The Binghamton University softball team fought hard to try to win a doubleheader with St. Bonaventure and Jessica Phillips was doing her best to help the team do just that. What resulted was Phillips’ own personal home run derby.
Freshman outfielder Phillips launched three pitches out of the park in the two-game set as the Bearcats (22-16, 6-9 America East) took the opener 7-5 but fell in the nightcap 8-6 at home against St. Bonaventure (10-23).
In Game 1, Phillips finished 3-for-4 with two homers, three runs and four RBI. The run support allowed freshman pitcher Rhoda Marsteller to preserve her 10th win of the season, as she surrendered only one earned run with four strikeouts in four innings.
Binghamton grabbed a 5-0 lead in the first three innings, thanks to Phillips’ two-run shot, and held a 7-2 lead through six innings after another two-run blast from Phillips. The Bonnies made a run in the top of the seventh, but the Bearcats slammed the door after allowing three runs in the inning.
Sophomore Briana Andrews hit 2-for-3 with an RBI, and four other Bearcats contributed with hits. Redshirt freshman Kate Price closed out the game with three innings pitched, striking out three to earn her third save of the year.
Phillips picked up right where she left off in Game 2 — launching a solo homer in the bottom of the first inning. The Bearcats added four runs in the third thanks to a two-run home run from junior Stephanie DeLuca, an RBI-double from sophomore Meghan Tucker and finally an RBI-single from junior Kelly Schuldt.
But the Bearcats ceded a whopping seven runs in the decisive fourth inning, though only three of those were earned runs for sophomore pitcher Kristen Emerling.
DeLuca and Tucker both finished the day 2-for-3 with two RBI. The Bearcats outhit the Bonnies 11-9, but left nine on base in the contest.
The Bearcats will look to continue their winning ways in the final America East Conference games of the season, in a three-game set against Stony Brook. With five games left, Binghamton needs to win two of them to finish with the highest win total in the program’s Division I history; the previous high was 23 wins in 2002. The Bearcats’ 22 wins this year matches the win total from the previous three seasons combined.
Although Binghamton has the third-best winning percentage in the conference, it still sits in fifth in America East standings. Boston University leads the conference at 10-2, Maine follows at 9-3, Stony Brook is next with 7-4 and Albany has a 7-7 record. With the Bearcats’ 6-9 record, this weekend’s home slate against Stony Brook is their last shot to sneak into the America East tournament.
The Bearcats are set to face the Seawolves for a doubleheader starting at noon on Saturday, followed by the third and final game on Sunday at noon.