Following a 2024 season in which he lost five weeks of the season from an injury, Rogacki had a standout 2025 campaign, earning America East all-conference honors. Starting in all 55 games for the Bearcats, he saw action primarily at catcher, while also appearing as a DH and outfielder. His 2025 season saw him lead the AE in doubles and sacrifice bunts with 17 and 11, respectively.

“I’m so happy for [Rogacki] to get this opportunity to chase his dream of playing professional baseball … and he deserves it,” Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki told bubearcats.com. “[Rogacki] has proven himself to be a tireless worker and outstanding competitor who will represent the Rockies with class and integrity no matter what is asked of him.”

Rogacki was instrumental in Binghamton’s AE championship campaign, securing eight hits and six RBI for the No. 3 seed Bearcats’ upset against No. 1 seed Bryant. He was also awarded the AE Elite 18 Award for receiving a 3.75 GPA. After transferring from NCAA Division III Alvernia following his sophomore season, Rogacki hit .346 and amassed 100 hits in two years as a Bearcat.

Binghamton’s highest drafted position player in 35 years, Rogacki follows Nick Roselli ‘24, the second baseman who was drafted to the New York Mets last year.

This is a developing story, and it will be updated.

“[I’m] a little disappointed with both games, we couldn’t protect the lead the way we needed to, and we couldn’t,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “In yesterday’s game, we couldn’t expand the lead, which would have helped.”

Binghamton (21-21, 9-9 AE) beat Navy (25-23, 14-11 Patriot) to the punch in the first game of the series on Friday. In the top of the second, the Bearcats scored two, the first from an RBI single by freshman first baseman/pitcher Steven Kraus and the second coming on a Navy wild pitch. The Midshipmen scored a run of their own in the second, before graduate student first baseman Freddy Forgione hit a two-run homer in the top of the fourth to give Binghamton a 4-1 lead.

In the sixth, Navy fought back to tie the game at 4-4. Binghamton again stretched out a narrow lead, with an RBI single by senior catcher Zach Rogacki in the seventh scoring one and an RBI triple by sophomore infielder Todd Abraham in the eighth scoring two to make the game 7-4. However, the Midshipmen scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth, walking off game one with a final score of 9-7. Sophomore pitcher Hayden Tarsia started the game, pitching 3.2 innings, allowing one earned run and striking out two.

“We just didn’t do a good job coming out of the bullpen, our guys need to execute a little better,” Sinicki said. “Coming out of the bullpen is a little bit of an art form, you’ve got to be able to have the ability and the nerve. There’s a lot of things that go into coming out of the bullpen into a critical situation.

“You’ve got to have really good focus and you’ve got to be able to execute your pitches, and I just think we failed in that area,” he continued.

The second game of the series played out similarly for the Bearcats. The only offense for Binghamton came in the top of the fourth, when Forgione launched a two-run homer to give the Bearcats a 2-0 lead. The Binghamton pitching staff could hold Navy at bay for only so long, giving up a run in the fifth and two in the sixth to give the Midshipmen a 3-2 lead. Ultimately, the Bearcats were unable to muster any more offense and dropped the final game.

Graduate student pitcher Ryan Packard started the game for the Bearcats, pitching five innings, allowing a run and a walk and striking out one. Throughout the entire weekend, the Bearcat staff pitched to a 6.18 ERA, while the hitters slashed just .231.

“We had a chance to kind of break it open early in the game and came up short,” Sinicki said. “The number of hits that you get in a game is only important if you can score runs off of those hits. It’s hard when you leave as many guys on base as we do. Sometimes, and I understand it, sometimes guys want to be so successful and they want to do something that really helps the team, they kind of just go outside of what they should be doing and make things more difficult than they need to.”

“We had a couple chances yesterday to make plays on both offense and defense to win that game, and we just didn’t do it when we needed to,” he continued. “If we want to make a good run here at the end heading into the America East tournament, we’ve got to be better than we were this weekend.”

After a matchup against Marist scheduled for Tuesday was canceled, the baseball team will be back in action on Friday, May 9 in a three-game series against Maine. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Mahaney Diamond in Orono, Maine.

“I thought we did a great job coming back after getting down early,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “And then once the rain started coming, I thought we did a really good job with the pitching, making sure that we secured the outs that we needed to get the win.”

The game started off slow with a scoreless first inning, but Cornell (11-20) blew open a considerable lead against Binghamton (21-19) in the top of the second, scoring five runs off of a string of hits. Senior catcher Evin Sullivan started the comeback for the Bearcats, hitting a solo home run off the first pitch he saw.

Senior outfielder Logan Haskell added on another run thanks to an RBI, putting the Bearcats three runs away from a tie game. Sullivan hit another bomb in the third inning, driving in two base runners and tying the game at 5-5.

“Sullivan did a terrific job, obviously offensively,” Sinicki said. “Getting us on the board and then tying things up with two big home runs.”

Binghamton continued to control the game in the fourth inning, which saw sophomore infielder Todd Abraham give his team the go-ahead run with an RBI single up the middle. Freshman outfielder Matt Bolton and senior catcher Zach Rogacki strung together back-to-back hits for two more RBIs, giving the team an 8-5 lead in the fourth inning.

The fifth inning remained scoreless, and the game was called in the sixth due to a thunderstorm. After the second inning, redshirt junior pitcher Caden Rothbaum and redshirt freshman pitcher Aiden Milburn allowed just one hit in nearly four innings.

“Except for one bad inning, we put up zeros the rest of the way,” Sinicki said when asked about the pitching. “I thought overall they did a pretty good job. They were right on [freshman pitcher Brady] Bouchard in the second inning for whatever reason, but his first inning was pretty clean, and then Rothbaum and Milburn did a really good job keeping them off the board and then giving us a chance to get on the board and then eventually take the lead.”

Binghamton plays a two-game series against Navy this weekend on the road. First pitch is scheduled for Saturday, May 3 at 1 p.m., at the Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

“We were just a little flat today,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “We had some chances that didn’t come through. Our pitching, I thought, was really good all weekend, but we just didn’t play well enough offensively and defensively.”

Game one saw UMass Lowell (16-26, 8-10 AE) take a 1-0 lead in the second inning when a River Hawk stole home. No teams scored again until the fifth inning when senior infielder Devan Bade hit a two-run homer to give Binghamton (20-19, 9-9 AE) the lead. Bade proceeded to score again in the seventh and ninth innings, with two RBI doubles on two straight hits, putting the team up 4-1.

BU continued to put up runs in the ninth inning, thanks to an RBI single from junior infielder Zack Kent and a bases-clearing RBI double by junior infielder Mike Stellrecht. Their opponents were unable to score, leading to a final score of 8-1. Game one also saw sophomore pitcher Hayden Tarsia pitch seven full innings while allowing just three hits and one earned run.

“[Tarsia is] pretty impressive for a kid that wasn’t in the starting rotation to begin the year,” Sinicki said. “I’m really proud of the fact that he has taken advantage of this opportunity and has made the most of it. He’s throwing the ball extremely well right now.”

In game two, UMass Lowell took a convincing lead early, scoring four runs in the third inning. Binghamton responded with a run of their own in the top of the fourth, courtesy of an RBI double by senior catcher Evin Sullivan. With another run in the bottom of the inning, the River Hawks tacked back onto their lead, making it 5-1.

The Bearcats put up one more run in the fifth off an RBI single from senior catcher Zach Rogacki, making it 5-2 and threatening a comeback in the ninth inning by driving in two more runs. They couldn’t finish the job, however, falling short at a final score of 5-4.

“We had opportunities to score runs in games two and three, we didn’t,” Sinicki said. “I know it sounds pretty simple, and in game one we kinda cashed in. Sometimes you’ve got to give credit to the other team. They’re trying to win as well, and unfortunately, they got the better of us in games two and three.”

Game three saw the River Hawks take another early lead, scoring one run in the second inning and another in the fifth. Binghamton’s first run came in the sixth inning, when graduate student first baseman Freddy Forgione hit an RBI single.

The Bearcats’ opponents added on a third run in the bottom of the sixth, but Binghamton answered with a run of its own in the eighth, thanks to a solo homer by Rogacki, keeping the team in the game at a score of 3-2. The River Hawks, however, managed to put up two more unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth. With the Bearcats unable to score in the ninth, the final score read 5-2.

“We played one of our best games of the year on Friday night,” Sinicki said. “Then we came out yesterday, and the rain delay and then the suspended game today. I thought we were a little flat today. I don’t know if we had a short night last night, a lot of waiting around, but no excuses.”

Binghamton will play its next game against Cornell on Tuesday, April 29. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Bearcats Baseball Complex in Vestal, New York.

“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.

“[We] didn’t really play well enough to win, so [we] kind of didn’t deserve to win,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “Just didn’t execute well enough in any of the three areas of the game — offense, defense or pitching.”

The Bonnies (10-16, Atlantic 10 2-7) took an early lead in the game, scoring one run in the first inning and another two in the second thanks to a home run. Binghamton (13-12, AE 4-2) answered with a score from an error in the third inning and an RBI groundout by junior infielder Mike Stellrecht in the fourth before the Bonnies put up two unearned runs in the bottom of the inning to make it a 5-2 ballgame. The Bearcats managed to score runs in the fifth and seventh innings, courtesy of a fielder’s choice and an RBI single from sophomore infielder Todd Abraham.

“We do have tremendous fight, and I do believe that our guys believe in themselves and each other,” Sinicki said. “We’re never out of a game, and we keep making it close. And if they score a run, we somehow battle back, and we put ourselves in a position to win games, even the games that we lose.”

St. Bonaventure responded with two runs in the seventh, including another unearned. Each team put up another run in the eighth inning as BU scored off an RBI triple by senior catcher Zach Rogacki, making the score 8-5 heading into the ninth. Binghamton managed to score two more runs and had a runner on third base when graduate student first baseman Freddy Forgione struck out, ending the game and falling just short of a comeback victory.

“People say hitting is contagious, and sometimes you hope that that’s the case,” Sinicki said. “And with [Rogacki and freshman outfielder Matt Bolton] doing well, you hope the guys in the lineup behind them feed off of that. Those two guys give us a lot of energy, and they’re on base a lot, so our guys do feed off of it. They’re just really our offensive catalysts right now and they’ve both done a really, really good job.”

The game saw Binghamton use six pitchers, including redshirt freshman outfielder Ian Kaiser, who had his first collegiate outing after recovering from Tommy John surgery. Kaiser pitched 1.1 hitless innings, allowing no runners on base during his time on the mound.

“Today was his first college outing, and he went out and he pitched a clean inning and a third,” Sinicki said of Kaiser. “So there were some bright spots, but we didn’t do enough consistently on the mound to keep them at bay. Every time we scored, I felt like we gave up a runner to let them build that lead back up that we had cut into.”

