Despite blasting seven extra base hits — including four home runs — through three and a half games at the North Carolina State Hyatt Place Invitational, the Binghamton softball team had yet to see a winning result heading into its final matchup.
The Bearcats (9-9) dropped their first three games of the weekend and faced the possibility of falling a fourth time when they were trailing Lipscomb, 5-3, in the top of the seventh inning. But that all changed when junior outfielder Sydney Harbaugh belted a grand slam to secure a 7-5 victory for BU and avoid a sweep.
“I thought it was good on Sunday to be able to come out and finish that game,” BU head coach Michelle Burrell said. “I think the girls know at any point in time, any person in our lineup can start [a rally]. The positive thing is that they feed off of each other in a good way and that is kind of what they did on Sunday.”
Lipscomb (9-14) plated three runs in the bottom of the first in Sunday’s finale, but Binghamton demonstrated its power in the bottom of the fourth. Junior catcher Lisa Cadogan drilled a two-run homer over the right-center field fence. Two batters later, freshman outfielder Jessica Rutherford delivered a game-tying double to right field.
However, Lipscomb responded with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the frame to up the score to 5-3. But, after a scoreless sixth, the Bearcats loaded the bases off a walk, a single and a hit-by-pitch to set the stage for Harbaugh’s grand slam and the 7-5 victory.
“I think [the win] gave the girls a lot of confidence,” Burrell said. “Whether we are behind or up, I feel like they don’t let up. It was good to see them come out and finish the game and use all seven innings and use every at-bat. It was good for the team … We finished on a good note.”
The Bearcats found themselves in position to be swept after dropping games to Longwood and Fordham on Friday. BU led, 4-2, in both games thanks to two-run home runs by Cadogan and junior first baseman Taylor Chaffee against Longwood (4-12) and a three-run homer by freshman infielder Kate Richard in the matchup with Fordham (10-8). But BU could not hold onto the lead in either game, committing seven total errors on the day while allowing four sixth-inning runs in both contests to fall, 8-4, to Longwood and 6-4, to Fordham.
“We didn’t finish the plays defensively,” Burrell said. “It was a combination of not being able to make the plays defensively early on that resulted in them getting another at-bat. We really have to try to limit that as much as possible.”
Binghamton also fell Saturday to No. 25 N.C. State. The Wolfpack (13-8) plated five runs in the game’s first three innings. BU recorded just one hit in the game, a double by Cadogan, and didn’t score a single run in the contest en route to a 7-0 defeat.
“Whether it was just consistent at-bats or defensively, we made some mistakes that we want to clean up going into conference,” Burrell said of her team’s overall performance at the tournament. “I felt like we had a hard time putting everything together this weekend. I thought there were times we were good and times we let up. We are going to work to stay more consistent.”
BU is set to return to action this weekend, opening America East play at Hartford with a three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, with a second game following directly after. The series finale is set for noon on Sunday. All games will take place at the University of Hartford Softball Field in West Hartford, Connecticut.