Two days prior to taking the field for the America East (AE) Tournament, the Binghamton baseball team was honored at the AE Baseball Awards Banquet on Tuesday night, held at the Tsongas Center on the campus of tournament host UMass Lowell. Binghamton (27-23, 19-5 AE) won two of four major awards, as senior pitcher Mike Bunal collected Pitcher of the Year honors and head coach Tim Sinicki was selected as Coach of the Year. In addition, a program-record nine Bearcats were selected to All-Conference team.
Both the major award winners and All-Conference teams were chosen by a vote of the conference’s head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own players.
Bunal recorded a 2.93 ERA and went 6-0 in conference play. He led the league with 45 strikeouts and a .203 opponent batting average. Bunal is the fourth pitcher of the year selection for Binghamton and the first since 2010.
Sinicki was named AE Coach of the Year for the fifth time, tying a league record. He led the Bearcats to a first-place finish after BU was predicted to finish fifth in the conference preseason poll.
Sinicki attributed Binghamton’s success to the chemistry it has developed this season.
“[This award] goes to the 32 players, of course, who make our lives that much more enjoyable every day at the field and every day at workouts,” he said. “This, perhaps, has been the best team in terms of giving me the most satisfaction in my 24 years here at Binghamton. They’ve been a joy to be around.”
Binghamton landed five players on the All-Conference First Team and four on the Second Team, surpassing the eight total selections from the 2010 team.
BU’s first-team selections included Bunal, senior pitcher Rob Hardy, senior second baseman Reed Gamache, junior utility player Eddie Posavec and sophomore center fielder CJ Krowiak. Representing BU on the Second Team were redshirt junior pitcher Jake Cryts, junior first baseman Brendan Skidmore, sophomore catcher Jason Agresti and sophomore shortstop Paul Rufo.
Freshman pitcher Nick Gallagher was named to the AE All-Rookie Team, while senior third baseman David Schanz was an All-Academic Team selection.
Binghamton is scheduled to face Albany on Thursday in the second round of the conference tournament. First pitch is set for noon from Edward A. LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Massachusetts.