take care of business,’ Sinicki said. ‘We’ve done a good job winning each series and that will be our objective again this weekend.’
The first game of the series is today at 3 p.m., followed by a double-header tomorrow starting at noon and the final game on Sunday at noon, all to be played at Varsity Field.