After 21 games and more than a month, the time has come: The Binghamton University baseball team is finally prepared. This weekend, the Bearcats will play their first games of the year at home against their first conference opponents.
Binghamton (7-14), as it does every year, began the year on the road because of the weather in the Northeast. As usual, the Bearcats played a non-conference schedule filled with high-quality opponents, including defending NCAA champion LSU.
“I do think that the schedule has been demanding,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “I’m hoping what we take away from it is that we put ourselves in situations that we need to compete every pitch of every inning of every game. We’re not currently, nor will we ever be, talented enough to take plays off or pitches off or innings off … And by playing against the type of competition that we have thus far, I think our guys … have learned that’s the case.”
Spring break presented an especially challenging stretch for BU. Perhaps the most important trip of the break was the one to Louisiana, where the Bearcats played one game against No. 4 LSU before facing Louisiana-Monroe for a three-game set last weekend. While Binghamton was swept in the four games, the team was competitive in all but one.
Entering the eighth inning against defending national champion LSU (23-4), it was actually the Bearcats who were in control, holding a 7-6 lead and standing just six outs away from one of the most improbable victories in school history. BU’s pitching finally caved in the eighth, though, as the Tigers knocked in seven runs off three relievers to take the game, 13-7. Junior Corey Taylor led Binghamton offensively, hitting two home runs and collecting six RBI. Junior Henry Dunn had two hits and stole two bases.
The Louisiana-Monroe (12-17) series opened poorly for Binghamton, as the team was shelled 15-3. What was most striking about the game was that BU staff ace James Giulietti struggled, allowing eight runs in 4.1 innings despite having a 1.19 ERA entering the match. Binghamton was behind 6-0 early, but was able to cut it to as close as 6-4. However, a six-run eighth sealed things for the Warhawks.
The next two games were far more competitive ones, though Binghamton fell in both contests, 5-2 and 6-2. Freshman Jay Lynch looked good early in the first game, allowing just one unearned run in five innings. The sixth inning proved to be his undoing, though, as he allowed four runs to break open a tie game. In the second game, Binghamton was down 3-2 early in the game, but struggled to put up runs against junior Jordy Poche, who pitched a complete game. Taylor had two hits and two RBI in each of the games. Despite the losses, Sinicki was pleased with the trip.
“I do feel like … we did some good things. I thought except for the last inning of the LSU game and then Game 1 of the Louisiana-Monroe series, I thought we actually pitched the ball fairly well, which was nice to see as our guys develop. I think we’re still waiting, kind of, to put it all together on a consistent basis.”
Tuesday night marked the end of Binghamton’s season-opening road trip, though it came fairly close to home as the Bearcats visited Cornell. The Big Red (6-10) beat Binghamton 3-1 when the teams faced off last season. After six innings, it looked like the Bearcats would cruise to a victory as they held a 9-2 lead with just three innings to go, with sophomore Mike Augliera, sophomore Walter McKinven and freshman Joe Swindells holding down the Cornell offense. However, the Big Red wouldn’t go quietly, scoring seven runs in the next three innings to tie the game. That included a game-tying home run by sophomore Frank Hager to open the ninth, which ended any hopes of stifling the Cornell run.
Neither team scored over the next two innings, though Corey Taylor was intentionally walked in the 11th inning to load the bases with just one out for BU. A strikeout and a groundout killed the rally. In the 12th, the Bearcats loaded the bases once again, this time on a Corey Taylor single with nobody out. Once again BU didn’t muster a hit, but it didn’t need to. Henry Dunn was hit by a pitch to force in a run, giving the Bearcats an 8-7 lead.
In the bottom of the inning, the Bearcats were out of healthy pitchers and needed to find someone who could close out the game for them. That’s when senior first baseman Matt Simone stepped up to the mound to play the role of hero. He allowed a double and a walk before throwing a passed ball, giving the Big Red men on second and third with nobody out. Simone came through, though, getting a strikeout, a popup and a groundout to end the game. According to Sinicki, Simone had offered weeks earlier to go to the mound if the need ever arose due to injuries.
“I was extremely proud of the effort that our senior Matt Simone gave us. You won’t see Matt Simone’s name listed under pitchers on our roster … For him to go in there last night and pitch the 12th inning and secure things for us was a great thing to see for not only me personally and for Matt, but for our entire team.”
With preseason games over, BU can now focus on what matters most: conference play. This weekend the Bearcats host the Stony Brook Seawolves (10-14) for a three-game series. The Seawolves were picked to finish second in the America East Coaches’ Preseason Poll. The teams play a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday. The games are scheduled to begin at noon on each day.