The Binghamton baseball team benefited from a wild game that produced as many walks as hits against Marist before slipping late in a tight game against St. Bonaventure. The Bearcats (17-13) outlasted the Red Foxes (18-13-1) 11-9 on Tuesday afternoon at McCann Field, only to see an eighth-inning tie go the other way in their 4-2 loss to the Bonnies (11-17) Wednesday afternoon at the Bearcats Sports Complex.
BU’s win over Marist was the team’s third in a row and marked the beginning of a stretch of seven games in nine days.
“We can’t complain about playing that many games in that many days,” Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki said. “We love to compete and we love to go and play games. It’s part of our season that we don’t even talk or think about.”
Binghamton would score three in the first inning without generating a hit as the host Red Foxes surrendered walks to the first three batters. Binghamton junior first baseman Brian Ruby drove in a runner with a groundout, while a wild pitch and a walk to sophomore catcher Nick Pancerella accounted for the next two runs.
With the score at 3-2 in the third inning, the Bearcats built all the cushion they would need after sending 12 men to the plate. BU plated seven runs in the inning in an unconventional way: three hits, three walks, two errors, a hit batter and a wild pitch.
All in all, there were 19 hits and 19 walks in the contest.
While the Red Foxes tried to claw their way back into the game, sophomore pitcher Anthony Crillini slammed the door with the tying run at first to earn his second save of the season.
Sophomore Greg Ostner (1-1) was credited with the win after putting forth the most effective performance of any of BU’s five pitchers. He allowed just one hit and one run while striking out seven in 3.1 innings.
Pancerella finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI, while sophomore outfielder Zach Blanden went 2-for-5 with two RBI.
Sophomore left fielder Jake Thomas reached base in 3-of-5 plate appearances to raise his on-base percentage from .542 to .544. Thomas entered the game ranked No. 1 in the nation in the category, and despite a 2-for-5 performance against the Bonnies, he still topped the chart at .538 as of Thursday afternoon.
In Wednesday’s matchup, the Bonnies plated a run in the eighth to break a 2-2 tie before adding an insurance run in the ninth to secure a 4-2 win over BU.
St. Bonaventure scattered individual runs in each of the third, fifth, eighth and ninth innings, while Binghamton only managed single runs in the fourth and fifth frames.
Sinicki said his team has struggled with situational hitting over the past month, and Wednesday was no exception as the Bearcats scored just two runs and left 13 runners on base.
“Obviously, that’s a big concern of ours,” Sinicki said. “It’s a big point of emphasis. And so at some point, guys just kind of have to have a better plan in the box and execute better when they have those opportunities.”
A prime example came in the final inning, when BU put runners on first and second with only one out. A pop-out to center and a comebacker to the pitcher, however, effectively ended the Binghamton threat and the game.
“It’s not always about just getting a hit; you need to capitalize on scoring opportunities, and we didn’t do that [against St. Bonaventure],” Sinicki said. “We left 13 guys on base.”
BU sophomore starter Jed Lemen tossed three scoreless innings before handing it off to freshman Tsuyoshi Horibata. In his collegiate debut, Horibata held the opposition to three hits and one run over 3.1 innings. Senior Joe Swindells took the loss after 2.2 innings pitched.
Junior second baseman Daniel Nevares finished 2-for-4.
The Bearcats are set for a three-game stint against UMBC this weekend at the Bearcats Sports Complex. Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader is scheduled to start at noon, while Sunday’s game is set to begin at 1 p.m.