Over the weekend, the Binghamton softball team participated in the Maryland Tournament. BU took home two wins against Army and one against Monmouth, capping off the tournament with a 3-2 record.

The Bearcats (11-10) began the tournament battling Army (8-18) with sophomore pitcher Allison L’Amoreaux on the mound. L’Amoreaux allowed only one run in four innings while redshirt freshman Lindsey Walter closed the game out. Freshman utility Sarah Rende batted 2-3 with two RBIs. BU scored four runs in the first inning, and never relinquished its lead, winning 11-1.

“[Rende] is starting to get comfortable in center field,” said Binghamton head coach Jessica Bump. “She continues to be consistent for us … She just gets better every weekend.”

Later that day, the Bearcats faced North Dakota State (18-13) in a tight contest. Binghamton earned an early 3-0 advantage thanks in part to an RBI triple from freshman outfielder Alayna Harbaugh. However, BU only scored one more run in the game, and in the final two innings, graduate student pitcher Chelsea Howard gave up five runs to give NDSU a 5-4 victory.

“Sometimes the box score doesn’t show the true colors of the game,” Bump said. “[Howard] threw well, she’s one of those pitchers who are susceptible to giving up a lot of bloop hits. She walked some people, but she’ll continue to work through some things … I wouldn’t say she’s doing bad.”

On Saturday, Binghamton looked to rebound against Maryland (13-14) but was shut out, only earning four hits and giving up eight runs. Howard started on the mound and let up six runs on 11 hits in only three innings. Senior pitcher Sophia Pappas came in for relief in the fourth inning, giving up two more runs to close out the game. The loss was the first time this season BU has been held scoreless.

“We just let the game get away from us a little bit,” Bump said. “Defensively we weren’t making plays and we just weren’t as focused as we have been. It was one of the first times we saw a lefty for a long period of time, and we really just weren’t making adjustments.”

Despite being shut out, Binghamton bounced back later that day against Monmouth (3-20). L’Amoreaux took the mound again, throwing all seven innings, only giving up three runs and five hits. Offensively, junior utility Quinn DeCicco earned four RBIs thanks to a grand slam in the third inning, BU’s first since 2018. DeCicco, after getting one hit in her first five games, is currently batting .308 this season with 26 at-bats.

“[DeCicco’s] been playing really great for us, she’s just playing with a free mind right now,” Bump said. “You can tell she’s really focused, and she has a short memory so if she has ‘not a great’ at-bat, she’s coming back the next time and doing her job. Overall, she just has a really good presence.”

L’Amoreaux and Pappas hit two RBIs to add another two runs and helped the Bearcats earn a 6-3 win over the Hawks.

The Bearcats rematched Army in their last game on Sunday. This outing was more tightly contested than the previous matchup as the two sides were tied up after seven innings. In the eighth inning, the Black Knights hit a single that drove in a run to net them a one-run advantage entering the bottom of the eighth.

“We stayed focused on our next few batters and did what we needed to do,” Bump said. “[Rende] did a really good job staying disciplined in a [high] pressure situation.”

Down by a run, senior infielder Makayla Alvarez drove in the tying run thanks to an error by Army. This brought up L’Amoreaux with the winning run on second. L’Amoreaux slashed a single into left field scoring Rende and giving the Bearcats a walk-off 4-3 win.

“[L’Amoreaux’s] one of our biggest competitors,” Bump said. “All of us were confident she was going to put the ball in play hard and she did what she needed to do.”

Binghamton headed home with a 3-2 record during the weekend and has won its last four of six games. DeCicco had six RBIs over the four games she played, and Harbaugh hit .438 over the weekend.

“I was just happy with their focus in that last inning and just picking each other up after we weren’t really executing,” Bump said.

The Bearcats will return for their home opener against Iona College on Saturday, March 26. First pitch is set for noon at the Bearcats Sport Complex in Vestal, New York.