This week was not the time for the Binghamton University baseball team to be lackadaisical, and head coach Tim Sinicki quickly put an end to it.

“I thought we were a little sluggish, needed to kind of clear the air a little bit and talked as a group,” he said. “We made some strides, it helps us get going.”

The Bearcats (7-19, 0-4 America East) enter their home-opening series with Maryland-Baltimore County (9-16, 1-3) this weekend at Varsity Field in as much of a must-win atmosphere as could be found this early in conference play. Binghamton, last year’s regular season conference champion and the No. 2 team in the AE according to the preseason coaches poll, was swept by Stony Brook, the No. 1 team in the conference according to the same poll, on Long Island last weekend.

With one more defeat, the last-place Bearcats would match their in-conference loss total from last season, and with many more after that, would see their playoff chances — never mind regular season title chances — disappear.

“This is like the turning point in our season,” said BU senior ace Zach Groh (2-3), who is scheduled to pitch in the opener, 1 p.m. at Varsity Field on Friday.

With so much on the line, it’s surprising the Bearcats weren’t practicing as hard as they could to start the week, but the problem was quickly corrected.

“We’ve had probably the toughest two days running all spring,” said left-hander Jeff Dennis, Binghamton’s No. 2 starter. “Coach said [Wednesday] was the best 35 minutes of practice all season.”

UMBC finds itself in a similar position to Binghamton after dropping three of four to visiting Vermont last weekend. Statistically, the fourth-place Golden Retrievers feature the league’s best offense, with top marks in average (.311), on-base percentage (.379), slugging percentage (.459), runs scored (149), hits (260) and total bases (384).

UMBC senior cleanup hitter Will Delawter, a left-hander, is a triple crown contender with a conference-leading .404 batting average, 29 RBI and six home runs (he’s in a three-way tie for the long-ball lead).

Delawter and third-place hitter Joe Fowler, another dangerous senior hitter, don’t have the Bearcats worried.

“[UMBC] is not one of the strongest teams in our conference,” Groh said. “I think we got to rise above it, ‘cause man-to-man we’re better than every person that they have at every position. We just have to play like we can.”

Binghamton took three of four from the Golden Retrievers last season, outscoring them 30-8.

After 26 road games, the Bearcats said the return home could help them secure their first conference wins.

“You should be able to defend your home turf, I think it’s exciting,” Dennis said. “We have our own locker room, we can sleep in our own bed at night. Everyone’s parents will be there, my friends from home are going to come.”

“It’s not always fun getting dragged on by the opposing team and fans,” Groh said. “We got some pretty good hecklers at Wichita State, and last weekend at Stony Brook.”

Friday’s start time was moved up to 1 p.m. to allow for the possibility of a double-header Friday if Saturday’s weather reports indicate poor conditions. The decision whether two games will be played will be made Friday morning. Saturday’s game is scheduled for noon, also at Varsity Field. Sunday’s game is scheduled for 2 p.m. at NYSEG Stadium, home of the Binghamton Mets, and will be televised on Time Warner Sports.