The Binghamton baseball team brought its best to the diamond this weekend, sweeping the defending America East (AE) champion, the Hartford Hawks, in three games. The Bearcats’ pitching staff shut down Hartford (13-26, 7-8 AE), allowing only three runs in the entire series, while Binghamton’s bats came to life in the three-game slate.
The most dominant performance put forth by the Bearcats (18-17, 8-6 AE) came in the first matchup of the series, a 12-1 blowout on Saturday afternoon. The game was all but over at the end of the first frame, during which BU piled on seven runs in its first turn at the plate. The Bearcats as a team garnered seven hits in the inning, enough to chase Hartford senior starter Billy DeVito (2-3) from the game after just a third of an inning at the mound. Redshirt sophomore reliever Alex Moconyi cleaned things up from there, but the damage was already done. Redshirt junior infielder Alex Baratta led the Bearcats with two RBI singles in the frame, totaling three RBIs for the entire game.
The Bearcats’ success from the batter’s box was supplemented by strong performances from the mound. Senior right-hander Nick Gallagher (2-4) got the start for the Bearcats, going six innings and giving up no runs and only two hits while striking out five Hartford batters. Senior pitcher Robert Brown gave up a single run in three innings of relief.
The nightcap on Saturday was tighter, but BU still seized control and never quite surrendered it. Binghamton scored the first six runs of the contest, and the Hawks were kept off of the scoreboard until the top of the sixth. Junior starting pitcher Ben Anderson (7-2) continued his masterclass of a season, pitching a complete, seven-inning game that featured eight strikeouts and only two earned runs.
Offensively, every single Bearcat who went to bat earned at least one hit, save for Anderson. Five Bearcats drove in a run during the contest, including senior outfielder Sean Trenholm, who led the Bearcats with a 3-for-4 outing from the box, one RBI and two runs scored. The balanced offense from Binghamton led the team to a 6-2 victory in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader.
It was the third game, played Sunday afternoon, that was the closest of the series. The Binghamton bats finally died down, leading to a defensive contest between the two teams. The pitchers on each side were solid through six frames, both of them bending, but not breaking over the course of the first two-thirds of the game. The match entered the seventh scoreless.
In the bottom of the seventh, the tie was finally broken in the Bearcats’ favor. Hartford junior left-hander Drew Farkas, pitching in relief, threw a wild pitch that allowed redshirt junior outfielder Daniel Franchi to score. It was only one run, but one run was all the Bearcats needed, as the BU pitching staff conceded no runs in the contest. Binghamton finished the game victorious, 1-0.
The Bearcats will attempt to keep their winning streak alive in their next contest, a single nonconference game against St. Bonaventure at home. First pitch is scheduled for Tuesday at 4 p.m. from the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.