Saturday was a dark spot in an otherwise bright season for the Binghamton University baseball team as the Bearcats dropped both games of its doubleheader against the University of Maine.
Teressa Pace/Staff Photographer
Binghamton lost its games 11-2 and 2-0, marking the first time the Bearcats have been swept in a doubleheader in conference play this year. The Bearcats’ offense, which has been potent of late, had not scored two runs or less in both games of a doubleheader since they played the University of New Mexico on March 7.
Senior left-hander Jeff Dennis opened the series and did not have the kind of outing he was hoping for. After allowing a double in the first inning but stranding the runner, Dennis allowed another double to start the second. After a fielder’s choice, he walked the bases loaded. This was followed by an RBI-walk, a sacrifice fly, a 2-run double, a wild pitch and a walk to put BU down 4-0. At this point Bearcats head coach Tim Sinicki had seen enough, pulling Dennis in favor of freshman Alex Adami.
Despite pitching well of late, Adami was roughed up by the Black Bears, allowing seven runs in the final 4.1 innings. He allowed a three-run home run in the fourth inning and a pair of two-run home runs in the sixth. The Black Bears had 12 total hits and drew six walks.
On the other side, the Bearcats could not muster much offense against sophomore pitcher Kevin Scanlan. Junior Joe Charron doubled in the second inning and scored on a wild pitch, and fellow junior Jeff Abrams hit a solo home run in the third, but that was all Binghamton would get. Scanlan tossed a complete game, giving up the two runs on four hits with four strikeouts to pick up his fifth win as BU took the 11-2 loss.
With its disappointing Game 1, Binghamton looked to one of the conference’s best pitchers to turn things around in the second game of the doubleheader. Sophomore Murphy Smith took the mound and did his part, giving up just two runs on five hits, striking out five in 6.1 innings. Unfortunately for him, the offense was once again held in check, this time by sophomore Matt Jebb. The Bearcats did not suffer from a lack of opportunities — they had runners on base in every inning but the first. However, none of their six hits or one walk would come around to score.
Binghamton, which has become known for its late-inning heroics, would not be given the chance to stage a late rally as the game was called with one out the in bottom of the seventh due to rain. Maine had two runners on base at the time. It was Smith’s second loss on the year as he dropped to 7-2.
The Bearcats will play their final regular-season series this weekend at home against the University of Vermont. The teams are scheduled to play doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, and Game 1 is scheduled to begin at noon on both days. The America East championships begin May 21.