Binghamton will resume conference play with a three-game series against UMBC beginning on Friday, April 4. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Alumni Field in Baltimore, Maryland.

“Winning the series is important,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “It’s very difficult to beat a team three times in a weekend. So, if you can win series more times than not, you’re going to be in good shape at the end of the year, so that was a good way to start the conference season.”

Game one was Binghamton’s (11-10, 2-1 AE) only loss of the series, as Maine (5-17, 1-2 AE) took an early lead, scoring four runs in the first three innings. The Bearcats answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third, thanks to RBIs by senior outfielder Logan Haskell and senior infielder Devan Bade, making the game 3-2. Maine added one more run in the top of the sixth, bringing the game to 5-2, which remained the final score. Despite the loss, freshman pitcher Brady Bouchard put up a strong outing in relief, pitching 3.2 scoreless innings and allowing just two hits to close the game.

“We moved him into the bullpen this weekend, trying to get things straightened out and get him on a good path,” Sinicki said of Bouchard. “He responded really well and didn’t sulk or didn’t feel sorry for himself, and he came out, pitched really well for us, which is great to see because he’s very talented.”

The second game was the highest scoring of the series, seeing the Bearcats and the Black Bears combine for 17 runs. Maine once again took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning, but Binghamton responded with three runs of its own. Each team scored an additional run in the third, tying the game at four before Maine followed with two more runs over the next two innings.

Binghamton responded with four runs of its own in the bottom of the fifth, thanks in part to senior designated hitter Evin Sullivan, who hit a two-run home run. Sullivan has made his presence known this season, racking up 25 hits and 16 RBIs so far. However, the Black Bears scored two more runs in the top of the seventh, tying the game at eight. Senior catcher Zach Rogacki then hit a walk-off RBI for the Bearcats in the bottom of the seventh, lifting BU to a 9-8 victory.

“[Sullivan’s] hitting in the four spot for a reason,” Sinicki said. “He’s been a four-year starter, he’s played a lot of innings for us, he’s had a lot of bats, and he’s a young man, by this time in his career, we need to count on him. So if he continues to do the things he’s doing right now, we’ll be in good shape moving forward.”

The rubber match saw an 8-3 victory for Binghamton. This time, the Bearcats took the lead first, putting up five runs by the third inning. Maine put up two runs in the top of the fourth, but the Bearcats answered back with three runs in the bottom of the inning, thanks to a solo home run by Bade and a triple by Rogacki, making the score 8-2.

The Black Bears put up one more run in the fifth inning before play was halted due to rain, leaving the final score at 8-3 after five innings. Binghamton managed 14 total hits, while Rogacki strung together another strong performance with four RBIs.

“I’m just hoping that this helps guys with their confidence,” Sinicki said. “We had a lot of bats this weekend, and hopefully the more bats we get, the guys’ timing is better, and they see more pitches, and we can continue to have good, consistent bats moving forward the rest of the season. But the next day’s pitcher always dictates the end of the game.”

The Bearcats are set to take on Cornell in a midweek matchup on Tuesday, March 25. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Booth Field in Ithaca, New York.

“You go on the road, and you’re on the road Thursday for nearly 11 hours, and you get off the bus and you play the way we did Friday and Saturday, and you feel pretty good about what the guys were able to do,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “We did good things, both on the mound and in the box and defensively.”

Game one on Friday afternoon was the highest-scoring one in the series, with both squads being blanked on the scoreboard through five periods. Graduate student starting pitcher Ryan Packard delivered five scoreless innings with just one hit in his second outing with the team, as he now holds a 1.00 ERA on the season. Binghamton (2-4) put up the first two runs of the game in the top of the sixth inning, thanks in part to an RBI double by senior catcher Zach Rogacki.

Elon (2-5) responded with two runs in the bottom of the sixth, tying the game at 2. The top of the eighth saw junior infielder Zack Kent deliver two more RBIs for the team with a single through the right side. Elon, however, answered with two more runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. The ninth inning saw the Bearcats break away with four more runs, which included another RBI from Kent, giving him four on the day, as BU won 8-4.

“The guys really believe in [Packard],” Sinicki said. “He believes in himself, which is really important. [The team] enjoys playing behind him. As a transfer student, he’s made an immediate impact within the team … the guys have a lot of confidence when he takes the mound.”

Game two saw another dominant performance from a Binghamton starting pitcher, this time from freshman starting pitcher Brady Bouchard, who pitched six scoreless innings. The game saw Binghamton take the lead in the top of the fifth, with freshman outfielder Matt Bolton delivering the first run of the game with an RBI double. Senior infielder Devan Bade doubled to right field and drove in another run in the fifth, making it 2-0 Binghamton. The Bearcats proceeded to put up five more runs over the next four innings, shutting Elon out 7-0.

“I don’t want to say it’s a surprise, because it’s not,” Sinicki said. “[Bouchard] earned the opportunity to be our No. 2 starter through his bullpen and his preseason work … He had command of the entire game while he was in there. He was making good pitches. He only had two strikeouts but he didn’t walk anybody.”

Game three saw the Phoenix take an early 1-0 lead in the first, but the Bearcats answered with a run of their own in the top of the second, driven in by junior infielder Mike Stellrecht, who earned their only RBI of the day, making it a 1-1 game. Elon put on another run in the bottom of the second, but Binghamton once again answered in the third, with Sullivan scoring on a throwing error, tying the game at 2-2. Elon then put up six unanswered runs over the remainder of the game, winning with a final score of 8-2, despite having four errors during the game. While the result in the final game was not ideal, Sinicki’s confident that the team will bounce back as the season continues.

“It’s just a matter of execution,” said Sinicki. “These are things that will come in time, the more we play, the more we get to practice outside … We’ll continue to grow and learn from everything we’ve done in the past two weekends.”

The Bearcats will look to add another win to their record when they take on Siena College on Friday, Feb. 28. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. at Thomas Stadium in Johnson City, Tennessee.

“I actually thought they were three pretty good college baseball games,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “For being outside for the first time this season, I think we played well.”

Game one opened on Friday night and saw Texas State (3-0) take an early lead in the first inning, putting up two runs off of a pair of RBIs. After the first inning, Binghamton’s (0-3) starter, redshirt sophomore pitcher Ryan Bates managed to pitch three scoreless innings to follow up. Freshman center fielder Matt Bolton put up Binghamton’s first and only run of game one with an inside-the-park home run, making the score 2-1 in the top of the third.

Graduate student relief pitcher Ryan Packard came in in the fifth inning and pitched two more scoreless innings before giving up two more runs in the bottom of the seventh, making it a 4-1 ballgame. The Bobcats’ closer shut the door against BU in game one in a three-up, three-down inning, striking out two batters in the process.

“[Bates and Packard] did a good job giving us a chance to win a ball game and that’s all you want your starting pitchers to do,” Sinicki said. “In that game offensively, their No. 1 starter did a really good job against us … Sometimes you gotta tip your hat to the guy who’s pitching against you.”

Game two saw the highest-scoring matchup of the weekend, with Texas just edging out the Bearcats in an 8-7 victory. Binghamton took an early 2-0 lead before Texas responded with five unanswered runs. Senior catcher Evin Sullivan had a go-ahead grand slam in the top of the fifth, giving Binghamton a 6-5 lead. The Bobcats responded with three more runs in the sixth, and despite another RBI by Sullivan in the top of the ninth, Binghamton fell 8-7.

“[Sullivan’s] gonna have to be one of those guys for us,” Sinicki said. “He’s a four-year starter. He’s played a lot of innings for this program. I’m hoping that this, his senior year, is going to be his best season yet … He did a good job this series, but specifically [Saturday] he did a really good job getting us on the board, and getting us into a situation where we had a chance to win the ball game.”

In game three, Texas took a 1-0 lead in the third and followed it up with six runs scored in the bottom of the fourth. The Bobcats had two outs and no one on base when an error by freshman outfielder Braylen Gonzalez allowed a Bobcat to get on base, which was followed by a string of hits. Binghamton racked up a few runs in the innings that followed, including a solo home run by senior outfielder Logan Haskell in the top of the ninth, but the Bearcats ultimately fell 7-4, as they were swept in their opening series.

“All six runs [in the fourth inning] were unearned,” Sinicki said. “We dropped the fly ball in the outfield, and that opened up the floodgates, and we just couldn’t stop it until they put six runs on the board … We’ve got to try and find a way, either with our pitching or our defense, to end the inning before it gets to a point where it did today.”

Binghamton will continue its road trip against Elon University. First pitch for game one is set for 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21 at Latham Park in Elon, North Carolina.

Binghamton finished the 2024 season 21-29 overall and just 10-14 in conference play. The season was derailed by a multitude of injuries, which began in the first series of the season when star infielder Nick Roselli suffered a broken hamate bone, sidelining him for several weeks. While he returned in time for the AE playoffs, starting senior outfielders Tommy Reifler and Logan Haskell, the one and two spot in the lineup, were unable to play in BU’s sole playoff game.

Going into the 2025 season, notable returners include four seniors — Haskell, infielder Devan Bade and catchers Zach Rogacki and Evin Sullivan. Four Bearcats were selected to the preseason all-conference team, including Rogacki, Bade and Sullivan, along with sophomore relief pitcher Jackson Mitchell, an AE all-rookie selection last season. With a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and a big sweeper, Mitchell will be one to watch this season.

Rogacki also faced his fair share of the injury bug, playing in just 24 games, but when he was healthy, he was impactful, hitting .310 with 26 hits. Bade, who has improved his numbers every year at BU, will be another one to watch. As a solidified piece in the lineup, Bade hit a team-high .326 last year with 59 hits and six home runs. Lastly, Sullivan will also look to build on his strong 2024 campaign where he hit .316 and led the team with 12 doubles.

Prominent transfers that have joined the squad in 2025 include graduate student infielder Freddy Forgione from SUNY Maritime. In 2024, Forgione was a Division III First Team all-American and Skyline Conference Player of the Year, hitting .385 with 21 home runs, 15 doubles and 62 RBIs. He will bring some much-needed pop to the Bearcats lineup, especially with the loss of Roselli. [HYPERLINK https://www.bupipedream.com/sports/nick-roselli-drafted-to-mets/154370/]

With a relatively young team going into the 2025 season, it will take time for the Bearcats to get settled and get players to where they fit best. The Bearcats will rely on underclassmen, such as sophomore infielder Todd Abraham and Mitchell, who saw a big role last year. However, the biggest key is staying healthy and building chemistry, as the team searches for a bit of a new identity.

Binghamton will begin its season on Friday, Feb. 14 with a series against Texas State University. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. at Jim Wacker Field in San Marcos, Texas.

With their 11th-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, the New York Mets have selected Binghamton second baseman Nick Roselli.

During this past season with Binghamton, after suffering an injury early in the spring, Roselli, a junior, went on to start all 27 games he played, hitting .388 on the year. In three years at BU, he collected 153 hits and 104 RBI in 115 career starts and ranked top-10 in the America East conference in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging and home runs.

“I’m very proud of Nick and so happy for him and his family,” head coach Tim Sinicki said. “An opportunity to play professional baseball has driven Nick from day one on campus and he’s worked extremely hard to accomplish that goal. I believe the Mets have made a great pick in Nick and I wish him nothing but the best as chases his dream of one day playing in the major leagues.”

Roselli is the 13th Binghamton baseball player to be drafted.

“My congratulations go out to Nick Roselli and his family for his selection by the New York Mets in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft,” said University President Harvey Stenger. “His accomplishments during his time at Binghamton were remarkable and I am incredibly proud of how well he represented the University through his excellence on the baseball field. Of course, I’m also excited that Nick will have an opportunity to return to Binghamton to play for the Rumble Ponies, the Mets’ AA affiliate, at some point in the future. Well done, Nick! Go Bearcats!”

This is a developing story, and it will be updated.

“We did have opportunities in that game to score and we just didn’t [get] a big hit when we needed to,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “We didn’t execute the opportunity to get guys in with less than two outs.”

NJIT’s (25-26, 12-11 AE) offense got to work quickly against Binghamton’s (21-29, 10-14 AE) ace and senior pitcher Gabe Driscoll, who got the nod on the mound. The Highlanders scored runs in each of the first three innings, plating three runs in the first, and one in the second and third. Driscoll was knocked out of the game in the second inning, lasting just 1.2 innings and surrendering four runs on six hits.

“I felt like I had to make a change when I did,” Sinicki said. “That’s hard as a coach to go out and pull your number one guy who’s been so good all year in the second inning of a lose-or-go-home type of game. I made sure that he knew before he left the mound how much he had done for the program that year and this outing was not going to define his final year at Binghamton.”

Sinicki then turned to senior pitcher Nelson Berkwich. In the meantime, Binghamton got on the board in the fourth, courtesy of a solo home run by junior infielder Devan Bade, after going 9-for-13 against the Highlanders just last weekend.

Then, in the fifth inning, freshman outfielder Todd Abraham smacked a double into the right center gap to plate another run to make it 5-2. Despite loading the bases in the seventh inning with just one out, Binghamton was unable to generate a run as junior second baseman Nick Roselli and Bade were retired, ending the threat.

“During practice, we set that situation up, and we have guys work on driving balls to the outfield to get guys in, maybe using the middle of the field to get guys in when the field’s back,” Sinicki said. “Sometimes it’s just just a little bit of bad luck.”

The Bearcats also left two runners stranded in the eighth and ninth innings. In the ninth inning, after two consecutive singles from Roselli and Bade, with two outs, senior outfielder Mike Gunning stepped up to the plate as the game tying run. However, Gunning flew out to left, as Binghamton fell 5-2.

“Given the challenges that we had throughout the course here, we did about as much as we could possibly do,” Sinicki said. “Unfortunately, we just didn’t extend the season as long as we wanted to.”

Berkwich spun 5.1 innings in relief out of the bullpen, pitching into the eighth inning, giving up just one run and keeping the Bearcats in the game. Abraham went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Bade went 2-4 with an RBI.

“[Berkwich] knew heading into the game that if I needed some length, I was gonna go to him,“ Sinicki said. “He came in and he was ready. He did a great job and kept us around.”

Binghamton’s injury-plagued season now comes to an end. BU was without two key starters, senior outfielder Tommy Reifler and junior outfielder Logan Haskell. On a more positive note, several Bearcats earned individual accolades with Driscoll, Gunning and junior catcher Evin Sullivan being named to the all-conference first team and Roselli earning a spot on the all-conference second team, despite missing a chunk of the season.

“When we started back in February, I don’t think if you would have said to me, ‘hey coach, going into the [AE] tournament, you’re gonna have a catcher playing center field and a freshman infielder playing left field,’ I probably wouldn’t have believed you,” Sinicki said.

Sinicki discussed his expectations for next year and the team’s plans to rebuild, specifically in regards to the pitching staff and finding the necessary pieces through the transfer portal, while developing young players and the new Bearcats coming into the program.

“We have a pretty good nucleus coming back, position player-wise,” Sinicki said. “The biggest area of concern is pitching. We lose a lot of innings. But I really liked the talent that we had with our freshmen. I thought we got a lot of mileage out of guys like [freshman pitcher Jackson Mitchell], [freshman pitcher Hayden Tarsia] and [freshman pitcher Conner Griffin] this year. I’m happy where we’re at in terms of moving into next year, but I’ll be happier with a couple of key pieces from the portal.”

Going into its final series of America East (AE) conference play and looking to win a spot in the AE tournament with a win or a Maine loss, the Binghamton baseball team took its destiny into its own hands, clinching the sixth and final spot after securing a win in the final game of a three-game set on the road against NJIT on Saturday.

“We earned our way in and we continue to battle through some very, very unfortunate injuries that we’ve had really since the second game of the year, this year,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “This team has really shown a lot of resiliency in a lot of different areas. To even put ourselves in this position right now, I think it’s really a true testament to the character of this team.”

In game one, Binghamton (21-28, 10-14 AE) held the lead for the majority of the game but fell 7-4. After senior pitcher Gabe Driscoll went six innings, giving up just one run, the bullpen was unable to contain NJIT’s (24-26, 12-11 AE) offense, as BU allowed six runs on five hits. The Bearcats’ offense tacked on two more runs but was unable to recover, coming up short-handed.

“We’re up to those challenges,” Sinicki said. “We signed up for this and the guys have done as good a job as they can.”

The second game of the series saw a slugfest between the Bearcats and Highlanders. The two teams combined for 26 total runs, with NJIT coming out on top 15-11. Binghamton and NJIT each tallied 15 hits and despite the visitors holding an 11-8 lead late in the game, a seven-run eighth inning propelled the Highlanders to the victory in game two.

“We didn’t pitch as well in the bullpen as we could have and as we had in the past,” Sinicki said. “Sometimes you just don’t know with the bullpen … Some days you have it, some days you don’t — that’s baseball.”

With the season on the line, BU delivered with a 12-7 comeback win in the final game of the series to secure a spot in the AE tournament. After going down 5-0 after four innings, the Bearcats rallied back with two runs in the fifth inning and six runs in the sixth. Binghamton added some insurance in the late innings and kept NJIT at bay to earn the victory. Junior second baseman Nick Roselli had a monster two-homer day, going 3-for-3 with five RBIs.

“We’re gonna have to have some guys have really, really good weeks offensively, just because we’re missing some guys in the lineup,” Sinicki said. “It all begins on the mound. If you get a good start and you can jump out ahead of somebody, I think [that] definitely puts pressure, especially in games on Wednesday — those are elimination games.”

The win also marked Sinicki’s 700th career win at Binghamton. He shared what the win meant to him, with the 2024 season being his 32nd season at the helm. While the Bearcats may not have met lofty preseason expectations, being selected to finish first in the AE in the preseason coach’s poll, Sinicki is confident that the team will be able to have success and is excited to compete in the AE tournament once again.

“It’s really about the people around me in my life, with my staff and the support people and family that allows you to do this job,” Sinicki said. “I’m just fortunate to be the head coach … when we win, I get the wins, and when we lose, I get the losses. I’ve never done it for that reason. I’ve done it just for the sheer joy of the game and trying to make a difference in the lives of young men … I won’t ever count us out until that last out is made. We’re excited. We’re happy to keep playing.”

With a quick turnaround and going into the AE tournament as the No. 6 seed, Binghamton will take on No. 3 NJIT on Wednesday, May 22 as it looks to make a deep playoff run once again. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

“I was disappointed that we didn’t find a way to win the series,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “To drop the first two and then to find a way to come out with a win on Sunday makes the trip home a little bit easier. Hopefully, that’s something that gets us going in the right direction as we head into the final stretch of the season.”

Binghamton (17-22, 7-11 AE) suffered a walk-off defeat against Maine (10-28, 6-8 AE) in the series opener. Sophomore pitcher Dan McAliney went five innings, allowing two earned runs on two hits, while walking one and striking out two. After the Bearcats faced an early 1-0 deficit, senior outfielder Eric Madenberg worked a bases-loaded walk to drive in a run to knot it up at one. Maine went on to retake the lead in the bottom of the second. However, BU took a 3-2 lead when sophomore infielder Mike Stellrecht hit a two-RBI single in the top of the sixth. Maine then evened the score at three in the bottom of the sixth.

With the game tied at three going into the bottom of the ninth, the Black Bears scored the game-winning run with a sac fly to take game one.

“We have to take care of the little things a little better,” Sinicki said. “We had opportunities to either get a hit or make a play or to put a pitch where we needed it and we just didn’t do it consistently enough. At this point in the season, everybody knows what we should be doing. There’s no finger-pointing or blame — we just have to take care of business.”

After the walk-off loss in the series opener, Binghamton kept the score close for the majority of the second game but couldn’t manufacture enough run support to stay in the game. Senior pitcher Nelson Berkwich went six innings, allowing four unearned runs on five hits, while walking one and striking out six. However, the bullpen couldn’t keep the Bearcats in the game, giving up five runs to Maine in the eighth as they fell 9-3.

“I thought [Berkwich] threw the ball really well, especially given the challenges we’re facing right now,” Sinicki said. “We have several guys from the rotation and bullpen down with injuries, so the pitching this weekend was done by guys who had to pick up a staff that’s a little beat up right now, and they did a really good job. I’m really proud of the way they pitched over the entire weekend.”

Binghamton rebounded in the series finale in a big way, exploding for 21 runs with contributions from 1-through-9. Graduate student pitcher Spencer Howell twirled six innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits while walking one and striking out three. The visitors blew the doors off early, scoring five runs in the first and 10 in the second to build a 15-1 lead by the third inning. The Bearcats scored six more times, with two runs in the third, fourth and fifth. BU stepped off the gas after the sixth, holding on with little issues for a 21-4 win.

“It seemed like we were able to capitalize on some momentum,” Sinicki said. “When a guy draws a big walk or gets a big hit, it festers throughout the dugout and guys get excited. I think it was definitely contagious today. We got a bit of momentum and fortunately, our guys ran with it.”

As a team, the Bearcats’ pitching staff surrendered 17 runs — 13 of which were earned — and allowed 24 hits while striking out 19 Black Bears throughout the weekend. Binghamton’s offense combined for an average of .264 throughout the weekend.

