Over the past two weeks, Binghamton University’s softball team has improved their record to 15-8, 3-3 AE. After starting off slow, the Bearcats have picked things up with the help of strong performances from both the offense and the defense.
Entering the series against Marist, the Bearcats were riding a six-game winning streak and looking to carry their momentum. Freshman Rhoda Marsteller and sophomore Kristen Emerling both had solid pitching performances as the Bearcats swept Marist 8-0 and 9-0, in five innings each game. In Game 1, Marsteller improved her record to 6-2 on the season while only allowing one hit through four innings. This performance lowered her ERA to 1.17 on the year. Emerling came in to close the game, pitching a scoreless inning. BU’s bats struck early as the team had five straight hits, including RBI doubles by sophomores Briana Andrews and Colleen Whitaker, giving the Bearcats four runs in the second inning. Freshman Jessica Phillips and junior Stephanie DeLuca contributed to the lead with back-to-back home runs in the third.
In the second game, Marsteller and Emerling teamed up once again to pitch a shutout. Marsteller pitched the first two innings and Emerling pitched the final three to earn the win. She is now 4-0 on the year. “Our pitchers did a really god job in both games to combine for the shutouts,” head coach Michelle Burrell said, according to a Binghamton University press release. “And our hitters also did a really good job of coming out early and scoring in the first few innings.” The Bearcats’ offense came through once again in the first inning. The team was able to take a 3-0 lead, despite not having a hit in the inning. Phillips sealed the deal with a three-run homer in the fourth. Senior Stephanie Valencia contributed to the offense by going 4-for-4 on the day with a home run.
During its eight-game winning streak, BU outscored the opposing teams 46-6. With the wins, the Bearcats had 10 on the year with 30 games to go. The team hasn’t tallied 10 wins in a season since 2006.
Since the sweep at Marist, the Bearcats have only lost three out of eight games.
On March 27, Binghamton suffered a tough one-run loss in the first game of America East Conference play against Albany. Jess Bergin of the Great Danes hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th to lead her team to a 6-5 victory in a game BU led 4-0. In Game 2, BU led Albany 4-2 going to the bottom of the seventh inning, but Albany battled back with a two-out, three-run walk-off home run. “We had two tough losses and the team did a good job not getting too down. They never let up all weekend,” Burrell said, according to a Binghamton University press release.
Binghamton’s only other loss over spring break occurred on April 2 while facing UMBC at home. UMBC defeated the Bearcats by a score of 6-1.
The Bearcats were able to pick up a win against the Great Danes, attaining their first conference win of the season and breaking a 19-game losing streak to Albany. Phillips’ bat was the first to strike for BU with a solo home run in the second, followed by a three-run home run in the third giving Binghamton a 4-0 lead. In the fourth inning, sophomore Colleen Whitaker smashed her first homer of the season to extend Binghamton’s lead to 5-2. The Great Danes scored two more runs in the fourth and found themselves trailing BU by only one run with a score of 5-4, but junior Deannie Plemon singled to bring home Valencia, giving the Bearcats a 6-4 lead. Emerling had a 1-2-3 seventh inning to get the win and seal the deal for a Binghamton victory.
On March 31, the Bearcats swept Siena in their home opener by scores of 7-6 and 2-1. Siena struck first in Game 1 with three runs in the first, but Binghamton quickly came back with two runs in the second half of the inning. Siena extended the lead to 5-2, but the Bearcats battled back, scoring four runs with help from Plemon’s three-run homer. With this home run, Binghamton took a 6-5 lead. Marsteller then retired 14 of the next 15 batters, but the one hit she gave up was a home run to tie the game at 6-6. In the bottom of the sixth, two Siena errors and a groundout put the potential winning run on third for Binghamton. A wild pitch would send senior Shannon McLeese home, giving Binghamton the win.
In the second game, the score was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth when Valencia was driven home by DeLuca, giving the Bearcats a 2-1 lead and the win.
With these two wins, Binghamton was off to its best-ever start through 20 games in its nine years in D-I.
The Bearcats took two of the three games from the UMBC Retrievers in an America East series held at Binghamton University on April 3. These wins gave BU its first conference series win since 2006.
“This win was a good way to finish the series,” Burrell said, according to a Binghamton University press release. “I felt we had a really good team effort and everyone contributed and also thought our hitters did a great job of coming out and being aggressive at the plate.”
The Bearcats will head up to Maine this weekend to take on the Black Bears in a three-game series. First pitch of the doubleheader on Saturday is scheduled for 1 p.m., while first pitch for Sunday’s game is set for 11 a.m.