Maine knocked the Binghamton softball team out of postseason contention last year, but BU head coach Michelle Burrell said her team won’t focus on exacting revenge this weekend when the Black Bears (6-29, 2-4 America East) are scheduled to visit the Bearcats Sports Complex for a three-game set.
“I think the team knows [Maine took the last playoff spot],” she said. “But I don’t think that has any effect on this year.”
That, at least partially, is because this year’s Bearcats (15-11, 5-1 AE) feature a deep and talented freshman class that did not experience finishing 2012 without a bid to the America East tournament.
Freshmen Lisa Cadogan (.353), Sydney Harbaugh (.342) and Tiffany McIntosh (.329) don’t just lead Binghamton in batting — they all also rank among the top 10 in the conference.
Cadogan leads the team with six home runs (T-2nd AE) and 25 RBI (2nd AE), while Harbaugh’s 16 stolen bases rank third in the America East. Freshman catcher Taylor Chaffee, the most recent America East Rookie of the Week, ranks fifth on the team with a .282 average, and her four home runs are tied for second.
All four standout freshmen have displayed exceptional consistency through their first 26 games on the collegiate diamond.
“Sometimes staying consistent as a freshman is hard, [and] they’ve really done a good job with that,” Burrell said. “They’ve been consistent during our preseason tournaments, going into conference, and that’s certainly going to help us as they gain more experience.”
As a team, Binghamton arguably boasts the conference’s most potent offense. The Bearcats easily lead the league with a .299 batting average, but they also top the charts in home runs (22), RBI (140), runs scored (158), extra-base hits (73), slugging percentage (.470) and on-base percentage (.394).
In addition to the freshmen, the emergence of junior second baseman Jessica Bump has helped take the offense to the next level. Bump, who hit .237 as a freshman and .248 as a sophomore, is hitting .313 with a team-high 14 extra-base hits this year.
Burrell said that Bump’s numbers have improved as she has approached each at-bat with more aggression, looking to attack early while still finding her pitch. But she also attributed Bump’s spike in production to the infielder’s work ethic.
“I think all the work that she puts into practice and what we do in the weight room and what she does during the offseason and the breaks is definitely paying off for her,” Burrell said. “She’s somebody that puts in 100 percent every day, and I think that’s why you’re seeing her numbers improve each year.”
And with Bump and the freshmen leading the way, Binghamton looks to keep rolling.
The Bearcats have momentum in their favor, as they enter the series with 13 wins in their last 17 games. In their most recent series, they outscored UMBC 22-3 en route to a three-game sweep, and their 5-1 conference record — the best six-game start in the program’s Division I history — lands them in second place.
But despite holding a three-game lead for a playoff spot, Burrell said her team’s approach has not changed.
“I think we’re just going to look to go one game at a time, and one of the things that we’ve been working on in individual games is getting ahead early,” Burrell said. “So I think we’re still going to look to do that and look to score first and put pressure on the [other] team’s defense and pitching early on in the games.”
After opening their season with a win, the Black Bears endured a 22-game losing streak, but they ride an 11-5 win over Boston University into this weekend’s series.
First pitch of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Black Bears is set for noon at the Bearcats Sports Complex.