“For our midweek game, we’re going to give chances to guys who didn’t pitch over the weekend,” Sinicki said. “The guys that we’ll have in the lineup will be the guys that we’ll be playing the rest of the year. What we have to do is get them the at-bats and the repetition that they need as we head into the last two weekends of the year with [AE] play.”

Binghamton will start a four-game non-conference slate beginning with a midweek matchup against Cornell on Tuesday, April 30. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. at the Bearcats Baseball Complex in Vestal, New York.

After losing its past three series in America East (AE) play, the Binghamton baseball team bounced back, sweeping SUNY rival UAlbany in three-game series over the weekend. After recorded a 4-3 walk off win in game one, the Bearcats shutout the Great Danes 4-0 in game two. In the final game, BU defeated UAlbany, completing the sweep.

“What we did [on Sunday] is something that we haven’t been able to do for a while, and that is — ‘to separate’,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “The ability to separate and to build on a lead always makes life easier for everybody.”

In the opening game on Friday, senior right-fielder Mike Gunning quickly got the Bearcats on the board with a three-run home run to right field. The Bearcats held a three-run lead until the fourth inning when the Great Danes drove in three runs — evening the score at three apiece. A strong six-inning bullpen performance by Binghamton prevented UAlbany from pushing across any more runs. Meanwhile, BU could not muster any runs either as the game went into extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th, with two runners on base, junior second-baseman Nick Roselli’s fly ball got lost in the lights and dropped in front of the Great Danes’ left fielder — allowing Binghamton to score the winning run and secure a 4-3 victory.

“[Gunning] is the most dangerous hitter in our lineup,” Sinicki said. “He’s got legitimate home run power. He’s a threat every time he steps into the box.”

In Saturday’s game, the Bearcats got out of the gate quickly with two runs scored in the first inning as junior catcher Evin Sullivan singled and Roselli scored on a wild pitch. In the fifth inning, Binghamton tacked on two more runs. Roselli crushed a solo home run to right field and Sullivan scored thanks to a sacrifice fly by senior first baseman Andrew Tan. Binghamton’s lead would remain 4-0 for the rest of the game thanks to five and a third shutout innings from senior pitcher Nelson Berkwich and three and two-thirds shutout innings in relief from sophomore pitcher Dan McAliney.

“All weekend long, [the bullpen] was really, really good,” Sinicki said. “The college game is getting more and more like the professional game in terms of the importance of the bullpen, and so those kids did a great job for us.”

In the weekend’s final game, the Bearcats opened the scoring in the first inning with a sacrifice fly from Sullivan. After Albany tied the game at one in the top of the second inning, Binghamton answered with four runs in the bottom half — courtesy of singles from senior outfielders Eric Madenberg and Tommy Reifler and a double from Roselli. In the fourth inning, the Bearcats added two runs off of a double by Tan, padding Binghamton’s lead to 7-1. After both teams continued to exchange runs, including a two-run home run to right-center field by junior catcher Zach Rogacki — his first homerun as a Bearcat — Binghamton completed the sweep with an 11-4 win.

“[Rogacki] has missed six or seven weeks with a broken bone in his wrist and the at-bats he’s getting now are really kind of his preseason at-bats,” Sinicki said. “[His homerun] today was really important, not just for us, but for him, as he gets back into his comfort zone in the batter’s box.”

Over the weekend, Binghamton outscored Albany 19-7 with 33 hits compared to Albany’s 15. Other notable performances from Sunday’s game include four-hit performances from both Tan and Reifler and three shutout innings in relief from freshman pitcher Hayden Tarsia, who recorded the victory.

“Both [Reifler and Tan] did a really good job,” Sinicki said. “For Reifler, basically, that is him in a nutshell in terms of how he is able to get on base and what he does for our offense. [Tan] I thought did a really good job of keeping the ball out of the air and kind of living with the line drives that he hit today.”

The Bearcats will look keep things rolling as they face Siena on Tuesday, April 23. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Connors Park in Loudonville, New York.

After suffering a road sweep in an America East (AE) play against Bryant, the Binghamton baseball team was defeated 9-7 by Cornell Tuesday night. The Bearcats held a 7-2 lead thanks to a seven-run sixth inning, but the Big Red brought the game within two after plating three in the seventh. Then, a three-run home run with two outs in the ninth gave Cornell the road win.

“We didn’t defend very well,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “We gave up seven runs in the last three innings courtesy of pitching and defense, and we only had six hits off of their bottom pitchers. While seven runs look nice on the board, they all came in one inning and it was courtesy of a lot of freebies. We didn’t do a whole lot to earn those runs. That’s not a good enough effort or a good enough performance by us.”

After being down 2-0 most of the game to Cornell (11-13, 8-4 Ivy League), the Bearcats (13-19, 3-9 AE) opened up their scoring in the bottom of the sixth by loading the bases before senior shortstop Isaiah Corry walked to bring in a run. Senior outfielder Eric Madenberg followed with a two-run single up the middle before junior second baseman Nick Roselli drove in another two runs on a ground rule double. Closing out the dominant sixth inning was another RBI double, this time off the bat of junior designated hitter Evin Sullivan to give Binghamton a 7-2 lead.

“[Seven runs in the sixth] should’ve been enough,” Sinicki said. “We took advantage of a guy that walked the bases loaded and walked a run in. It should have been enough. To go up 7-2 at that point with nine outs to go, it should have been enough to win.”

Cornell got back in the game with a three-run top of the seventh, starting with a single followed by an RBI off an error at second. The Big Red then drove in the runner who reached on an error, cutting Binghamton’s lead to 7-5. After a clean eighth inning from the Bearcats, Cornell responded with a solo home run to bring the score to 7-6. Not long after, the Big Red put two runners on while down to their last out before a three-run home run gave them a 9-7 lead. Binghamton had an opportunity in the ninth with two runners on, but a double play ended the game as Cornell came out on top 9-7.

“You gotta be better,” Sinicki said. “You come in there and you’re three outs away, you’ve got to be able to close it out. [After] the solo home run you still have the lead, but then you walk two guys and that creates the inning. You’re basically setting it up for them and anything can happen. They also hit two balls to the wall that I thought had a chance to get out. We gave up the three-run home run, and that just can’t happen.”

Senior outfielder Tommy Reifler and Roselli led the Bearcats with two hits each, while Roselli, Sullivan and Madenberg all collected two RBIs. The Bearcats collected 12 walks against Big Red pitching, while Bearcat pitching surrendered eight. On the mound, graduate student pitcher Spencer Howell and junior pitcher Chris Sleeper both gave the Bearcats scoreless relief outings, with Sleeper striking out three over his two scoreless innings. Freshman pitcher Conner Griffin also gave the Bearcats two innings of work, allowing one earned run on two hits.

“I thought [Sleeper] was excellent tonight and I thought [Howell] did a really good job too,” Sinicki said. “Then you throw in [Griffin] as a freshman, [and] unfortunately he didn’t benefit from [what] I thought [were] a couple tough calls against him, but then we mugged the ball as well in that inning. But I thought those three pitched really well. The guy that stood out to me the most tonight was the job that [junior catcher Zach Rogacki] did behind the plate. There were some difficult pitches that he blocked, not a pitch got past him tonight … I thought he was excellent behind the plate tonight for us.”

BU will continue conference play as they host UAlbany for a three-game set starting on Friday, April 19. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at the Bearcats Baseball Complex in Vestal, New York.

Coming off a midweek home win over Le Moyne, the Binghamton baseball suffered a series sweep against Bryant in America East (AE) play. The Bearcats dropped the first two games of the weekend after giving up 10 runs in both games before falling 7-2 in the series finale.

“[Bryant] was better than us, bottom line,” Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki said. “They pitched better, they hit better, they executed better. They deserved to win. There’ll be a day where we get help from our offense, and our pitching has got to be better. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out in any of the games.”

In the opener, the Bearcats (13-18, 3-9 AE) evened the score at one, courtesy of an RBI single from sophomore shortstop Mike Stellrecht, before Bryant (22-11, 11-1 AE) scored five runs in the bottom of the third to take a 6-1 lead. As BU trailed 7-1 in the eighth inning, junior third baseman Devan Bade hit an RBI single, followed Stellrecht walking in a run to bring the game to 7-3. The Bulldogs responded immediately, driving in three more runs before holding off the Bearcats in the top of the ninth for a 10-3 win.

“We’re down our one and two starters right now,” Sinicki said. “[Senior pitcher Gabe Driscoll] didn’t pitch and [sophomore pitcher Ryan Bates] didn’t pitch. We’re trying to [pitch] with other guys. We’re a little hamstrung right now with those guys being down, so we’re trying to get other guys opportunities. We’ve just got to play the hand we’re dealt right now. We’re not going to win any games scoring three runs. When our pitching is down like that, we need help from our offense, and we didn’t get it.”

In Saturday’s game, Bryant opened the scoring with a three-run second inning, followed by another run in the bottom of the fourth. Though Binghamton would add a run with a junior outfielder Logan Haskell RBI single in the top of the third inning, they would not score again until the top of the ninth. During this span, the Bulldogs added back-to-back three-run innings in the sixth and seventh innings to finish off the win game two 10-2.

“We didn’t get a good enough start, and we got behind the eight ball,” Sinicki said. “Offensively, we didn’t have enough to try and claw our way back [in the second game].”

In the weekend’s final game, the Bearcats kept the game within two runs until the seventh inning, when Bryant plated three runs to take a 6-1 lead. After another Bryant run in the eighth, Binghamton made a last-ditch effort in the top of the ninth with an RBI single from senior catcher Kevin Reilly, but the Bulldogs held on for a 7-2 win and the weekend series sweep. Graduate student pitcher Theo Farynick provided BU with three shutout innings of relief while only allowing one hit on Sunday.

“It was 3-1 and we dropped a ball at first base [and] that opened the floodgates to give them three more runs,” Sinick said. “[Farynick] did a great job. He threw three scoreless innings out of the bullpen for us. Typically [Farynick] hasn’t gone three innings, so the fact he was able to give us three scoreless kind of kept us in the ballgame with a 3-1 deficit [prior to the seventh inning]. That was good.”

Over the weekend, the Bearcats surrendered 27 runs on 40 hits to Bryant, while scoring just seven runs off their own on 18 hits. Bade led Binghamton with five hits and four runs scored, while senior outfielder Mike Gunning hit his 13th home run of the season on Sunday.

“We gotta get this thing turned around as soon as possible,” Sinicki said. “We’re just not playing well enough in any area consistently. We’ve got to try to use Tuesday as a way to jumpstart us and then get ready for the weekend [versus UAlbany].”

The Bearcats will look to bounce back as they host Cornell on Tuesday, April 16. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. at the Bearcats Baseball Complex in Vestal, New York.

