Sophomore left fielder Jake Thomas belted two two-run homers, and the Binghamton baseball team took Saturday’s series finale against Albany, 10-3, at Varsity Field.
With the victory, the Bearcats (27-22, 16-13 America East) won the three-game set and secured the No. 2 seed in next week’s America East tournament, dropping Albany (23-23-1, 16-14 AE) to the No. 3 spot.
Thomas, who went 5-for-9 with five RBIs on the weekend, delivered his first shot with one out in the first inning, giving Binghamton a 2-0 lead. Albany answered with a run in the first, but Thomas homered in the third to put the Bearcats ahead 4-1.
Binghamton added two more in the fifth before blowing the game open with a four-run eighth inning.
Senior starter Jay Lynch, who improved to 6-4, allowed one earned run in four innings, while freshman pitcher Jake Cryts tossed three scoreless innings of relief.
Junior center fielder Bill Bereszniewicz, sophomore right fielder Zach Blanden and junior first baseman Brian Ruby each had two hits, while Thomas finished with three.
Binghamton took Friday’s series opener, 3-2, in nine innings after battling back from a 2-0 first-inning deficit.
After Bereszniewicz, the No. 9 hitter, singled and stole second to start the top of the ninth, the Bearcats’ top of the order had the go-ahead run in scoring position with no outs. Blanden worked a walk, freshman third baseman David Schanz laid down a sacrifice bunt and Thomas drew an intentional walk to load the bases.
With two outs, Albany sophomore pitcher Cameron Sorgie threw a wild pitch, allowing Bereszniewicz to cross the plate with the go-ahead run.
BU sophomore pitcher Greg Ostner, who tossed five scoreless innings in relief, nailed down the win, disposing a two-out single with a game-ending groundout.
Blanden, Schanz and Ruby each went 2-for-4.
In Friday’s nightcap, Binghamton plated two runs with two outs in the fifth inning to take a 4-3 lead, as Ruby scored on a wild pitch after doubling in Thomas. But Albany responded with a run in the fifth and sixth innings to command a 5-4 advantage heading into the final frame.
Thomas led off the top of the seventh with a single, but the middle of Binghamton’s order couldn’t bring him home.
BU sophomore pitcher Mike Urbanski took the loss, his first of the season.
Ruby led the Binghamton offense with two hits and two RBIs.
Binghamton will play Albany in its first game of the double-elimination conference tournament. First pitch is set for Wednesday at 8 p.m. at LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Mass.