In last weekend’s series against UMass Lowell, the Binghamton baseball team saw an old habit of letting close games slip away suddenly reappear. The Bearcats’ bullpen struggled, allowing two walk-offs in the three-game series. On Wednesday afternoon against Cornell, it happened again.
With the Bearcats (11-18, 7-2 America East) leading, 2-0, in the bottom of the eighth, freshman pitcher Jeremy Westaway gave up a triple to Cornell sophomore catcher Ellis Bitar, which scored the leadoff runner from first. Then, Bitar scored on a throwing error by sophomore second baseman Luke Tevlin to tie the game at two. Cornell junior second baseman C.J. Price followed by homering off the replacement pitcher, freshman Cameron Ringo, to give the Big Red (9-13, 2-4 Ivy League) a one-run lead.
Unable to take advantage of runners on second and third with two outs, sophomore designated hitter Nick Wegmann struck out swinging in the top of the ninth, sending the Bearcats to their third straight loss, 3-2.
Binghamton utilized nine pitchers over the course of the game, which saw a total of 19 players take the mound. Altogether, 44 players took the field in the non-conference matchup. The only Binghamton starter to play the full game was sophomore centerfielder CJ Krowiak, who went 1-4 at the plate with a walk and an RBI. Krowiak singled up the middle in the top of the eighth, driving in sophomore catcher Jason Agresti to give BU a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth.
“You have to reward players for working their tail off everyday at practice who don’t always get opportunities to play,” Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki said. “We need to keep all those players sharp should they be called upon either for a pinch-hitting role, work out of the bullpen or as a defensive replacement.”
Binghamton opened the scoring in the first when junior second baseman Reed Gamache doubled, scoring senior third baseman David Schanz from first. This would prove to be the last run scored until Krowiak’s single in the eighth.
The Bearcats’ pitching staff showed few signs of trouble until the eighth, allowing just three hits in the first seven innings. Ringo was credited with the loss.
Both teams viewed the midweek game as an important chance to evaluate non-starters during game play.
“You can’t play midweek games the same way you play conference games,” Sinicki said. “There’s development that needs to happen during the midweek games. We need to see where these guys are at in terms of their skills. You’ve got to give different guys opportunities to see if you can use them on the weekends.”
The Bearcats have struggled in their non-conference slate this season, in which they’ve gone 4-16. Binghamton will look to regain its composure when it returns to AE play against Hartford this weekend. The Hawks (21-8, 5-4 AE) have the best overall record in the conference and are ranked 46th in the country, according to the NCAA RPI rankings, 106 spots above the next-best AE competitor.
“Hartford’s a very good program and they’re playing well right now,” Sinicki said. “Obviously we know we’re going to need to play good baseball, which we’ve done so far in conference play based on the fact that we’re sitting in first place and everyone is looking up at us right now.”
Binghamton’s series against Hartford is set to start with a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch is set for noon from the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.