The Binghamton baseball team finished its non-conference schedule on a high note, but the Bearcats know their true challenge lies ahead.
Binghamton (10-8-1) defeated Cornell (5-13) 8-3 at Varsity Field Wednesday in a game marked by bitterly cold weather and sporadic snow showers. The Bearcats rode balanced hitting and dominating pitching from sophomore transfer Ron Miller, who allowed just one hit in five innings of relief.
“I thought we did a good job today,” said head coach Tim Sinicki. “We did a lot with two-out hits. That’s something key to winning.”
Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the third inning, with the bases loaded and one out, junior first baseman Brendan Hitchcock ripped a two-RBI single to center to tie the game. Hitchcock would advance to second on an error, and junior right fielder Jeff Monaco would draw a walk to load the bases for junior catcher Pat Haughie. Haughie hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring junior second baseman Matt Simek and giving BU a 4-3 lead that it would not relinquish.
“I felt really good in the box today,” Hitchcock said. “I’m seeing the ball really well, and I think we’re ready to role for conference play.”
Hitchcock finished the game with three RBI, but his performance was overshadowed by Miller, who made his Binghamton debut a memorable one. Taking over in the fourth inning with a 4-3 lead, the transfer from Monroe Community College struck out five and walked none, allowing only the first batter he faced to reach base.
The Bearcats would tack on another run in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly by Monaco, and their lead would stretch to 6-3 in the seventh when Hitchcock followed a Simek double with an RBI single.
Binghamton struck one final time in the bottom of the eighth, when junior shortstop Justin Smucker ripped a two-RBI single. Smucker also started the game off with a leadoff triple, and scored on freshman left fielder Ken Jacobi’s groundout. Smucker currently ranks third on the team with a .353 batting average.
“I didn’t do anything different today,” Smucker said. “Just some games they fall and some games they don’t. Today I got lucky and got some good hits.”
Senior right-hander Jarrod Rampey pitched the first two innings for BU and didn’t allow a hit. Senior David Lind took over in the third and allowed three unearned runs, but still received the victory since the Bearcats rallied in the bottom half of the inning. After Miller’s five innings of dominance, senior closer Adam Shatkun retired the side in order in the ninth to seal the victory.
“This was a big game for us, because last game we lost and we really wanted to reestablish that winning rhythm,” Smucker said.
The Bearcats will hope to continue their winning ways when conference play opens this weekend with a four-game set against the Stony Brook Seawolves.
“Conference play is a totally different level of intensity,” Sinicki said. “The stakes are higher. It’s hard to put into words how big it truly is.”
Stony Brook was projected to finish second in the America East coaching poll, and has gone 7-15 against some very difficult non-conference opponents. The Seawolves have also won seven of their last eight games after opening the season with 14 straight losses. They currently rank sixth in the conference in batting percentage and first in ERA, while Binghamton ranks second in both categories.
“We’ve just got to stay level headed,” Smucker said. “Whether we win or lose, we can never get too up or too down. As a team we just gotta stay consistent.”