The Binghamton baseball team started out the season by losing 14 of its first 18 games. Early on, the pitching staff struggled and the offense fell silent when it mattered. Head coach Tim Sinicki shuffled the lineup and swapped pitchers into and out of the rotation, going full throttle to reverse those disappointments before America East (AE) play began.
Since then, the Bearcats (10-15, 6-0 AE) have won six of their last seven games, outscoring opponents, 42-21. After two impressive three-game sweeps of conference opponents Maine and Albany, BU seeks its third-consecutive AE series victory as it continues conference play against UMass Lowell (11-13, 1-5 AE) this weekend.
“Baseball is a game of high repetition,” Sinicki said. “When you play more, it certainly brings out the best in your players.”
Although spirits are high after Binghamton’s recent success on the field, Sinicki refuses to let the team become complacent. In his 22 years of coaching Binghamton, he’s learned that many things can derail teams in the midst of hot streak, even when everything seems to be clicking.
“The only thing I’m confident in is that we’re playing good baseball right now,” Sinicki said. “That’s the only thing we can control. We hope to be able to play well in all areas like we have the past two weekends.”
In contrast to the Bearcats’ impressive conference record, the River Hawks have lost five of their six AE games. UMass Lowell was, however, more successful in its non-conference slate — winning 10 of 18 contests.
“They’re a good team,” Sinicki said of UML. “It’s going to be a big test for our program. Hopefully some of the good things we’ve been doing in games and in practice will translate into some wins.”
After garnering a conference-leading .533 batting average over this past week — which helped BU go 3-1 in that span — junior first baseman Brendan Skidmore was named the AE Player of the Week. His play was particularly impressive in last weekend’s series against Albany during which he recorded five RBIs on six hits. After recording a two home-run game, Skidmore now leads the conference with six homers.
Skidmore has now been named AE Player of the Week twice this season. The junior was moved full-time to first base this season after splitting time between first base and shortstop in his freshman and sophomore years.
“He’s made the move to first base really seamlessly,” Sinicki said. “I think the fact that Brendan is comfortable at first base and he’s not thinking about his defense too much is contributing to the fact that he’s been really comfortable at the plate.”
Binghamton will tab redshirt junior Jake Cryts to start Saturday’s opener, with senior Mike Bunal set to follow in the second half of the doubleheader. Redshirt sophomore Jake Wloczewski will start the final game on Sunday.
After pitching to a 3.96 ERA last year, Bunal struggled in his first four games of this season, allowing 19 runs in 15 innings pitched. Bunal has since won two of his last three starts, allowing just five earned runs in 19 innings pitched.
“Mike tends to overthink things,” Sinicki said. “He’s going back to the simplicity of what he knows how to do and that’s probably best for him.”
First pitch between the two teams is scheduled for noon on Saturday from Edward A. LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a second game directly following. The series is set to conclude with a single game on Sunday.