The Binghamton baseball team will have to wait until the weekend for another chance at clinching a playoff berth after Maine took two of three from the Bearcats (25-21, 14-12 America East) at the Bearcats Sports Complex this weekend. Binghamton took the series opener, 4-3, on Saturday, but Maine (31-19, 18-8 AE) bounced back with a doubleheader sweep on Sunday.
After falling down 5-1 in the rubber match, the Bearcats used a two-run double from junior second baseman Daniel Nevares in the eighth and an RBI single and wild pitch in the ninth to force extra innings.
But Maine strung together seven hits and three walks in the top of the 10th to pull ahead 13-5. Binghamton could only plate two runs in the bottom half, ultimately falling 13-7.
Senior starter Jay Lynch lasted just 4.1 innings, getting tagged with four runs on nine hits. Sophomore Mike Kaufman, who allowed the first three runs in the 10th, was hit with the loss.
The defeat dropped the Bearcats into third place in the America East, as the Black Bears extended their lead atop the conference to 3.5 games.
The series opener also took 10 innings, but Binghamton came out on top, 4-3.
In the bottom of the 10th, junior center fielder Bill Bereszniewicz got things started with a single through the right side. After sophomore outfielder Zach Blanden singled, freshman third baseman David Schanz drove the first pitch he saw into right center for a single that drove in Bereszniewicz to end the game.
Sophomore Mike Urbanski (2-0) had entered in the top of the 10th and earned the win, while sophomore Greg Ostner allowed one run in 3.2 innings of relief. Senior starter Jake Lambert left the game after surrendering two runs in five innings.
Blanden finished 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Schanz, Bereszniewicz and sophomore left fielder Jake Thomas each had two hits.
In Game 1 of Sunday’s doubleheader, Maine bounced back with a 4-3 comeback win over the Bearcats.
BU scored the first two runs of the game when both junior infielder John Howell and Bereszniewicz came through with RBI singles in the bottom of the second.
While Bereszniewicz added another RBI single in the fourth, the Black Bears began to slowly chip away at the BU lead in the later innings. Maine scored once in the fourth and twice in the fifth to tie the game at 3-3.
Then, in the top of the 6th, Maine sophomore outfielder Brian Doran blasted a solo homer to give the Black Bears the 4-3 advantage.
Starter Jack Rogalla went the distance in the loss, surrendering nine hits in seven innings of work while giving up four earned runs and striking out three.
Next weekend, the Bearcats will have another shot to clinch when they head to Albany for their final series of the regular season. A win over the Great Danes or a Hartford loss to Stony Brook would secure Binghamton a spot in the postseason.