The Binghamton baseball team faced Cornell in a midweek matchup on Tuesday night, winning 8-5. The game saw a combined 13 pitchers take the mound for both teams, giving up a total of 20 walks on a night that saw wind chills as low as 25 degrees.

“Too cold for baseball,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki of the conditions during the game.

“Both of us as coaches just felt like it was really important to play last night to try to get that flow for our guys, and so we kind of gutted through it the best we could,” he added. “I’m happy we played but it was a tough night for sure.”

The first two innings of the game remained scoreless, with the only Bearcat to reach base being senior catcher Evin Sullivan on a walk. Binghamton (15-17, America East 5-7) took the lead in the bottom of the third inning thanks to a two-run home run by senior catcher Zach Rogacki, but Cornell (10-14, Ivy League 5-7) answered with a home run of its own in the top of the fourth. The bottom of the fourth saw the Bearcats expand their lead as they added three more runs. Two of the runs were driven in by walks with the bases loaded, while the third was scored off of a wild pitch.

“The ball was so slick; it was really hard to command pitches,” Sinicki said of the night’s pitching. “I thought our bookends did a really good job. I thought that [redshirt junior pitcher Caden Rothbaum] did a good job in his first two innings, and I thought [sophomore infielder Jake Dally] did a really good job in his final inning and a third.”

“When you go out and perform like that in the midweek game, you set yourself up to be in the forefront of my mind when I have to make decisions on the weekend as to who’s going to pitch in conference games,” Sinicki added.

Sullivan added to Binghamton’s lead with a solo home run in the fifth, making it a 6-1 ballgame. Cornell had a three-run inning in the top of the seventh thanks to an RBI single and another pair of walks with the bases loaded, threatening to take the lead.

The Bearcats, however, added some insurance, with two runs in the bottom of the inning thanks to an RBI double by junior infielder Zack Kent and a sacrifice bunt by junior infielder Mike Stellrecht to score Kent. The Big Red managed to put up one more run thanks to a solo home run in the eighth inning before the end of the game, but that was all the offense they would generate.

“He’s been [consistent],” Sinicki said of Kent’s performance. “When you hit in that sixth spot, it seems to be kind of an RBI spot, and he’s been really good in that role for us.”

Binghamton will take on NJIT this weekend to resume conference play. First pitch of the first game of the three-game set is scheduled for Friday, April 18, at 6 p.m. at the Bearcats Baseball Complex in Binghamton, New York.