Over the weekend, the Binghamton baseball team lost its first America East (AE) series in over a month to NJIT. After splitting the first two games in a doubleheader on Saturday, BU dropped game three 6-3 on Sunday afternoon. The win put the Highlanders one game ahead of the Bearcats in the division standings with two series remaining.

Binghamton (16-25, 12-12 AE) was in danger of losing game one to NJIT (21-21, 13-11 AE) as it trailed 3-0 going into the seventh and final inning. However, the Bearcats staged a rally to send the game into extras. The inning started when freshman catcher Evin Sullivan hit a two-run homer that brought junior catcher Connor Aoki home. Later in the inning, senior shortstop Jake Evans hit an RBI single, bringing in freshman infielder Nick Roselli to tie the game at three. Sophomore pitcher John Lumpinski worked a 1-2-3 inning in the top half of the eighth inning to give BU a chance to walk it off.

In the bottom of the inning, junior outfielder Cavan Tully led off with a single up the middle as freshman outfielder Logan Haskell and Aoki followed with back-to-back walks to load the bases. After Sullivan struck out, Roselli drove in the winning run with a hard shot to the right side of the infield. The NJIT second baseman dove to field it, but his throw home was off the mark, allowing Tully to slide headfirst with the winning run.

After a scoreless first inning in game two, the Highlanders struck first with an RBI double in the second inning. Binghamton responded in the bottom of the inning when Evans slapped a ball through the infield, bringing in the tying run. BU went scoreless for the remainder of the game and was unable to record another hit until the eighth inning. NJIT pulled away in the fourth inning with a two-RBI single to take a 3-1 lead. The away side later added an insurance run in the eighth inning to make it a three-run advantage as the Highlanders earned a 4-1 victory over the Bearcats entering the final game of the series.

In the rubber match of the series, NJIT started fast with a first-inning solo home run. The Highlanders added two more runs in the second inning before Binghamton got on the board. An RBI single in the second inning from Evans made the score 3-1. The away side added another run in the third inning and two more runs in the fifth inning to pull away from BU. The Bearcats added one more run in the fifth before entering the final inning down 6-2. Freshman infielder Devan Bade led off the inning and hit his first career home run to make it a 6-3 game. Evans then got on with a base hit before junior outfielder Colin Mason walked bringing the tying run to the plate. Tully and Haskell then struck out and flew out, respectively, before Aoki walked to load the bases. Sullivan came to the plate with a chance to tie or walk off the game, but his grounder was fielded cleanly by the NJIT shortstop and the throw to second beat Aoki to the bag as the Bearcats’ four-series winning streak came to an end.

The Bearcats will take on Canisius College in their next matchup on Tuesday, May 10. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. at the Bearcats Baseball Complex in Vestal, New York.