The Binghamton baseball team entered its doubleheader against NYIT this weekend undefeated at home. The Bearcats came out of the two games the same way.
BU topped NYIT (17-23) in both games on Saturday as the Bearcats improved their home record to 9-0. Binghamton is the only team in all of Division I college baseball to remain unbeaten at home.
“Everyone enjoys having a home-field advantage,” said BU head coach Tim Sinicki. “The team’s comfortable there, and it makes them feel at ease.”
The opening game resulted in a monumental victory for BU (19-20, 12-3 America East), as the Bearcats routed NYIT, 23-1. BU tied its program record for most runs in an inning following a 12-run second and broke the program record for most hits in a game with 27. Ten different players drove in at least one run in the contest while 13 delivered at least one hit. Sophomore outfielder Chris McGee led BU by knocking in four runs, while freshman outfielder Sean Trenholm had a team-high four hits. Sophomore outfielder Pat Britt had four hits and three RBIs in the game.
Junior pitcher Jake Cryts came away with the victory following a dominant one-run, four-hit outing over five innings pitched.
Binghamton managed to complete the sweep by winning a much closer affair in the nightcap. Following an intense pitching duel between BU senior Mike Bunal and NYIT senior Dixon Marble, the Bearcats managed to escape the contest with a 3-2 victory. The win improved Bunal’s win total to five, which leads the Bearcats.
While NYIT managed to put a run on the scoreboard in the eighth inning to bring the score to within a run, sophomore reliever Dylan Stock blanked NYIT in the ninth for his second save of the season. Although Sinicki in the past has expressed concern about the bullpen’s early-season struggles, the Bearcats’ recent performances have been significantly more consistent.
“I think there’s some improvements being made, absolutely,” Sinicki said. “I think as the season got deeper and our starters can go deeper into games, that minimized the amount of innings we needed from our bullpen.”
Despite a break from conference play in their schedule, the Bearcats currently sit in first place of the AE standings. Confidence within the team is high as the conference tournament approaches.
“We certainly like being in this position than from the bottom looking up, but I know that the most important baseball is yet to come,” Sinicki said. “Our hope is to continue to try to win every series we play. As long as we can continue to do that, we’ll be in great shape.”
The Bearcats are set to return to action against non-conference opponent St. Bonaventure on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. from Fred Handler Park in Olean, New York.