The Bearcats guaranteed themselves a second consecutive America East playoff berth with three wins in four games at Hartford this weekend, and could clinch a second consecutive AE regular season title with a little help next weekend.
The Binghamton University baseball team (25-24, 13-7 AE) split a doubleheader with host Hartford (17-29, 9-11) on Sunday, losing 5-1 then winning 19-10, after sweeping Saturday’s double-dip, 8-2 and 3-0. Stony Brook (29-21, 13-7), which entered the weekend with a one-game lead in the AE, split a four-game series with Maryland-Baltimore County (21-27, 13-11), dropping the Seawolves into a tie for first place with Binghamton entering the final week of the regular season.
The Bearcats can finish no lower than fourth place in the conference (the top four of seven teams make the playoffs, May 22 to 24, hosted by the highest seeded team with a lighted stadium), but can guarantee themselves the No. 2 seed if they win out. Stony Brook holds the tiebreaker over Binghamton were the two teams to finish with identical records, having swept the Bearcats in the first weekend of the season — the only time BU has lost a series to another AE team in 2008.
Both Binghamton and Stony Brook play bottom-feeders in their final series, scheduled to start Thursday: The Bearcats host last place Maine (19-26-1, 7-13), while Stony Brook visits second-to-last place Albany (14-36-1, 7-13). The Seawolves would need to lose at least one game for Binghamton to repeat as regular season champs.
“We just got to go out there, [Maine] is not as bad a team as their record would show,” said BU senior captain Ryan James, who has set the Bearcats’ single-season runs scored and stolen bases record this season. “So we know that if we don’t go out there and play our best they got a shot. It’s nice to be home for the weekend and to try to win the conference championship.”
In Sunday’s opener, Hartford pitchers Marc Coomey and Bob Rogers held Binghamton to eight hits and one run. Left fielder Joe Charron went 2-for-3 and shortstop Kyle Klee drove in the only run. BU sophomore starting pitcher Murphy Smith allowed runs in six innings.
Trailing 5-4 in the fifth inning of Sunday’s second game, the Bearcats scored five runs in the fifth, three in the sixth and four in the seventh as part of a combined 28-hit slugfest. Freshman right fielder Pete Bregartner went 4-for-5 with four RBI from the leadoff spot. Charron, who leads the team with 41 RBI, drove in five. Klee drove in four.
Bregartner, Klee, Charron, freshman center fielder Corey Talor and junior first baseman Ryan Holley each homered.
Zach Groh continued his string of strong outings in Saturday’s opener, allowing just one run in 7 2/3 innings. He allowed nine hits, two walks and struck out five. Groh is seventh in the conference with a 4.12 ERA against AE opponents.
“Our pitchers stepped up real big, especially Saturday,” James said. “Our bats were a little slow for the first couple of games, but we broke out when we needed to. Corey Taylor probably had the best weeekend of his life.”
Trailing 1-0 in the sixth, Binghamton scored four runs on two-run doubles from Taylor and Charron. The Bearcats went up 7-1 with three more runs in the seventh.
Jeff Dennis followed Groh with six innings of six-hit ball in Saturday’s second game. He allowed no runs and struck out seven. Binghamton broke a scoreless tie in the seventh and final inning on a three-run homer from Taylor. Greg Lane, BU’s all-time saves leader, earned his 10th save of the season.
The Bearcats and Maine are scheduled to play their season opener 3 p.m. Thursday at Varsity Field. A doubleheader begins at noon Friday, with the series finale scheduled for noon Sunday.
Notes: Freshman Jeff Skelhorne-Gross has taken over full-time catching duties for Bearcats with fellow freshman C.J. Luskazewski sidelined for the rest of the season with a broken hand. Luskazewski was hit by a pitch in the ninth inning of Binghamton’s series finale with Vermont on May 4. Luskazewski was batting .240 and had thrown out eight of 36 potential basestealers. Skelhorne-Gross entered Sunday batting .269 and had thrown out two of 20. Junior Tom Baileys, a first baseman, will spell Skelhorne-Gross when possible.