Fresh off of a disappointing 2-3 showing at last weekend’s Stetson Classic, the Binghamton softball team (7-7) will head to College Park this weekend to compete in the Maryland Tournament.
The Bearcats are set to open competition against North Dakota State (14-11) on Friday afternoon. In their most recent tournament, the Bison played six close games, collecting three wins and three losses.
“I think it’s good that we get to play North Dakota State this weekend,” BU head coach Michelle Burrell said. “They’re a pretty competitive program, and we’re looking forward to playing them twice.”
Along with two games against NDSU, Binghamton will also face UMass (5-13), Boston University (9-11) and host Maryland (7-17) over the course of the tournament.
While it seems that NDSU may be the most competitive team the Bearcats are set to face, Boston has made some noise over the past week, picking up five straight wins at the Mizuno Invitational Tournament. In the Terriers’ 10-2 win against Providence, freshman catcher Alex Heinen particularly impressed, converting six RBIs in a powerful showing at the plate. Factoring in their winning streak and recent performances, the Terriers will have momentum entering their game against Binghamton on Saturday afternoon.
Before the Bearcats match up against Boston, they are slotted to play UMass on Saturday morning.
UMass has largely struggled to start its season and will enter this weekend on the tail end of a four-game losing streak. Players to look out for from UMass are sophomore pitcher Meg Colleran, as well as freshman outfielder Erin Stacevicz, who both received Player of the Week Awards earlier this month.
To conclude the tournament, the Bearcats will face Maryland on Sunday afternoon. Entering the weekend having lost four of their last five games, the Terrapin (7-17) will look to take advantage of its home-field and turn things around.
Headlining the Terps’ pitching staff will be redshirt junior pitcher Brenna Nation, who registered a complete-game no-hitter during her last outing in a win over Saint Louis this past weekend. Nation and junior Hannah Dewey have acted as a formidable one-two punch for the Maryland staff this season, and are match-ups that could prove to be a tough task for Binghamton.
The Bearcats recently underwent an up-and-down weekend, with a pair of wins over Tennessee-Martin and deflating losses to Wagner and Stetson. When asked about her team’s performance, BU head coach Michelle Burrell noted that her squad is currently making some adjustments.
“We’ve been focusing on some fundamental things,” Burrell said. “We’re working to make some small adjustments to try and give them some time to recuperate a bit.”
Binghamton’s offense will be spearheaded by sophomore outfielder Jessica Rutherford, who stayed hot at the plate last weekend and tied a school record with four hits in one game. Another standout player is junior infielder Crysti Eichner, who went 2-for-4 in BU’s 9-2 victory over UT-Martin.
Burrell also noted the composure of her pitchers over the weekend.
“That was something that improved throughout the weekend,” Burrell said. “We were a lot happier with what we saw from them on Saturday and Sunday.”
Binghamton is set to open play on Friday against North Dakota State in its first game. First pitch is set for 2:15 p.m. at the Maryland Softball Stadium in College Park, Maryland.