After seven grueling weeks of challenging nonconference competition, the Binghamton University baseball team will likely welcome the start of conference play this weekend with open arms.
The Bearcats (7-15) are set to kick off their conference schedule on the road tomorrow with a three-game series against University of Maryland, Baltimore County (4-17).
Binghamton enters the series riding a three-game winning streak after sweeping Siena College last weekend following a rocky 4-15 start down south.
Forced to start their season in warmer weather locations, the Bearcats struggled both on the mound and at the plate against talented southern teams like Dallas Baptist and the University of New Mexico. The Bearcats competed, however, and head coach Tim Sinicki hopes they have emerged a better team as a result.
“That’s what all those nonconference schedules are for,” Sinicki said. “It’s to help us prepare for what is the most important part of our schedule which is America East play. So my expectations are for us to be well prepared and ready to play this weekend and play the best baseball that we’ve played so far.”
The Bearcats had their best outing of the season in last weekend’s sweep of the Saints. The pitching staff and lineup both shone, with junior starter Mike Augliera and senior right fielder Peter Bregartner earning America East honors for their performances. Augliera, who tossed a complete-game three-hitter in Sunday’s 12-1 win, now leads the Binghamton rotation in wins, strikeouts and earned run average. Sinicki will send Augliera to the mound tomorrow against the Retrievers in Game 2 of the series-opening doubleheader.
Bregartner, who hit .636 in the series against Siena, is just one of the Binghamton hitters who have gotten off to a potent start at the plate. Junior first baseman Dave Ciocchi has dominated the America East offensive statistics throughout nonconference play. Now hitting .411 on the year, Ciocchi leads the league in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, home runs, walks and total bases. Ciocchi is second in runs batted in, right behind teammate senior outfielder Corey Taylor, who stands atop the conference. Ciocchi is also one of several players in the conference to have a perfect fielding percentage. He has accomplished that feat despite having more than twice as many chances as anyone else on the list.
UMBC comes into the weekend with a potentially dangerous offense of its own. Two UMBC players sit directly under Ciocchi in the league standings for batting average — senior infielder Rich Conlon is boasting a .349, while junior first baseman Max Himmelstein is hitting .347.
In spite of this, though, the Retrievers were picked to finish last in the preseason coaches’ poll, receiving just six points in the voting. Like the Bearcats, UMBC’s season has gotten off to a bumpy start. After opening nonconference play with six straight losses, the Retrievers finished with a 4-17 nonconference record. They are coming off a 12-2 loss to Georgetown University on Tuesday.
But as the Bearcats prepare to dive into conference play, the pitching staff must be on the top of its game after getting off to a generally groggy start. Augliera must continue to impress, while senior ace James Giulietti, who will take the ball in the opener, must try to forget his early starts down south and strive for a repeat of his performance against Siena last weekend. After struggling in his first four starts of the year, Giulietti lowered his ERA to a still-inflated 8.90 with his first win of the year against the Saints.
Sophomore Jay Lynch, who is posting a 6.32 ERA after earning victory No. 1 of the season last weekend, will take the mound on Sunday in the final game of the series.
“We just want them to go out and pitch to a point where they can give us a chance to win,” Sinicki said of his starters. “If that means going the full distance, that’s great. If it means only going a few innings, as long as they’re keeping us in the ball game and giving us a chance to win, that’s all we can ask for.”
Binghamton is scheduled to kick off conference play against UMBC at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow at Baseball Factory Field, and Game 2 of tomorrow’s doubleheader is set to follow. The final game of the series is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday.