Over the weekend, the Binghamton softball team continued its start to the season on the road at the Furman Invitational in South Carolina. BU recovered from its 1-4 result in the season-opening tournament last weekend, turning it around by going 4-1 after beating Bellarmine, Furman and sweeping Towson.

“It was good to come out of the weekend 4-1,” said Binghamton head coach Jess Bump. “I think we got a lot better in a lot of areas from last week to this weekend. The loss against Sacred Heart was a tough one as [graduate student pitcher Sophia Pappas] had a career day on the mound with I think 13 strikeouts. And we just didn’t really put a great offensive effort into that game, but I was happy with how the team came back against a really good Furman team last night.”

BU’s (5-5) tournament got off to a positive start on Friday, as it swept the day for the first time this season against Bellarmine (1-8) and Towson (3-2). The weekend’s opening game against Bellarmine displayed solid offensive and defensive performances from the Bearcats. A first-inning single and an RBI double later had BU up 2-0, courtesy of sophomore outfielder Sarah Rende. After that, junior catcher Hailey Ehlers added a third in the top of the sixth. The win marked freshman pitcher Brianna Roberts’ first career shutout, limiting the Knights to two hits and striking out eight batters.

Binghamton defeated Towson later that day despite taking an immediate deficit. By the end of the top of the first inning, the Tigers had a two-run lead, scoring the first runs against BU of the tournament. In the third inning, however, the Bearcats mounted their comeback through an RBI single by sophomore outfielder Alayna Harbaugh. A two-run single from redshirt sophomore outfielder Brianna Santos took the lead at 3-2.

“[Redshirt sophomore Lindsey Walter] really had a great weekend for us,” Bump said. “She’s in a designated player role right now and getting on base a lot and stealing bases, and when we need to call upon her to be our pitcher in the relief role and she’s been dominant on both sides of the ball. This weekend, I think she really showed us that she can do a lot for our team.”

The sole defeat of Binghamton’s weekend came against Sacred Heart (2-3) on Saturday morning. The Pioneers held BU to a scoreless game while scoring two themselves, overshadowing Pappas’ career-high 13 strikeouts, the most by a Binghamton student since 2009. Later that day, however, the Bearcats got back to their winning ways after facing Furman (3-4). By the fifth inning, a 4-2 deficit called for another comeback from the visitors. Two RBI singles from Rende and junior third baseman Shelby Carvalho leveled it up, shortly followed by a two-run single hit by freshman pinch hitter Emma Lawson to give Binghamton the lead. BU rounded out its split day with a 9-5 win in the end.

“For the last few years [Pappas] has been a reliever for us, and I decided to put her in a starting role this weekend because she’s really had some great outings and [is] showing some great confidence on the mound,” Bump said. “But when she’s on the mound it kind of makes our whole team confident because she shows that presence for us.”

The tournament concluded on Sunday, with Binghamton facing Towson once again. Graduate student infielder Alli Richmond made the difference, hitting a two-run homer in the top of the fourth, guiding the Bearcats to a 2-0 victory and a 4-1 record at the Furman Invitational in the end. BU’s second shutout of the weekend was pitched by freshman Kendal Leitner, with five hits allowed and three strikeouts, before the game was finished by Walter, who allowed only a single hit in 2.1 innings.

“All five of our pitchers did really great things for us this weekend, either giving us good starts or coming in and relieving and shutting down offenses,” Bump said. “I think we just can’t rely on our pitchers to always throw shutouts, and we just got to get going a little bit better offensively. Obviously, it’s nice knowing that whoever’s on the mound can keep us in most games.”

BU continues on the road to face George Washington on Friday, March 3 at the Hampton & Norfolk State Tournament. First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. in Hampton, Virginia.