The Binghamton baseball team kept rolling this weekend, sweeping Maine in a three-game series. The Bearcats (20-7, 9-2 America East) extended their winning streak to seven games and have remained hot over the past several weeks, winning 20 of their last 24 games.
The first two games of the series, a doubleheader on Saturday, featured two comfortable Binghamton victories. The Bearcats took game one of by a score of 9-3 and won game two, 7-4. Sunday’s contest was much closer, but the Bearcats never trailed in a 3-2 win over the Black Bears (14-20, 3-6 AE), completing the sweep.
“Everybody pitched fantastic this weekend,” said BU head coach Tim Sinicki. “The hitters did their thing [Saturday], the pitchers carried us [today]. Every game is going to be different.”
In the first game, the Bearcats trailed 2-1 before tallying four runs in the fourth inning. Binghamton then extended its lead by adding three more runs in the sixth. Offensively, Binghamton was powered by home runs from redshirt sophomore third baseman Justin Yurchak, senior first baseman Brendan Skidmore and freshman second baseman Justin Drpich, while steady pitching from sophomore Nick Gallagher and junior Joe Orlando maintained the lead.
Game two was, at first, back and forth, with Maine taking a 1-0 lead at the top of the first. The Bearcats quickly responded in the bottom of the same inning with three runs of their own. Senior catcher Eddie Posavec extended the lead to 4-1 with an RBI in the second inning. Maine managed another run during the top of the fifth, but the Bearcats tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to three RBI doubles from Drpich, junior outfielder CJ Krowiack and Posavec. Maine scored two more runs in the seventh, which weren’t enough to net the win.
During game three on Sunday, the Black Bears put up a much stronger effort. The Bearcats scored the first run on a Yurchak double in the bottom of the first. Maine responded in the top of the third with a home run from freshman catcher Cody Pasic to tie the game.
The Bearcats took back the lead during the bottom of the sixth, via another RBI from Yurchak, to go up 2-1. The Black Bears tied the game again in the top of the seventh, but in the bottom of the same inning, the Bearcats responded with their third run of the day. An RBI triple from freshman infielder Greg Satriale gave BU a 3-2 lead heading into the eighth inning. Two hitless innings of relief from junior pitcher Dylan Stock secured the win, handing the Bearcats their second straight sweep of a conference opponent.
“I took two bad pitches,” Satriale said. “I had to pick myself back up from last inning [after] tying the game up with an error and I just wanted to come back and help my team any way I could.”
Binghamton will play its next eight games at home.
“We’re excited,” Sinicki said. “We love playing at home, we like to win at home, so it’s exciting to have a bunch of home games coming up.”
A highlight of the weekend and a big part of Binghamton’s success this season, Gallagher now boasts a conference-best 5-1 record. Drpich led the Bearcats offensively, going 5-for-7 from the plate and driving in three runs over the weekend.
Binghamton is set to face Cornell on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. from the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.