In preparation for its upcoming conference slate, the Binghamton baseball team will use this weekend’s series against Penn (2-7) to get into mid-season form. The Bearcats will travel to Philadelphia with hopes of solidifying their lineup and rotation before kicking off America East (AE) play at the end of the month.
“We start conference play next weekend,” Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki said. “So what we’re trying to do is to take the first three games of this four-game series with Penn and treat them as if they were America East conference games.”
While the Bearcats (2-12) have struggled so far this season, their problems have largely occurred late in games. Despite a slew of strong offensive performances in close games against tough opponents, BU’s pitching staff has been unable to keep the Bearcats in contention. Binghamton’s relievers are credited with half of the team’s 12 losses.
The Quakers, like the Bearcats, have struggled in early season non-conference games. Their issues, however, stem from the plate, where they’ve hit just .240 and allowed opposing pitchers to accumulate a 2.22 earned run average.
“I know they were picked to be good in the Ivy League,” Sinicki said. “They’ve got pretty good starting pitching, they might have a pro guy as their number-one starter, but I really don’t know much about them from a historical standpoint since we’ve never played them.”
Redshirt junior pitcher Jake Cryts and senior pitcher Mike Bunal will start the opening two games of Saturday’s double-header, while redshirt sophomore pitcher Jake Wloczewski will take the mound for the second time this season in the first of Sunday’s two games. In his debut start against Delaware last weekend, the righty gave up just one earned run in five innings pitched.
Ahead of this weekend’s series, senior Rob Hardy will move from the starting rotation to the bullpen. Hardy has pitched from the bullpen during summer league competition for the Glens Falls Dragons, collecting three saves in 11 appearances in relief.
“I believe that Rob has the right temperament to come out of the bullpen,” Sinicki said. “I think mentally he’s the best candidate for that role. Rob’s on board and he said he’ll do whatever we think is best for the program.”
The Bearcats’ corner outfield spots have been subject to instability early this season, featuring a rotation of junior Darrian Herncane, freshman Daniel Franchi, sophomore Chris McGee and junior Eddie Posavec, who also plays catcher.
“When Eddie plays catcher, two outfield spots become available,” Sinicki said. “From a performance situation, I think we’ll continue to play guys as we see fit until someone sticks.”
After six consecutive losses, the Bearcats will look to regain momentum before their home opener against Bucknell next Wednesday and their conference opener against Maine on March 26.
“We don’t really care about who we’re playing at this point,” Sinicki said. “What we’re trying to do is fix the problems that we’ve had internally, which for the most part has been our bullpen. I just want to make sure we’re in as good of a shape as we can possibly be in heading into next weekend’s series.”
First pitch between the two teams is scheduled for noon on Saturday from Meiklejohn Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a game following immediately afterwards. The series will conclude with a second double-header on Sunday.