After a series loss in America East (AE) play to UMass Lowell, the Binghamton baseball team rebounded on Tuesday with a 10-3 win over Le Moyne. After a back-and-forth game, BU exploded for six runs in the eighth inning to come away with a 10-3 win against the Dolphins.

“Midweek wins are nice, but not as nice as weekend wins,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “I was happy that we were able to throw five different pitchers, and they all had some success. Anytime you take that approach where you use multiple pitchers it’s a little bit of a gamble, but overall I thought it was a good effort from us.”

Throughout the first half of the game, the Bearcats (13-15, 3-6 AE) and Dolphins (12-15, 8-6 Northeast), kept it close. Binghamton opened the scoring in the bottom of the first, courtesy of an RBI single from junior catcher Evin Sullivan to put Binghamton up 1-0. Binghamton added one run through the third, fourth and fifth innings while Le Moyne added two runs during the same frame. This began with a RBI double by graduate student first baseman Sam Haney. Then, in the fourth inning, an RBI single by junior outfielder Logan Haskell in the bottom of the fourth and a solo home run by senior outfielder Mike Gunning in the fifth made the score 4-2.

“All we’re trying to do right now is to play good baseball,” Sinicki said. “We didn’t play good baseball at times last weekend, but I felt we got back there on Tuesday.”

Binghamton found itself in some trouble in the top of the seventh inning when Le Moyne loaded the bases with no outs. Dealing with the most significant threat of the afternoon to that point, the Bearcats went to the bullpen. After freshman pitcher Jake Dally took the mound, he walked in a run but did not give up anymore after that. Dally then struck the next batter out and then got a fly-out-throw-out double play to end the threat and preserve a 4-3 lead.

“All the guys that threw Tuesday are bullpen arms,” Sinicki said. “When we play midweek games what I try to do is to give opportunities to players who didn’t pitch on the weekend. It’s a chance for them to improve their role on the team. Those guys who pitched Tuesday showed the ability to come in and throw strikes and do a good job.”

In the eighth inning, the Bearcats erupted for six runs. Binghamton would load the bases to start the inning. Haskell would then hit into a fielder’s choice, advancing the runners and sending one across the plate. Binghamton would get another run on a Le Moyne throwing error, making the score 6-3. The Bearcats then plated three more runs, one off of an RBI double by Gunning and two off of a single by senior first baseman Andrew Tan to make the score 10-3. Binghamton put away Le Moyne in order in the top of the ninth, securing their 13th win of the season.

“They helped us out in the eighth inning [and] we got a couple of hits as well,” Sinicki said. “That was the mentality, to try and give ourselves a little bit of breathing room, so that there wasn’t as much pressure on the pitchers going out there for the ninth. It’s easier to go out there when you have a multi-run lead as opposed to just a single-run lead.”

Binghamton’s opener, freshman pitcher Hayden Tarsia, went three innings, allowing one earned run on two hits and one walk while striking out three. In total, the Bearcat pitching staff struck out eleven throughout the game, while allowing three earned runs on six hits. Binghamton’s hitters would hit .385 on the day, only leaving four runners on base and striking out as a team only four times.

“Wins are good, you hope it gives the guys a little confidence and momentum heading into future games,” said Sinicki.

Binghamton will head back on the road for a three-game series against Bryant. The first pitch for the first game is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday at Conaty Park in Smithfield, Rhode Island.

Coming off a road sweep of Middle Tennessee, the Binghamton baseball team suffered a series loss back at home to UMass Lowell over the weekend. After winning the series opener 5-1 on Saturday, the Bearcats dropped both games on Sunday’s doubleheader to the River Hawks, 7-5 and 17-4, respectively.

“’[Our performance overall was] not good enough,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “You can’t get a performance like you got yesterday out of [Driscoll] and then come out and lay an egg today. That’s just not acceptable. I can’t put my finger on it. We just weren’t good in any phase of the game today. Unfortunately, it’s a bad day at the ballpark. It’s not what this program is about.”

Led by senior pitcher Gabe Driscoll’s complete game of one-run baseball, the Bearcats [12-15, 3-6 America East (AE)] recorded a 5-1 win over the River Hawks (11-17, 4-4 AE) in the series opener. Driscoll added nine strikeouts while only surrendering four hits, one walk and one run on 111 pitches. In his first at-bat back from injury, junior second base Nick Roselli sent a changeup 420 feet over the right field fence for a two-run home run in the first inning. Senior outfielder Tommy Reifler went four-for-four and scored three runs for the Bearcats. In the second inning, Roselli added a sacrifice fly, while junior outfielder Logan Haskell added two RBIs to round out BU’s scoring.

“It’s as good as we’ve ever had an ace pitch for us,” Sinicki said. “[Driscoll] was everything you want an ace to be. He controlled the game. He wanted to go out and finish. He had really good stuff. That’s what you want your ace to do. I’m glad [Roselli] hit [his home run]. It was almost storybook, but [Roselli] would trade [his home run] for three wins this weekend, I know that.”

The Bearcats dropped the opening game of Sunday’s doubleheader 7-5 after holding a 4-2 lead going into the sixth inning. Senior pitcher Nelson Berkwich gave the Bearcats five innings, allowing three runs on five hits and four walks while striking out four. Junior third baseman Devan Bade drove in two runs on two hits, while graduate student first base Sam Haney added two hits, including an RBI double in the seventh inning. However, UMass Lowell put up a four spot in the top of the sixth to take a 6-4 lead, which it maintained the rest of the way.

“You can’t be up 4-2 and throw four straight balls to walk the leadoff hitter and set the stage for [UMass Lowell taking the lead in the sixth],” Sinicki said. “I thought a couple balls fell in that we should have caught and from there, the rest of the bullpen didn’t get the job done. Disappointed in the way our bullpen pitched today. It’s hard to find good things to say when we played like we did today.”

In the rubber game, BU opened up the scoring with two runs in the first, but the River Hawks scored a run in every inning from the second to the sixth. Reifler, Roselli and senior outfielder Mike Gunning collected multiple hits for BU — with Gunning driving in a run in the seventh to make the game 10-4 — but the River Hawks added three runs in the eighth and four in the ninth to cement a 17-4 win.

“You jump out to a two-nothing lead and then you just can’t have balls go into the backstop and giving a team an opportunity to literally walk their way back into the game and then take their lead,” Sinicki said. “We’ve got to block those. We’ve got to be better both on the throwing end and the receiving end. That immediately opened the door for them and then the bullpen just imploded. It was a bad effort by everybody.”

On the weekend, Reifler led the Bearcats with six hits, while Roselli collected three RBIs in his first weekend back from injury. Driscoll’s performance on the mound Friday brought his ERA down from 4.10 to 3.50 while moving to 46 strikeouts on just seven walks for the season.

“[Driscoll’s] been a lot better more times than he hasn’t been,” Sinicki said. “That’s what we need out of that guy in that number one spot. [Reifler and Roselli] are veteran guys, and we expect them to be the guys that kind of lead the way for us. But if you’re just going to rely on one starting pitcher and a couple guys in a lineup, you’re going to end up losing two out of three more than you win two out of three.”

The Bearcats will look to bounce back as it hosts Le Moyne on Tuesday, April 9. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at the Bearcats Baseball Complex in Vestal, New York.

In the middle of a four game losing streak, the Binghamton baseball team got back in the win column with an 11-10 walk-off win over Canisius at home. The Bearcats battled back from an early 10-1 deficit, with senior designated hitter Christian Perez delivering with a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning to complete the comeback.

“We love to win,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “Any type of win is good and healthy for the team, especially when you rally like we did and you walk somebody off.”

After a scoreless first frame, Canisius (6-13) pulled ahead, putting up a six spot in the top of the second inning. A walk, followed by a wild pitch put senior first baseman Andrew Tan on second with two outs in the bottom of the frame, but the Bearcats [8-13, 2-4 America East (AE)] were unable to capitalize. After the Golden Griffins added an insurance run to open the fourth inning, Binghamton got on the board — courtesy of senior outfielder Mike Gunning mashing a home run to make it a 7-1 game.

“[Gunning] has the ability to knock the ball apart really, any time,” Sinicki said. “He just has to continue to try to get pitches that he can drive forward.”

A balk in the top of the fifth inning that advanced the runner to third, followed by a two-run Canisius single, allowed the Golden Griffins to cement their lead at 10-1. After the Bearcats brought in freshman pitcher Trey Sajeski, a walk and fielder’s choice ended the frame.

“Everyone’s gonna have a bad outing,” Sinicki said, “After a clean first inning, unfortunately, [graduate student pitcher Spencer Howell] just had one of those second innings. I thought that the guys who came in after him did a good job.”

In the bottom half of the fifth inning, the Bearcats began to mount a comeback when Perez singled to left field, plating senior outfielder Tommy Reifler and making it a 10-2 ball game. A single up the middle by junior outfielder Logan Haskell advanced Perez to second. Both runners then advanced a base to second and third, respectively, with two outs on a balk by the Canisius pitcher. It came down to senior catcher Kevin Reilly, with men on second and third, who barreled a three-run home run dead center to shorten the Canisius lead to 10-5 at the end of five frames.

“I just decided after the fourth inning [to put Reilly in for junior catcher Evin Sullivan],” Sinicki said, “It was time to get [Reilly] in there and get him some experience, handling some different arms behind the plate, and then give him an opportunity to have a couple of bats as well, and that really paid off.”

After the next two innings saw no additional runs added by either side, in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Bearcats’ offense began to heat up, putting up a five spot to tie the game at 10. This started with a wild pitch advancing both sophomore infielder Mike Stellrecht and senior shortstop Isaiah Corry to second and third. Following the opposing pitcher walking freshman infielder Todd Abraham to load the bases, a wild pitch opened the floodgates and kickstarted a sequence of five Bearcat runs on four walks to tie the game 10-10.

“[With] as many at-bats as we had in front of us, we thought just chip away little by little, and we were fortunate to get a couple of big innings as well,” Sinicki said.

After Canisius failed to score in the top of the ninth inning, Binghamton entered the bottom of the frame with a chance to walk it off. After Corry was hit by a pitch, Reifler reached on a fielder’s choice to advance Corry to second base. With the winning run in scoring position, a line drive to center field off the bat of Perez brought in Corry to complete an 11-10 comeback victory for the Bearcats.

“It’s a long game, and the beauty of the sport is, there’s no clock,” Sinicki said, “You have as much time as you as you need to try to come back from a deficit like that.”

