After winning a school-record 29 games last year, the Binghamton University baseball team notched its first of the year this weekend, taking one game out of its three-game set against Dallas Baptist University.
BU (1-2), the favorite to win the America East in the preseason coaches’ poll, lost its match Friday and split a Sunday doubleheader to the Patriots, who were a 30-win team last year and are now 2-1. This is the only matchup between the two teams this year.
“What I expect to see is competitive-type spirit, which I thought we had,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki of the team’s weekend performance. “You never know what you’re going to get. I always expect our guys compete and play hard.”
The Bearcats opened the year with staff ace, senior Jeff Dennis, going against Dallas Baptist’s Victor Black. BU scored early on a two-out single, an error and an RBI double.
However, the Bearcats would surrender the lead on two solo home runs in the third. The Patriots scored three more in the fifth, with the help of an error and a wild pitch, and would go on to win the game 6-2. Dennis struggled, giving up five runs (4 ER) on five hits and two walks with one strikeout in 4.1 innings. Black went six innings with one earned run for the win.
After a day off, the two teams faced off again in a Sunday doubleheader. BU took advantage of a good start by junior starter Murphy Smith to win it 3-1. Smith pitched five scoreless innings. Senior closer Greg Lane came in with an out in the eighth, bases loaded and a run already in and was able to end the threat, also pitching a perfect ninth for the save.
The game was at 1-0 for seven innings thanks to a single by redshirt-sophomore centerfielder Henry Dunn, who scored on an SB and two errors. BU scored a pair of insurance runs in the top of the eighth, which would prove important.
The Bearcats only had three hits in the game, their fewest of any game in the series, but were helped by four Patriot errors. Jared Stafford of Dallas Baptist took the loss despite pitching seven innings with one hit and six strikeouts, due to giving up a single unearned run.
The Patriots were out for revenge in the final game of the series. Despite giving up 11 hits to the Bearcats, Dallas Baptist won convincingly, 15-4, thanks mostly in part to a seven-run, four-hit fifth inning. Freshman pitcher Mike Augliera took the loss, giving up six earned runs in 4.1 innings. The Patriots opened up the scoring for the game with two runs in the first on an RBI groundout and single. They added a solo home run in the third before BU tied things up in the top of the fifth on an RBI double by junior second baseman Jim Calderone and an RBI groundout by junior left fielder Joe Charron. Dallas would prove all of that to be for naught, though, with their bottom-of-the-fifth scoring spree. Dallas Baptist’s Chris McMullen pitched seven innings for the win, giving up four runs (2 ER).
Leadoff hitter Henry Dunn had the strongest weekend among Bearcat position players, hitting .444 (4-9) with a stolen base, two runs scored, two RBI and no errors.
According to Sinicki, both Dennis and Smith were limited to 70-75 pitches for their first games of the year.
“We have to start slow,” he said. “We need to be strongest at the end of the year. We have to build up pitch counts. We’re going to try to get to 80 this weekend.”
He also noted the need to build up the younger pitchers on the staff. The Bearcats solely used first-year pitchers in the game, something that Sinicki said is something “we’re going to have to do this year.”
He accounted the rocky performance in the final game to nerves on the parts of the first-year players.
The series against Dallas Baptist University marked the first of seven road series for the Bearcats, all in warmer climates, including three games at the America East/Northeast Conference Challenge. BU does not play a home game until April 4 against Hartford. Despite the difficulty of opening the year on the road for more than a month, it’s something Sinicki says has become normal.
“You kind of get used to it,” he said. “You know coming in that’s the way it’s going to be. That’s the way it has been, that’s the way it will be, because of the climate here. You can’t use it as an excuse because you know other teams are dealing with same thing. Myself, my staff and the players would rather be on road playing games than practicing in the gym.”
While the team is in the gym, the team will emphasize defense, pounding the strike zone and having quality at-bats, though Sinicki said it’s too early to tell what specifically the team will need to focus on.
The Bearcats next play two games this weekend against Norfolk State (2-1) on Saturday and Sunday. The Spartans have averaged nearly 12 runs per game in three games so far this year.