In hopes of finding the jolt needed to get its season up and running, the Binghamton baseball team took on Delaware in a four-game series over the weekend. That jolt, however, was nowhere to be found as the Bearcats (2-12) were swept by the Blue Hens (11-4), continuing their disappointing start to the non-conference season.
“I think to sum up the series, a major part of the problem we’ve had in the past and one that we continued to have last weekend, was bringing guys out of the bullpen,” BU head coach Tim Sinicki said. “We really just haven’t been able to do a good job either keeping us within striking distance or hanging on to leads.”
Binghamton met the full wrath of Delaware’s high-octane offense directly in Friday’s series opener, as its pitching was pummeled en route to a 13-2 defeat. The game was kept relatively close for the opening few innings, but the Blue Hens’ nine-run barrage in the sixth put the Bearcats well out of reach.
The Bearcats fared no better on Saturday, dropping both legs of the double header.
With the score tied at two in the sixth inning of the first contest, the game looked to be up for grabs entering its latter stages. But after failing to score and giving up two runs over the next two innings, the Bearcats were again dealt a defeat.
The second half of the double header highlighted the Bearcats’ frustrations, as BU relinquished a 7-2 lead to lose the game, 9-7, despite outhitting Delaware 15-7 in the game.
The streak of disappointing play continued through Sunday’s series finale, with Binghamton again losing a lead late in the game. After spending much of the contest with a 3-1 advantage, BU conceded four runs over the course of the seventh and eighth innings. The contest finished with a 5-4 scoreline, capping off the weekend for the Bearcats.
There were still some bright spots over the course of the series. In particular, redshirt sophomore pitcher Jacob Wloczewski made his season debut after being sidelined with an injury, surrendering six hits and just one run over five innings.
“Jake pitched really well,” Sinicki said. “All in all, for a first outing of the year, he did exactly what we were hoping he would do, which was pitch well, feel healthy and give us a chance to win a ballgame.”
With the non-conference 2016 campaign yielding few positive results, Sinicki believes the team is a work in progress.
“Every time we take the field, we want to win games and I think everybody does that,” he said. “At the same time, at this time of year in the non-conference schedule, we play with lineups, we try to find what roles guys are best suited for and we do all that in hopes that when we do start conference play, we’ve got those things figured out, and we’re not still searching for answers.”
The Bearcats are set to return to action next weekend against Pennsylvania in a three-game series. The first game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Saturday from Meiklejohn Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.