In a closely contested three-game series against UMass Lowell, the America East (AE) conference-leading Binghamton baseball team (11-17, 7-2 AE) found itself in position to continue its unbeaten streak in AE play. Instead, the Bearcats dropped two of three games in walk-off fashion to the River Hawks.
Binghamton dominated Saturday’s series opener, taking the victory 5-0. BU was carried largely by the arms of junior pitcher Jake Cryts and senior pitcher Rob Hardy, who together limited UML to six hits and no runs.
The second game of Saturday’s doubleheader saw the two sides deadlocked for a majority of the contest. Senior pitcher Mike Bunal struck out nine batters in seven innings, allowing just one hit and one run. Yet with the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth, UMass Lowell (13-14, 3-6 AE) managed to clinch the contest with a walk-off RBI single.
“Cryts and Bunal threw the ball extremely well on Saturday,” BU head coach Tim Sinicki said. “The only thing we ask of our starting pitchers is to give us a chance to win the ballgame and both those guys did that.”
BU began the series finale on fire, building a 6-0 lead by the top of the fifth inning. However, the bullpen’s early-season struggles reappeared at the conclusion of the game. Binghamton squandered its seemingly insurmountable lead, dropping what appeared to be a surefire victory by a score of 8-7.
Sophomore pitcher Jacob Wloczewski was dominant early on in the contest, tallying four shutout innings. Following a rough fifth inning, during which Wloczewski surrendered three runs, Sinicki handed the ball over to the bullpen, which failed to keep the lead, allowing five runs.
“This weekend we brought [the bullpen] into tight games, and they didn’t perform to the level that we need them to,” Sinicki said. “Whether it’s in the middle of games or late in games, we have to do a better job than we did.”
BU’s offense was led primarily by senior infielder Reed Gamache, who finished the series 4-for-11 with three RBIs at the plate, improved his batting average to a team-best .297.
“[Gamache] is a guy that heading into the season, we needed to count on,” Sinicki said. “He’s been our number-three hitter since opening day and he’s done a good job in that capacity. You need your best players to be your best players, as simplistic as that sounds.”
Even with the disappointing results this weekend, Binghamton is still a serious contender for the conference title. With a red-hot start to AE play, BU finds itself atop the standings with a 7-2 AE record.
Binghamton is set to face off against non-conference opponent Cornell on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. from David F. Hoy Field in Ithaca, New York.