Binghamton will go back on the road to take on Middle Tennessee in a three game set. The first pitch of the first game is set for Thursday, March 28 at 6 p.m. at Reese Smith Jr. Field in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

After opening up America East (AE) play with a series win over NJIT at home, the Binghamton baseball team was swept by UMBC in a three game set. After being shutout 2-0 in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, BU was narrowly defeated 11-9 in the second game. Then, on Sunday, after trailing early, the Bearcats’ comeback fell short as they suffered an 11-8 loss in the series finale to go winless on the weekend.

“I’m very disappointed,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “We failed to play a complete game. We got great pitching and Friday the first game and couldn’t find a way to scratch out a couple runs and [final] two games. We got on the scoreboard, but our pitching didn’t hold up. Unfortunately, it was that type of weekend for us where we just weren’t able to kind of put it together.”

In the series opener on Saturday afternoon, Binghamton (7-13, 2-4 AE) was held to just two hits in the entire game by the Retrievers’ (9-11, 3-0 AE) starter, reigning AE pitcher of the year Luke Johnson. Senior pitcher Gabe Driscoll hurled six innings of two run ball with seven strikeouts, giving up five hits and just one walk. The Bearcats’ offense failed to provide any run support as they were shut out in game one 2-0.

“[Johnson] kept us off balance with a combination of mostly fast balls, change ups and the occasional slider, and we just couldn’t get anything going,” Sinicki said. “It took [Driscoll] a little while to get used to [the mound]. Unfortunately, [UMBC] put the first two runs on the board early, and then [Driscoll] settled in and found a way to deal with the mound, but at that point it was too late for us.”

In game two of the doubleheader on Saturday, both teams’ offenses came alive. After each team scored a run in the second inning, BU took a 4-1 lead after plating three in the third inning, taking advantage of an error by UMBC. The Retrievers responded with 10 combined runs throughout the fifth to seventh innings to take a 11-5 lead. Binghamton fostered a comeback, manufacturing three runs in the eighth inning to cut the UMBC lead to three. However, the visitors came up short, as senior shortstop Isaiah Corry plated BU’s final run in a 11-9 loss.

“We were able to find ways to get to [UMBC’s game two starter] early,” Sinicki said. “I’m just disappointed that we gave up those runs in the middle of the game. We battled and we tried to find a way and tie it. Unfortunately with the runs we gave up in the middle innings, we just weren’t able to get it back to even.”

In the series finale on Sunday, Binghamton trailed 9-0 through four frames. In the fifth inning, the Bearcats put up a five spot, courtesy of a two run single from senior outfielder Tommy Reifler and a hit by pitch that scored Corry, to cut the deficit to four. BU added two more in the sixth inning when junior outfielder Logan Haskell smacked a two RBI double to make it a 9-7 game. However, once again, Binghamton’s comeback would come up short as UMBC pulled away to hand BU a 11-7 loss.

“We gave up five in one inning and you can’t do that,” Sinicki said. “[UMBC] did a good job scoring. They scored six of eight innings. When you’re down and you’re trying to catch up, every run that they put on the board makes it that much more difficult to come back from … we just didn’t get a good start.”

With five games of nonconference play before the team continues AE conference play, Sinicki expressed that after a tough weekend, he will look to make the necessary changes to help the lineup and pitching staff click a little better and wants the team to play cleaner baseball overall.

“Within the next five games I hope we can be a little bit cleaner with our games — a little more a little crisp — and try to find a way to get this thing kind of turned around a little bit,” Sinicki said. “My goal is to try to find a combination that works better for us. Whether it might be some moves, in a lineup, or with different guys on the field or maybe different roles within the pitching staff.”

To start its five-game stretch of nonconference play, Binghamton will return home to take on Canisius in a midweek matchup on Tuesday, March 26. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at the Bearcats Baseball Complex in Vestal, New York.

“If we can win two out of three every weekend, we’ll be in pretty good shape at the end of the season,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “I’m happy that we were able to get the two wins, especially given the situation that we’re dealing with, with as many injuries and guys out of the lineup as we did.”

The Bearcats (7-10, 2-1 AE) took the series opener 8-1 over the Highlanders (6-12, 1-2 AE) , led by senior pitcher Gabe Driscoll’s five and two third innings of one-run baseball. Driscoll also added six strikeouts while only surrendering one walk and four hits. Senior outfielder Tommy Reifler led the team with three hits, adding an RBI single in the sixth inning while junior outfielder Logan Haskell collected two RBIs on a sac-fly and a double.

“Anytime you can get that kind of effort out of your starter and then back it up with good relief pitching out of the bullpen you’re gonna be in good shape,” Sinicki said. “That’s exactly what [Driscoll] did for us, as well as [senior pitcher John Lumpinski]. [Driscoll] set the tone and [Lumpinski] never let them sneak back into it, and we were able to find some ways to tack on some runs to expand the lead.”

In the second game, the Bearcats and Highlanders were locked in a pitchers duel, where sophomore pitcher Ryan Bates struck out nine over five innings. NJIT held a 3-2 lead until the sixth inning when sophomore shortstop Mike Stellrecht tied things up at three with an RBI single. The 3-3 tie sent the game to extra innings, where the Highlanders picked up two runs in the tenth inning to take a 5-3 lead heading into the bottom of the tenth inning for the Bearcats.

“[Game two was] probably as well as [Bates] has pitched for us,” Sinicki said. “The fact that he was able to use all three pitches that he has, fastball, curveball, changeup — he had all three going. [Bates] kept us in the ballgame and that’s all you can really ask your starting pitcher to do for as long as he’s out there.”

BU went to work quickly in the bottom of the 10th, as senior catcher Kevin Reilly laced a single, followed by a double from freshman first baseman Conner Griffin. A Stellrecht walk loaded the bases for senior infielder Isaiah Corry, who sent a deep drive over the right field wall for a walk-off grand slam, lifting the Bearcats to a 7-5 win.

“Couldn’t happen to a better kid,” Sinicki said. “[Corry’s] been in this program for a long time now. He’s been in and out of the lineup, [and] he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. For him to be able to turn on a pitch like he did [Saturday] in that moment not only was great [Saturday] but I hope it’s something he’ll remember forever.”

In the series finale, senior outfielder Mike Gunning started things off with a two-run home run to left field to give the Bearcats a 2-0 lead. Binghamton and NJIT went back and forth, with Binghamton taking a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning, before NJIT added four combined through the eighth and ninth innings, to secure an 8-5 win in the weekend finale. Senior pitcher Nelson Berkwich threw five and a third innings of two-run baseball for the Bearcats, striking out four, while Haskell collected five hits and scored three runs.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t make a play in the inning where they scored two runs, where we could’ve been out of the inning,” Sinick said. “I thought [Berkwich] gave us a good start, but we had the 5-4 lead and had an opportunity to tack on a run and we didn’t. Then, unfortunately we ran into a little bit of bad luck in the eighth inning. A little bit of bad luck and unfortunately we created some of that ourselves, but the one thing that I’ve learned about this team in the first third of the season is we don’t have any quit. Overall, I’m satisfied that we got two out of three, but we certainly aren’t a finished product.”

The Bearcats’ next game will be a midweek matchup against Cornell on Tuesday, March 19. First pitch is at 3 p.m. in Ithaca, NY.

In its final game before the start of America East (AE) conference play, the Binghamton baseball team returned to Vestal, New York and earned a walk-off 8-7 win over St. Bonaventure in its home opener. After a back-and-forth contest that went into extra innings tied at six, a walk-off RBI single from senior outfielder Tommy Reifler in the 10th inning secured the victory for BU.

“We played well enough when we had to,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “I didn’t think we did some of the smartest things in the world, but the one thing this ball club has shown in its first 14 games is that there’s not a lot of quit, and even in losses, we’re putting ourselves into a position to try and win games. That’s a good characteristic for any team to have. We just have to continue to play smarter.”

After a scoreless first frame, senior first baseman Andrew Tan launched a solo home run to left center field in the second inning to give Binghamton (5-9) a 1-0 lead. While St. Bonaventure (4-10) knotted the score at one in the top of the fourth inning, Binghamton regained the lead in the bottom of the inning, with Tan driving in junior infielder Devan Bade from third with a line out to right field. The Bonnies plated a run in the top of the fifth inning via a fielder’s choice to tie things up again at two, but the Bearcats came right as junior catcher Evin Sullivan scored off a throwing error to make it a 3-2 game.

“We have a bunch of guys in the program who have played a lot of innings here,” Sinicki said. “That experience factor is very big when it comes to these types of situations. It’s up to the players and the coaches to get that type of experience into the younger players.”

Both teams continued to go back and forth, as a three-run home from the Bonnies allowed them a 5-3 lead. However, in the bottom of the seventh, RBI singles courtesy of senior shortstop Isaiah Corry and junior outfielder Logan Haskell tied the game back up at five.

“We have a really good group of veteran players that are driving this team right now in terms of these types of resiliency situations,” Sinicki said.

After surrendering the lead once more to St. Bonaventure off an error in the top of the ninth, Binghamton made the most of its turn in the bottom of the inning. Facing a new Bonnies’ pitcher, the Bearcats maintained their discipline at the plate and walk the bases loaded. Then, senior outfielder Eric Madenberg was walked, forcing in the tying run — knotting the score at six. Binghamton was unable to capitalize further, sending the game to extra innings.

“We just read what was happening on the mound,” Sinicki said. “The pitcher was kind of unraveling and the last thing you want to do at that point is chase a pitch. Our guys did a good job not chasing out of the zone. I trust our guys to hit with one strike, so it was important there to take a strike at the end when the wheels were coming off for the pitcher.”

The Bonnies scored a run in the top of the 10th inning and the Bearcats entered the bottom of the inning trailing 7-6. Binghamton quickly got two runners on base thanks to two consecutive St. Bonaventure errors, along with a pitch that snuck by the Bonnies’ catcher, allowing the Bearcat runners to advance. After the Bonnies’ catcher threw the ball to third base, it was high and sailed into left field, allowing Tan to score and tie the game at seven. Binghamton’s next batter, Reifler, then nailed an RBI single to drive in the winning run, freshman infielder Todd Abraham, delivering an 8-7 win for the Bearcats.

“We got lucky with the errors and from there, it was a situation where we had to play for the tie,” Sinicki said. “Especially being at home, we tried to advance the runners, it’s just part of what we do and who we are. With the injuries we have right now, we can’t just sit back and try to pound the ball into the gaps, we have to try and put pressure on teams, and I think that really worked out in our favor.”

Binghamton will begin America East (AE) conference play with a three-game series over the weekend against NJIT, beginning on Friday, March 15. First pitch for the first game is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Bearcats Baseball Complex in Vestal, New York.

“I think [VMI] is a team that is a really good program,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “They’ve played a couple other power five [teams] and battled pretty them good, but I’m disappointed that we didn’t win the series.”

