Having won three of its last four games, the Binghamton softball team (5-4) will look to keep its non-conference hot streak alive as it competes in the Stetson University tournament this weekend.
In five games scheduled over three days of play, the Bearcats will face both Wagner College (5-7) and the University of Tennesee at Martin (12-7) twice over the weekend, and Binghamton will make its tournament debut on Friday afternoon against a competitive Stetson team (17-10). Though this match-up with the Hatters will surely set the tone for BU’s tournament performance, the Bearcats are likely equally as concerned with both of their matchups with Wagner and UT-Martin. Although playing five games in such a short span can prove to be an exhausting task, Binghamton head coach Michelle Burrell believes her players are used to the challenge.
“[The girls] are pretty used to playing five games in three days,” Burrell said. “The best way to get through it is to use [the pitchers] off of each other.”
Immediately following their opening game versus Stetson, the Bearcats are slotted to play Wagner on Friday evening. The Seahawks are coming off of a four-game losing streak, most recently dropping a game to Northern Kentucky, 15-9. Despite its losing record, Wagner managed a shutout win against Stetson in a game played last week. But, Stetson did manage to take the second game against Wagner, in a similarly dominant fashion. The theme of the season so far for Wagner is a lack of consistency, with a mixed bag of winning and losing streaks on its record. The Bearcats hope to extend Wagner’s losing streak to five with a win Friday night against the Seahawks.
The Bearcats are set to return to the diamond on Saturday afternoon against UT-Martin. The Skyhawks have played more than twice as many games as the Bearcats, and this may show in the team’s play.
Leading UT-Martin’s offense will be junior outfielder Carly Gonzales, who tops the team with a .407 batting average, 24 hits and 11 runs scored this season. In preparation for hot hitters like Gonzalez, the Bearcats have been focusing on their defense in the past week.
“We’ve been trying to put them in live situations with base runners to really focus on our defense,” Burrell said. “I think that’s kind of the one part of our game that we really want to improve heading into this weekend.”
Senior catcher Taylor Chaffee and junior infielder Crysti Eichner, who lead the Bearcats with 10 RBIs a piece, will look to continue Binghamton’s hot start offensively to open the 2016 campaign. Binghamton has six players on its roster batting over .300, and the Bearcats have plated 71 runs over their first nine games.
On the defensive side, sophomore Sarah Miller and senior Cara Martin have been strongholds in the Bearcats pitching rotation. Miller has struck out 21 in 25 and two-thirds innings pitched so far on the season, while Martin has recorded a 3.23 earned run average over 17 and a third-innings. BU has outscored opponents by 14 runs on the season.
Binghamton’s first game of the tournament is set for 4 p.m. against Stetson University from Patricia Wilson Field in Deland, Florida.