After a series loss against UMBC in its first America East road series, Binghamton softball got back on track in its return home with a dominant sweep over Bryant this past weekend. BU’s offense forced a mercy rule in two of the three contests, with junior pitcher Brianna Roberts pitching two full games in the series and recording a combined 17 strikeouts.

“I think our offense is really rolling right now, and the girls are feeling really confident,” said Binghamton head coach Jess Bump.

“I was really happy with how our pitchers kind of bounced back this weekend,” she added. “I just think this team’s gonna be tough to beat if we keep everything rolling.”

With a series-opening doubleheader on Friday afternoon, Bryant (11-21, 3-6 AE) took an early game-one lead with a two-run home run in the top of the first. Binghamton (20-11, 6-2 AE) responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning, and sophomore utility Maddy Dodig knotted the game in the second with an RBI single. Dodig would continue to do damage at the dish by blasting a two-run homer in the fourth, giving Binghamton a 4-2 lead. The bottom of the fifth then opened with an RBI single, followed by a grand slam by senior outfielder Sarah Rende that put the game out of the Bulldogs’ reach.

Binghamton managed to put up one more run in the sixth inning before the close of the game, cementing a final score of 10-2. After the shaky start, Roberts settled in and put up a career-high 13 strikeouts in the game to earn her 10th win on the year.

“Giving up a home run early, it’s not the best, but I knew my team had my back, and I knew they were gonna come back with some runs because they’ve been hitting amazing all season,” Roberts said.

Game two soon followed, and it proved a much closer contest. Freshman infielder Rachel Carey sent out a solo bomb in the second frame to give BU the lead, but Bryant responded with four runs plated across the third and top of the fourth. A sac fly from Rende then opened up a breakout fourth inning that saw BU leverage a two-RBI double from graduate student outfielder Brianna Santos and a Bryant error to go up 6-4, with Carey homering again in the fifth for insurance.

Bryant would put up two more runs in the sixth inning, but Binghamton answered with one of its own before a scoreless seventh from freshman pitcher Savanna McHale left the final score 8-6.

“I think this group’s pretty resilient and tough,” Bump said. “Even that UMBC game we lost, we were down five runs, and we came back.

“So hopefully as the season goes on, you’re gonna continue to see good stuff from us,” she added.

The series finale was held on Saturday afternoon, and BU began its bid for the sweep, taking an early up 2-0 courtesy of a two-RBI single from junior catcher Emma Lawson in the first. Binghamton continued to apply offensive pressure, hitting three home runs in the third and fourth off the bats of sophomore infielder Elisa Allen, Lawson and junior outfielder Bella Farina. The three Bearcats combined for seven RBIs, while Roberts spun a shutout that saw just three Bulldogs reach base en route to a 9-0 mercy rule victory to complete the sweep.

“You’re gonna continue to see home runs from this team,” Bump said. “I think we’re at 39 right now with still a lot of games left still, and we keep that in our back pocket. Our girls are feeling really good offensively right now, and I think that’s making our pitchers and defense really good as well.”

Binghamton next takes the field against Le Moyne in a makeup doubleheader on the road. First pitch is scheduled for Wednesday, April 9 at 3 p.m., at the Softball Complex in Syracuse, New York.