In the first game of the series, the Bearcats (4-9) emerged victorious 6-2. BU got to work early, plating two runs against the Keydets (8-9) in the second inning, courtesy of an RBI triple from sophomore infielder Mike Stellrecht and an RBI groundout off the bat of freshman infielder Todd Abraham. VMI and Binghamton’s pitchers dueled as the game neither team scored again until top of the seventh inning, when graduate student first baseman Sam Haney hit a solo home run and junior infielder Devan Bade hit an RBI double to make it 4-0. VMI tallied one run in the bottom of the seventh inning to bring the Keydets within 3 runs. However, Binghamton added two insurance runs in eight inning. The Keydets went on to score one run in the ninth, but it was enough as BU picked up the win in game on.

“I thought for the most part [the pitching this series] was good,” Sinicki said. “I thought we got a great start out of [senior pitcher Gabe Driscoll] on Friday. [Sophomore pitcher Ryan Bates] had too many walks, [which] ran up his pitch count a little too quick, but kept us in the ball game. [Senior pitcher Nelson Berkwich] was good as well, but unfortunately the bullpen gave up a couple runs after he left the game.”

Binghamton fell 5-3 to the Keydets in game two, despite getting on the board first. In the third inning, a sacrifice fly from Bade brought in Strellrecht to make it 1-0. VMI’s responded with three runs in the fifth inning. Then, a two-run home run, courtesy of senior outfielder Mike Gunning in the sixth inning tied the game at 3-3. Two innings later, the Keydets put up a two-spot in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a 5-3 lead. VMI held this for the rest of the way, taking the second game of the Friday doubleheader. A bright spot for the Bearcats in the afternoon was junior catcher Evin Sullivan, who went 6-for-8 at the plate over the two games.

“It’s about consistency,” Sinicki said, “[Sullivan] had a great day on Friday, and didn’t have a great day [on Sunday], so it’s about being consistent each and every time out. It doesn’t mean getting three hits every time out, it’s about getting quality at bats and that’s what we need from [Sullivan].”

In the rubber match, BU suffered another 5-3 loss to the Keydets. BU struck first in the third inning off an RBI single by junior outfielder Logan Haskell which brought in senior outfielder Eric Madenberg. However, VMI came right back with two runs in the fourth inning and one run in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to take a 5-1 lead. In the eight inning, Bearcats closed the gap, plating two runs after Gunning smacked an RBI double and Stellrecht hit an RBI single to bring the score to 5-3. However, this was the closest Binghamton managed to get. In the top of the ninth, after a leadoff single from senior shortstop Isaiah Corry, VMI shut the door as BU was defeated in the game and the series altogether.

“We work on situational hitting every day in practice,” Sinicki said. “So it comes down to taking what you do in practice and applying it to game situations. We need everyone to buy into what it means to be a good team offense — [and without that], we’re not going to get where we want to be.”

Binghamton will play its home opener against St. Bonaventure on Tuesday, March 12. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at the Bearcats Baseball Complex in Vestal, New York.

After being swept in its opening series at Houston, the Binghamton baseball team bounced back, taking two of three games against UNC Greensboro to record its first series win of the 2024 season. The offense came alive as the Bearcats won the first two games of the series 9-6 and 8-5. Then, dealing with various injuries, BU fell 6-3 in the final matchup on Sunday, coming out of the weekend 2-1.

”I thought overall, as a team, if you can drive 10 hours on Thursday, play three games, win two out of three on the road, and then come back home, I think that’s a pretty good weekend of baseball for us,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “I’m pretty happy with the way things went overall.”

On Friday, the first game of the series, Binghamton (2-4) secured its first win of the season with a 8-5 victory against the Spartans (5-2). After a scoreless first inning, UNC Greensboro tacked on two runs in the second and a run in the third to take an early 3-0 lead. The Bearcats response came in the top of the fourth inning when senior outfielder Mike Gunning hit an RBI triple to get Binghamton on the board. Shortly after, graduate student first baseman Sam Haney brought Gunning in with an RBI single to cut the Spartan lead to 3-2. BU’s offense stayed hot, tacked on three runs in the fifth inning, one run in the sixth. Despite UNC Greensboro plating two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Bearcats put up two runs in the seventh inning and held the lead the rest of the way to secure an 8-5 victory.

”I thought our guys were a little bit more comfortable in the box,” Sinicki said. “For the most part we did a good job, getting our guys in when we needed to. [We] rallied from a three-nothing deficit … the pitching, the bullpen did a really good job coming in there after [senior pitcher Gabe Driscoll’s] effort.”

BU’s second game against UNC Greensboro on Saturday afternoon played out similarly to the first. The Spartans jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, scoring two in both the first and second innings. Binghamton got on the board in the top of the third inning courtesy of an RBI fly-out from junior catcher Evin Sullivan and a two-run home run by Gunning. Then, the Bearcats struck again in the fourth inning, with freshman infielder Jake Dally leaving the ball park to tie the game at four. Binghamton carried its momentum through the fifth, scoring four more runs via a Sullivan RBI single and a three-run homer to left by Gunning, his second of the day, to take an 8-4 lead. Despite giving up two runs to the Spartans in the sixth inning, the Bearcats tacked on an insurance run in the seventh, courtesy of an RBI double by senior outfielder Tommy Reifler— en route to a 9-6 win in game two.

”[Gunning is] a middle-of-the-order type hitter for us,” Sinicki said. “He’s got the ability to hit the gaps and drop the ball out of the ballpark. So if he’s feeling good, that’s a real benefit for our lineup.”

The Bearcats’ third and final game of the series on Sunday afternoon began with the visitors taking an early lead. BU got on the board first, with an RBI single from freshman infielder Todd Abraham in the second inning and a sacrifice fly from senior outfielder Christian Perez in the top of the third inning to put Binghamton up 2-0. However, after this point, BU’s offense was silenced for the most part. UNC Greensboro went on to score six unanswered runs, including four in the sixth, to go up 6-2. Heading into the ninth inning facing a four run deficit, Binghamton got one run back, after an RBI triple off the bat of sophomore infielder Mike Stellrecht. However, this was not enough as the Spartans’ pitching staff closed out the game and BU fell 6-3.

”We just didn’t get anything going in those middle innings,” Sinicki said. “[UNC Greensboro] took advantage of the four-run sixth [inning] and a misplay that we had in the field … We got one [run] late but just couldn’t do enough to sweep the series — but [winning] two out of three [games] — we will take on the road.”

Binghamton will face a tough test, taking on No.1 Wake Forest for a single-game matchup on Friday, March 1. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at David F. Couch Ballpark in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

The Binghamton baseball team kicked off its 2024 campaign against Houston and was ultimately swept in the three games series. BU dropped the first game 8-4, followed by an 8-2 loss in game two. The series concluded on Sunday with the Bearcats suffering a lopsided 7-0 defeat and a series sweep.

“If you break down each game and take away one inning from each of the three games, you’re looking at three pretty solid games,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “All in all, I hate to lose… but I feel good about what the season may end up producing.”

In the first game of the series, the Bearcats (0-3) suffered a 8-4 defeat. Houston (3-0) wasted no time, scoring a run off senior pitcher Gabe Driscoll in the bottom of the first inning. However, the Bearcats came right back in the top of the second inning, plating two runs as junior infielder Devan Bade scored on a wild pitch and junior outfielder Logan Haskell singled to bring in graduate student first baseman Sam Haney. Junior second baseman Nick Roselli then homered in the third inning to give BU a 3-1 lead. Binghamton did not hold this lead for long as the Cougars plated a run in the fourth inning and three runs in both the fifth and seventh innings to take a 8-3 lead. Despite scoring a run in the eighth inning off an RBI single from Roselli, it was not enough as BU dropped its season opener.

“[Roselli] is a terrific player,” Sinicki said. “[Roselli] came out of the gates showing why he is one of the best players not only in the conference but also in the region.”

Binghamton fell 8-2 to the Cougars in game two. Despite, BU striking first in the second inning, as senior first baseman Andrew Tan scored on a ground out to second base by sophomore infielder Mike Stellrecht, the Bearcats were held scoreless until the seventh inning. In this span, the Cougars scored one run in the bottom frame of the third, and two runs in the fourth, before the Bearcats tacked on their second and final run of the game, which came off an RBI double from Bade that brought in senior outfielder Mike Gunning. Houston scored two runs in the bottom off the seventh inning and three runs in the eighth inning to secure an 8-2 victory.

“We struck out way too much,” Sinicki said, “You’re not putting pressure on their defense to make plays. We’ve got to do a better job of trying to find a way to put the ball in play more often. We never really amounted to a serious threat like we want it to.”

In the Bearcats third and final game of the series, they were shutout by the Cougars 7-0. With UNC transfer —senior pitcher Nelson Berkwich on the rubber, making his first start as a Bearcat, Houston got the scoring started with one run in the first and third innings. With Houston leading 2-0 heading into the eighth inning, the Cougars broke the game open with a five run outburst to go up 7-0 against the Bearcats. Then, in the top of the ninth inning, freshman infielder Tim Hennig, Bade, and Tan all struck out for BU as the Cougars sealed a 7-0 victory.

“If you look at each starting pitcher, when they left the game, we were in a ballgame,” Sinicki said. “They gave us an opportunity to be in the ballgame. Some of the guys we brought down the bullpen did a terrific job. Other guys struggled a little bit.”

In addition to the suffering a 3-0 sweep, the Bearcats will be without one of its key pieces in Roselli for the foreseeable future as he did not play in the second and third games of the series against the Cougars due to injury. Sinicki addressed how the loss of Roselli in the lineup will be difficult and how it will be a collective team effort to replace him in the three spot in the starting lineup.

“There’s nobody on our roster that can replace [Roselli],” Sinicki said. “He’s that talented. He’s that experienced, and he’s that dangerous … What we have to do is we have to give opportunities to other players in our program, to, play his position, try to contribute to the team and then we’ve got to find different ways to win games … For the past [X] number of months, I basically had [Roselli] penciled in as our number three hitter for the entire season. So that’s a spot that will have to be something that we define.”

Binghamton’s next three-game series against UNC Greensboro is scheduled to start on Friday, Feb. 23. The first pitch is set for 4 p.m. at the UNCG Baseball Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina.

In 2023, Binghamton finished 12-12 in AE play, with a 29-23 record on the year. As the No. 3 seed heading into the AE tournament, BU defeated NJIT in its first matchup in an elimination game. Then, the following day, with double elimination in play, BU narrowly fell to No. 2 UMBC before rebounding to top both No. 5 UMass Lowell and UMBC to advance to the AE finals. However, the Bearcats were defeated by No.1 Maine in the AE championship, ending its season in disappointing fashion, as they were unable to repeat as AE champions.

