After being shut out in the opening game of its doubleheader against non-conference opponent Cornell on Wednesday, the Binghamton softball team, led by junior catcher Lisa Cadogan, responded in the nightcap. Cadogan delivered three hits and four RBIs to lead BU (18-17, 8-5 America East) to a 9-3 victory. In the process, the junior tied the program single-season RBI record with 44 runs driven in on the year.
“I think she has done a really good job this year,” BU head coach Michelle Burrell said. “She has been staying nice and relaxed in the box. I think she has gotten really comfortable, and she’s not trying to do too much.”
The Binghamton bats came to life early in BU’s final game against the Big Red (17-24, 8-12 Ivy). Cadogan opened the scoring in the first, knocking in freshman infielder Stephanie Bielec to give BU its first lead of the afternoon. After Cornell tied the game in the bottom half of the frame, the Bearcats struck again in the second. Junior outfielder Sydney Harbaugh and freshman outfielder Jessica Rutherford each singled home a run before Cadogan drove the ball to right field for a double, plating three to put BU up, 6-1.
The Bearcats would score again off of a two-run homer from freshman infielder Kate Richard in the fifth and off a Cornell error in the following inning en route to the 9-3 victory.
“I was happy with the way we responded in the second game,” Burrell said. “I definitely think they picked it up and I thought that was important going into this weekend.”
While the Bearcats’ bats were hot in game two of the doubleheader, the opener was a different story. Cornell freshman pitcher Maddie Orcutt stifled BU on the bump. Orcutt allowed just two hits in the contest, a single by sophomore outfielder Gabby Bracchi in the second and a triple by Harbaugh in the third, while striking out four batters to lead her team to a 6-0 blanking of Binghamton.
“I think we were looking to go to Cornell and keep playing with a lot of energy like we have been,” Burrell said. “I think for whatever reason, kind of being on the road, we didn’t necessarily start with it in the first game.”
The Bearcats will now turn their attention back to conference play when they take on Maine in a three-game series beginning Friday. Binghamton is currently in third place in the America East standings, one-half game in front of Albany and UMBC, who currently share fourth, and one-half game behind Maine. The top four teams in the standings will advance to the AE tournament May 7-9, hosted by the highest seed.
“We have kind of seen as a team that when they’re up and they’re playing for each other they seem to perform better,” Burrell said about the upcoming series. “I think we’re going to need to make sure that we come in and have a lot of energy from the start and make sure we have it from the beginning of the game to the end of the game.”
BU and Maine are slated to begin the series with a doubleheader today. First pitch is set for 2 p.m., with a second game following shortly after. The series is scheduled to conclude Saturday beginning at noon. All games will take place at the Softball Complex in Vestal, New York.