Binghamton University’s women’s softball team looked to improve their 2-3 record this past weekend at the George Washington Colonial Classic held in Washington D.C. The Bearcats went up against Canisius College, George Washington University and Army in the four-team tournament, finishing 2-2 for the weekend.
To begin the first day of the tournament, Binghamton suffered a tough 3-2 loss to Canisius. The Bearcats had a one-run lead going into the bottom of the seventh, but a bases-loaded double by Canisius junior Lauren Hope gave the Golden Griffins the go-ahead run and a walk-off win.
The nightcap against host George Washington also resulted in a tough loss for the Bearcats. In the second inning, GW scored four runs on three hits, giving them a 4-0 lead. In the third inning, however, a single by Bearcats junior Stephanie Deluca and a walk to sophomore Colleen Whitaker allowed two BU runs to cross the plate. Unfortunately, the Bearcats were unable to score again and lost by a score of 4-2. Although Binghamton suffered the loss, sophomores Meghan Tucker and Kristen Emerling had standout performances. Tucker went 3-for-3 in the game and Emerling’s relief pitching was outstanding, allowing no runs through four innings.
“We need to work on putting pressure on teams all seven innings,” said Binghamton head coach Michelle Burrell. “We also had too many innings with runners in scoring position without putting runs on the board.”
On Day 2, the Bearcats recovered from their two losses on Saturday and went 2-0 against Canisius and Army. In the first game, against Canisius, starting pitcher Kristen Emerling and relief pitcher Rhoda Marsteller each had amazing performances in the shutout. Emerling pitched the first five innings, allowing only four hits while striking out four, and Marsteller pitched the final two innings, allowing no hits and striking out two.
“Both Kristen and Rhoda had a great performance on the mound,” Burrell said. “They both did a really good job of keeping Canisius off the bases.”
Junior Deannie Plemon provided the only run for the Bearcats with a solo home run in the top of the sixth, giving them a 1-0 victory over Canisius.
In Game 2, Binghamton was set to face Army. Both teams were scoreless until the fifth when two errors committed by Army allowed sophomore Meghan Tucker and senior Stephanie Valencia to score, giving the Bearcats a 2-0 lead. Army answered back in the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run by Angela Degler. In the sixth, the Bearcats scored again when a single by junior Kelly Schuldt brought home freshman Jessica Phillips. Leading 3-1 going into the seventh, Binghamton scored on a two-on, two-out double by Deannie Plemon. The hit gave the Bearcats a 5-1 lead going into the second half of the final inning. Army fired back with two runs in the seventh, but the would-be winning run was struck out by Marsteller to end the game, giving the Bearcats a 5-3 win over Army.
Marsteller threw her fourth complete game of the season and with the win improved her record to 3-2. She allowed only one run while striking out six. Plemon also had an outstanding performance, going 2-for-4 with two RBI against Army and 3-for-7 with three RBI for the day.
“We did a much better job of putting hits together and getting runners across,” said Burrell.
The Bearcats improved their record to 4-5 on the season.
Binghamton is set to resume play Saturday at the Norfolk State Invite.