While taking on some of the top competition in the country, the Binghamton softball team sandwiched three losses in between a pair of victories at the Arizona State Tournament this weekend.
Freshman Sarah Miller scooped up her second win of the season on the bump as BU (4-6) launched off the weekend with a 5-4 win over Toledo. Junior first baseman Griffin McIver swung the scoreboard in Binghamton’s favor early with a two-run homer in the bottom of the second inning while freshman outfielder Jessica Rutherford knocked in two runs with a double in the fourth. Despite a three-run fifth from Toledo, the Bearcats escaped the jam to hold on for victory.
Sophomore pitcher Cara Martin took the mound against 21st-ranked Arizona State (15-7) in Friday’s nightcap. Martin exhausted the ASU offense over seven straight shutout innings, allowing only four hits and issuing three walks.
Unfortunately for Martin, BU’s offense had an equally arduous time putting runs on the scoreboard. With the international tiebreaker rule, where an automatic runner is placed at second base at the start of extra innings, enacted in the eighth, the Sun Devils managed to put a run across home and take the game.
“We played really great defense and Cara pitched a great game,” BU head coach Michelle Burrell said of the team’s performance on Friday. “We saw that if we truly don’t make any mistakes, that we can play with anyone.”
The second day of the Arizona State Tournament marked the first time in Binghamton’s 14-year Division I history that the program has faced two nationally ranked opponents in the same day. The Bearcats were overwhelmed by third-ranked University of Michigan (18-1), suffering a 15-0 loss in the first game. In the following game, ASU solidified the tournament sweep over BU with an overwhelming 22-5 victory, a stark contrast to the 1-0 game the two teams had played earlier.
Burrell praised the quality of competition her team played on Saturday.
“I’ve thought, from all the years I’ve been playing and coaching, that Michigan is probably one of the best teams I’ve seen,” she said. “I’d be very surprised if we don’t see them in the World Series at the end of the year.”
Sunday’s finale featured no shortage of offense. Looking to avenge Friday’s loss to the Bearcats, Toledo (4-10) put its offense on full throttle — collecting six runs over the first three innings — but BU didn’t trail for long.
Rutherford again delivered on offense, driving in three runs. Meanwhile, Richard, junior catcher Lisa Cadogan and senior designated hitter Caytlin Friis each homered for BU. In the sixth inning, junior outfielder Sydney Harbaugh continued the pounding, delivering a massive blow to Toledo’s hopes of a victory with a three-run double. The Bearcats pushed eight runs around the bases in the bottom of the sixth inning alone and went on to conclude the tournament with a 16-11 victory.
Burrell was particularly pleased with Rutherford’s performance over the weekend.
“I thought Jessie had a really good weekend,” Burrell said. “She’s somebody who can make things happen because she’s got both good speed and power at the plate.”
Binghamton is set to participate in the North Carolina State Tournament through March 13-15. First pitch against Longwood University is set for 9 a.m. on March 13 at the Curtis & Jacqueline Dall Softball Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina.