It’s the beauty of sports: No matter how heavily favored you are, you still have to play the games. Unfortunately for Binghamton University baseball, that meant that their 14-game win streak and home-field advantage would do them no good in their surprising first-round elimination from the America East tournament.
The Bearcats (31-20, 21-3 AE) had all the momentum going into the double-elimination tournament, having won 19 of their last 20 and averaging close to 12 runs in their last seven games. But top-seeded Binghamton couldn’t topple No. 4 Albany, losing twice to the Great Danes.
‘It was a surprise to us,’ said BU head coach Tim Sinicki. ‘We had good crowds, we were playing well at home, we felt comfortable on the field ‘ As a team, as a program that’s had success in recent years, every year I think that bullseye on our back gets a little bit bigger. I think Albany came in kind of thinking, ‘What are we doing here? Our record’s not great, but we have the No. 1 seed in front of us. Let’s see if we can knock them off.’ They were very loose and they played well.’
Earlier in the season, Binghamton had taken all four matches from Albany (13-40, 10-14 AE), though three of those wins were by two runs or fewer. In the first game of the tournament, the Bearcats tossed out AE co-Pitcher of the Year James Giulietti. Despite coming in with a 6-0 record and a 1.49 ERA in conference, Giulietti had an uncharacteristically poor outing, allowing three runs in just five innings of work. He still left the game with a 5-3 lead with the help of a two-run, bases-loaded single by senior Joe Charron.
Relievers Joe Swindells and Zach Juliano both allowed runs, and the teams went into the ninth inning tied 6-6. But it was Albany who would come through in the clutch. They amassed four hits, with the big blow coming on a two-run double against reliever Alex Adami, and built a 9-6 lead. The Bearcats had the top of the lineup coming in the bottom of the inning, and got a leadoff single from senior Jim Calderone, but couldn’t muster a run in the 9-6 loss. BU had 17 hits but committed four errors. Albany’s nine runs came on just eight hits.
‘Unfortunately, to make things very simple, we didn’t play well,’ Sinicki said. ‘We had good enough pitching out of James in the first game; it wasn’t his best, but it was good enough. We just uncharacteristically made some defensive errors and just didn’t play well.’
So the Bearcats went into the second game of the tournament in an unexpected position, facing a must-win elimination game. Facing second-seeded Maine, it was starter Mike Augliera who came through for Binghamton. The sophomore recorded 11 strikeouts and threw a complete game shutout to give BU the 6-0 win. All the offense came in the first three innings, with the highlight coming on a two-run home run by sophomore Dave Ciocchi in the first. It was Augliera’s performance, though, that stood out.
‘Well really what can you say about it? I mean, he was terrific,’ Sinicki said. ‘He came out and knew that we were facing a talented team, he knew our backs were against the wall ‘ he knew our bullpen was a little thin and somehow he found a way to throw the best game maybe in two years. Throwing the nine-inning complete game was a real shot in the arm at the time for us, it was an outstanding effort.’
While the victory was an important one for the Bearcats, there was some bad news to come out of the game. In the second inning, America East Player of the Year Corey Taylor was hit in the face by a pitch. According to Sinicki, the pitch was about 88 to 89 mph and hit Taylor in the jaw. He had to undergo surgery and is still recovering, but is expected to be fine for the start of next season.
As a result of the injury, Binghamton went into the final game against Albany without two important members of its offense: Taylor and junior Henry Dunn, who was ruled academically ineligible for the tournament. The two had combined for 117 RBI, 118 runs and 24 home runs on the year.
Freshman Jay Lynch was given the task of being the team’s starter in this do-or-die game. He allowed four runs, though only three earned, over six innings. He left the game with the score tied at four, having given up a game-tying home run in the sixth. The seventh inning is where it fell apart for BU. Albany scored three runs in the frame with the help of three Bearcat errors to go up 7-4. The three runs were charged to Zach Juliano, though only one was earned. BU put runners on second and third with one out in the eighth, but couldn’t capitalize. Albany reliever Greg Lutton pitched a perfect ninth inning to bring an end to the Bearcats’ season.
‘Well as you could imagine everyone was disappointed,’ Sinicki said. ‘I think when we left we still felt like we were the best team in the conference when the season was over, and we got eliminated ‘ I think our guys were a bit stunned but I think some of them, after talking to them and kind of getting through it, they understood the big picture a little bit better and they knew they were a part of something special, not only this year but in recent years.’
Despite the early exit, it has been a successful season for Binghamton. The Bearcats increased their overall win total for the seventh-straight season and their 14-game win streak, 418 runs and 72 stolen bases were all school records. Taylor’s 66 RBI, Dunn’s 64 runs, Calderone’s 75 hits and Giulietti’s eight wins are also new team records. Among personal accolades, BU players took home AE co-Pitcher and Player of the Year, and Sinicki was named AE Coach of the Year. Freshman Mike Thompson was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, the third-straight year a Binghamton freshman has been named to the list. The biggest honor came when Henry Dunn was drafted in the 50th round of the MLB Draft by the Cleveland Indians. It is the third-straight year a Bearcat has been drafted.
Seniors Charron, Calderone, Matt Simone and Jeff Abrams will be leaving on a somewhat sour note, but the rest of the team will be looking forward to next season. According to Sinicki, next year’s team will include nine freshman and two junior college transfers.