For the opening tournament of its 2025 season, the Binghamton softball team won 3-of-5 games at the Stetson-Frank Griffin Classic. The Bearcats faced off against Stetson University, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Farleigh Dickinson over the weekend. Despite dropping the tournament’s first two games, Binghamton outscored their opponents 20-8 for the weekend, emphasized by key contributions from both the pitching staff and the offense.

The Bearcats first faced UTC (2-3) on Friday, losing by just one run. After falling behind 2-0 in the top of the first, graduate student outfielder Brianna Santos led off the bottom of the first against the Mocs with a triple, later scoring on a steal attempt. Trailing by three in the bottom of the sixth, junior first baseman Emma Lawson torched a double, and sophomore infielder Elisa Allen socked the Bearcats’ first homer of the season to trim the deficit to one. Both squads were held scoreless in the 7th, as the Bearcats fell 4-3.

Later that day, the Bearcats took on Stetson (5-0). One run proved enough for the Stetson offense that afternoon, as they shut out the Bearcats as part of their 14-inning scoreless streak to start the tournament. Sophomore pitcher Delaney Glover and junior pitcher Olivia Kennedy combined for seven excellent innings on the mound, with assists from the gloves of Santos and graduate student outfielder Lindsey Walter. The game was scoreless for four innings before the Stetson offense broke through in the top of the fifth on an RBI single, as BU lost its second match 1-0.

Lawson, who went 3-for-6 with a double on Friday, continued her tear into Saturday. She drove in two runs on an RBI single for the Bearcats in the opening frame against FDU (0-5). Those two runs made all the difference, as the Bearcats pitching staff held on to a one-run lead to edge out FDU 2-1. Junior pitcher Brianna Roberts threw four innings, collecting six strikeouts. Walter pitched three innings in relief, allowing zero runs and collecting her first save of the season.

The Bearcats finished the day with a rout against UTC, scoring nine runs and reaching base at over a 50 percent clip. Six of the nine hits went for extra bases, including two doubles from Lawson and another homer from Allen. The duo accounted for eight of BU’s runs on Saturday alone. Kennedy twirled a five-inning complete game, fanning five and allowing one run.

“It was good to bounce back and get two wins today,” said Binghamton head coach Jess Bump. “UTC is an NCAA regional team from last year that beat many good teams last year. It was great to see a good offensive breakout game, with both solid defense and a good pitching performance on the other side of the ball.”

The bats came alive again in the final game of the tournament on Sunday, as BU defeated FDU once more in a 6-1 victory. Glover tossed five scoreless innings and struck out three on the way to earning the win. Senior outfielder Sarah Rende was walked a career-high three times and socked a double in her only official trip to the plate. Lawson and Santos collected two more RBIs apiece, finishing the tournament first and second on the team in OPS. Santos hit safely in every game of the tournament, while Lawson slugged four doubles and notched a team-leading seven RBIs.

“It’s always good to fly home on Sunday with a win,” Bump said. “We got better as the weekend went on and worked through some first-weekend jitters. Our pitching kept us in every game, our defense was incredible for the first time being outside and our offense got some momentum.”

On the pitching side, the Bearcats threw to the tune of a 1.69 ERA and 20 strikeouts throughout the tournament. Binghamton hitters slugged 13 extra-base hits led by Allen’s pair of home runs.

Binghamton will return back south next weekend for the Florida Tournament, opening things up against Boston College on Friday, Feb. 14. First pitch is set for 9 a.m. at the Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.