It’s Zach Groh’s conference. Everyone else just plays in it.
After losing to Stony Brook Friday, the Binghamton baseball team once again turned to the sophomore righty to turn things around. Groh did just that, tossing a complete-game five-hit shutout, keeping the Seawolves’ hitters in check all night long.
“He’s been unbelievable,” said freshman left fielder Ken Jacobi. “To go out there every time he’s on the mound and know that you have a great chance of winning is irreplaceable.”
Groh, who has been named conference Pitcher of the Week for the past two weeks, made a strong case for a third such award by throwing his third straight shutout. The Bearcats needed another pitching gem from Groh, as they failed to score a run until the game’s final inning.
In the top of the seventh, with the score tied at zero, junior shortstop Justin Smucker led off the inning with a single and junior second baseman Matt Simek added a hit one out later. Junior right fielder Jeff Monaco then drove in Smucker with an RBI single, and junior designated hitter Jeff Wertepny hit a sac fly to score Simek to give the Bearcats an insurance run.
BU followed up the victory with a win in the nightcap, downing Stony Brook 4-3.
“It was huge,” Jacobi said. “To come out of the gate with a winning record gives us so much confidence for the rest of the year.”
Monaco and senior center fielder Aaron Davis had two-out RBI singles in the first and second innings, respectively, to get BU on the board. In the third, Monaco added another RBI on a fielder’s choice, and Smucker scored after Simek reached on an error to put the Bearcats ahead 4-0.
That would be all the offense they needed, as junior Mike Van Gorder and senior Jarrod Rampey combined to hold the Seawolves to three runs over seven innings. Stony Brook had the tying run on first base in the seventh, but Rampey induced a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Van Gorder got the win, after allowing no earned runs and just two hits, improving his record to 2-1 on the year.
The Bearcats lost the first game Friday afternoon 8-3, after the Seawolves broke open a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning. The Seawolves used a leadoff double, a sacrifice and a run-scoring single to put the game away for good, before piling on another three insurance runs. Sophomore Scott Diamond got the start, and the southpaw allowed five runs over seven innings.
“We played well, we just did not get it done,” Jacobi said. “We needed to make a few better pitches and get a few key hits. The last two games we got the hits and the plays when we needed them.”
Stony Brook was predicted to finish second in the America East this season, so taking two out of three from them on the road is no small feat for the Bearcats.
“I think it shows just how good our team can be,” Jacobi said. “We had contributions from everyone, and I think when we were picked to finish behind them, they didn’t take into account how well-balanced and how tough a team we are.”
The Bearcats will head to St. Bonaventure today at 2 p.m. for a non-conference showdown with the Bonnies.