‘Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.’ Sounds like Doug Larson spent a night or two on the Binghamton campus. With spring here and the students returning from a much needed break, Binghamton can expect return of the birds and of course, Bearcats softball here at BU.

The Binghamton softball team continues its sixth Division I season this weekend, as it heads to the Buckeye Invitational at Ohio State University.

After a somewhat disappointing 2006 campaign which resulted in a 15-32 record (8-13 in conference), the Bearcats (2-7) now sports a fresh coaching staff, headed by a first year coach from the University of Dayton, Ali Brian. With many new faces joining the roster, Bearcats softball has the definite potential for a strong showing in this 2007 campaign.

The lineup should be a strong point for the Bearcats, who return three of their top five hitters from last year: infielders Sandy Meadows, Mia Bieman and Emilie Palmcantz. Joining that trio in the lineup is power-hitting catcher Christina Quijano and junior outfielder Liz Sequeira, who comes to the team from Long Beach City College with former All-Conference and Easton All-American honors. Sequiera has made her impact known in the first two weekends of the season by swiping four stolen bases in four attempts.

Early in the season junior transfer Mia Bieman has also been a welcome surprise to the team. The catcher/third baseman leads the team in the early season with a .320 batting average, two home runs and seven steals. Beiman helped her previous team, Briarcliff College advance to the Junior College World Series.

Coach Brian and her staff are in the enviable position of having four quality pitchers all vying for starting roles this year. With last year’s No. 1 starter Katie Hansen now the student assistant coach, the competition for filling her spot will be strong, as Patty Egan looks to prove she is fully recovered from injury, while newcomers freshman Nicole Constantatos and transfer sophomore Cyrilla Suker along with returner Jessica Whitaker will all battle for spots in the rotation. Egan missed all but two games last season after having a stellar freshman campaign in 2005.

Suker has been outstanding in the early goings of the season with a team low 2.04 ERA.

After playing tournaments at East Carolina and Norfolk State, the team will wrap up its tournament schedule this weekend in Columbus. The non-conference schedule then continues with the home-opener against Marist on March 24, before the America East schedule begins on March 31 at Hartford.

The non-conference schedule will continue throughout April and May with weekday contests at Syracuse, Siena, Colgate and Cornell.

Key conference home games will be played in April. Boston University, picked to finish first in the conference, comes to Vestal for a three-game weekend series April 6 to 7. Defending America East champion Albany visits the following weekend for a three-game slate.

The Bearcats also host UMBC for a double-header on Wednesday April 25, and wrap up the regular season at home against Maine in a two-game series May 5 to 6.

Binghamton was picked to finish last in the eight team America East preseason coaches’ poll, getting just 13 votes. Seventh place Vermont received 15 votes.