Despite the loss of key pieces such as first baseman Kevin Gsell, outfielder Cavan Tully, starting pitcher Thomas Babalis and relief pitcher Jack Collins, the Bearcats are still in solid shape to have success this season. Binghamton will return first team all-conference starters in senior outfielder Tommy Reifler and senior pitcher Gabe Driscoll while also retaining the majority of starters from a year ago. With a solid all-around team once again, the Bearcats are poised to make a deep run in the AE once again.

Binghamton will kick off its season on Friday, Feb. 16 with a three game series against Houston. The first pitch of the first game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Don Sanders Field at Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park in Houston, Texas.

“​​[The] tournament didn’t finish the way we wanted to, but, you know, there’s not a lot of teams in the country [that] get a chance to play for championships and that’s what we did,” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki.

For its first game of the tournament, Binghamton (29-23, 12-12 AE) squared off against No. 6 NJIT (22-31, 11-13 AE) on Wednesday evening. The Highlanders wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, plating four runs during the top of the first inning. However, in the bottom of the inning, Binghamton responded by stringing together three RBI singles and a grand slam by freshman infielder Mike Stellrecht, which gave the Bearcats a 7-4 lead at the end of the first frame.

After a scoreless second, NJIT tagged on two more runs in the top of the third after hitting two solo homers, cutting the Bearcats’ lead to just one. However, an RBI single from junior outfielder Tommy Reifler in the fourth rebuilt the Bearcats’ lead to two runs. A two-inning scoring drought followed from both sides, but this was broken up after sophomore catcher Evin Sullivan hit a two-run home run in the seventh and a grand slam in the eighth inning, which gave Binghamton a 14-6 advantage. The Bearcats then managed to hold the Highlanders scoreless in the top of the ninth, as they ended NJIT’s season and advanced in the tournament with a 14-6 victory.

“The offense in the first inning really got us back into the ball game after a rough top of the first,” Sinicki said. “[Senior pitcher Thomas Babalis] was bound and determined to make sure that, you know, our season didn’t end on Wednesday, and he was lights out.”

Following their victory on Wednesday, the Bearcats moved into Thursday as they began the double-elimination portion of the tournament and matched up against UMBC (30-27, 16-8 AE). UMBC took control of the game early on, going up 7-0 by the end of the third inning. However, Binghamton eventually got on the board, courtesy of an RBI single from sophomore infielder Devan Bade in the fourth. Despite two more RBI singles off the bats of Bade and senior first baseman Kevin Gsell in the sixth and seventh, the Retrievers would maintain their lead for the remainder of the contest to secure a 7-3 win that sent the Bearcats to the losers’ bracket.

“We didn’t exactly play a very crisp game defensively,” Sinicki said. “Either we made a big error that led to a lead to, you know, a few unearned runs … to [UMBC’s] credit, they just played a better ball game than us. [UMBC] certainly took advantage of the mistakes that we made both defensively and a couple pitches we didn’t execute properly, and then offensively, we just couldn’t get anything going.”

In their second contest on Thursday, the Bearcats took on UMass Lowell (20-35, 11-13 AE) in their second elimination game of the tournament. The Riverhawks would strike first, bringing home three runs in the top of the first inning. Binghamton responded with a two-run bomb from junior outfielder Mike Gunning in the second which put the Bearcats within one run of the River Hawks. However, UMass Lowell expanded its lead in the third inning with two more runs to take a 5-2 advantage over the Bearcats

The River Hawks would maintain this lead until the seventh when Sullivan got Binghamton within one run with a two-run home run. Not long after, Bade hit an RBI double to tie up the contest at five. Binghamton would add on two more runs off a wild pitch and a walk to take its first lead of the day. Gsell then broke the game open, hitting a three-run home run to give the Bearcats a 10-5 lead going into the eighth. When things were all said and done, Binghamton earned a 10-5 victory to survive elimination and move on in the tournament.

“We got a great performance out of [graduate student pitcher Tommy Snyder] out of the bullpen,” Sinicki said. “He was able to keep [UMass Lowell] in check and give our offense a chance to get to their bullpen.”

On Friday, Binghamton matched up against UMBC for a second time, following UMBC’s loss to Maine the previous day. An RBI double from Gsell gave the Bearcats an early lead at the top of the first, before UMBC responded with a run of their own to tie the game up. The tally remained 1-1 until the top of the fifth, when Reifler scored off of a sacrifice fly from Gsell to give Binghamton a one-run lead. Then, a solo home run from senior infielder Zachary Taylor in the sixth grew the Bearcat’s lead to 3-1, and a home run by senior outfielder Cavan Tully, along with a fielder’s choice during the top of the seventh gave the Bearcats a four-run cushion. RBIs from Reifler and sophomore second baseman Nick Roselli in the eighth allowed Binghamton to secure a 7-1 win, along with a second consecutive AE championship appearance.

“The way that we were pitching gave the offense a lot of confidence,” Sinicki said. “Once we kind of got to starting pitching, I think we were able to take advantage of the pitching changes … then once you do that, it becomes a little bit contagious and confidence goes up and guys are feeding off of each other … I think that’s what we kind of proved to do in that ball game.”

In the championship game on Saturday, the Bearcats faced top-seeded Maine (32-19, 19-5 AE). Maine got out to an early lead in the first, taking a 1-0 advantage right out of the gates. The Black Bears would hold down the lead the rest of the way, plating a run in both the second and third, two runs in the fourth and another run in the seventh as they went up 6-0 by the end of the inning. While a solo home run from Gsell would put Binghamton on the board in the ninth, the Bearcats’ comeback fell short as Binghamton’s season came to an end with a 6-1 loss to Maine.

“I like the fact that we never quit,” Sinicki said. “It’s the type of team we’ve had all year long. We were even battling until the ninth inning. [Gsell] leads off with a home run in the ninth to try to breathe a little bit of life into us but, you know, they closed it out and quite honestly they were the best team in the conference all year long.”

With the season coming to an end, multiple Bearcats received AE honors. Reifler and junior pitcher Gabe Driscoll received first-team all-conference honors, as Reifler recorded the second-best batting average in the AE at .371. Meanwhile, freshman reliever Dan McAliney was named to the AE all-rookie squad. In addition, Gsell was Binghamton’s sole stat leader, leading the AE with 72 hits on the season. With several key players graduating, Sinicki indicated a strong shift toward the young core next season.

“I think the biggest loss is going to be from on the pitching staff,” Sinicki said. “The guys that we’re losing really pitch a lot of important things for us. Now it’s time to hand the ball, you know, over to some guys who will be a little less experienced, but talented nonetheless.”

“We wanted to try to get everyone in the games this weekend so the guys are ready for the [AE Championship Tournament],” said Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki. “Some guys who maybe haven’t pitched in the last couple of games, some guys who haven’t gotten a lot of at-bats. You never know what you’re going to need in the tournament.”

The River Hawks (19-33, 11-13 AE) came out of the gates hot in game one, plating four runs in the bottom of the first inning. In response, BU (26-21, 12-12 AE) tacked on four runs of their own in the second, including a three-run home run from junior outfielder Christian Perez to tie up the game. Binghamton proceeded to put an additional four runs on the board in the third inning, which was topped off with an RBI single, courtesy of sophomore second baseman Nick Roselli, which extended Binghamton’s lead to five runs. However, UMass Lowell responded quickly, scoring five runs in the bottom of the fourth to even the score at 9-9.

The game remained tied, as neither team scored until the eighth inning when Binghamton finally broke the stalemate. The Bearcats ended the scoreless stretch with two runs in the eighth, courtesy of an RBI double from senior first baseman Kevin Gsell and a sacrifice fly from junior outfielder Mike Gunning. Binghamton would hold the River Hawks scoreless for the rest of the game, securing an 11-9 win. Graduate student pitcher Tommy Snyder was credited with the win as he pitched five scoreless frames in relief with four strikeouts.

“We got really good relief pitching that day out of [Snyder],” Sinicki said. “He did a good job keeping us around and giving us a chance to have our offense get it back and then eventually take the lead.”

In game two, the River Hawks started off strong once again, scoring seven runs across the first three innings to take a commanding 7-0 lead over the Bearcats. Binghamton would finally get on the board in the sixth inning, courtesy of a solo home run from Roselli and RBIs from sophomore infielder Devan Bade and junior catcher Kevin Reilly, which brought Binghamton within four. However, the River Hawks added six more runs in the bottom of the sixth and four more runs in the eighth, making it 17-3. While the Bearcats plated four more runs in the ninth, it would not be enough as they dropped game two 17-7.

“The game itself is always run through the mound,” Sinicki said. “If you’re gonna get a good start, you will give yourself a chance to win … and we just didn’t get that in that game.”

In the rubber match, Binghamton got on the board in the top of the second with RBI singles from Bade and junior first baseman Andrew Tan to take an early 2-0 lead. However, the River Hawks responded with two runs in the second to tie things up at two. Not long after, UMass Lowell plated seven runs in the third to take a 9-2 lead. Binghamton answered with a two-run home run from freshman infielder Mike Stellrecht which cut Binghamton’s deficit to five but the River Hawks added two more runs in the bottom of the inning to increase their lead to seven once again.

Binghamton began to slowly chip away at the UMass Lowell lead, plating two runs in the fifth, three runs in the seventh and one run in the eighth while then UMass Lowell added just three runs during that span. Going into the top of the ninth, the River Hawks found themselves leading 14-10, looking to secure the series win. Although the Bearcats managed to tack on three more runs in the ninth, their comeback fell short as the River Hawks took the rubber match of the series 14-13 while also winning the series two games to one.

“Anytime you ask a lot out of your bullpen, that’s a dangerous game,” Sinicki said. “Not everyone’s gonna throw up a zero, and when you get yourself in a hole like 9-2 in the third inning, you’re asking a lot of your bullpen to keep it at that margin for the rest of the game.”

Binghamton will now look ahead to the AE Tournament, where it will take on No. 6 NJIT in an elimination game, on Wednesday, May 24. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Bearcats Baseball Complex in Vestal, New York.

“I thought we were the better team for 80 percent of the weekend,” said Binghamton head Coach Tim Sinicki. “Unfortunately, [the] 20 percent that [Bryant] [was] better than us ended up costing us two ball games. We had opportunities to win both the games that we lost, and we just weren’t able to secure the win at the end of the game.”

In game one of the series, Bryant (25-20,12-9 AE) got on the board right away, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning to take an early lead against BU (25-19, 11-10 AE). The Bearcats tacked on a run in the second inning but the Bulldogs added three more runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 6-1 advantage over the visitors. Bryant retained its 6-1 lead until the seventh when senior first baseman Kevin Gsell hit a three-run home run to bring Binghamton within two. Then, in the ninth, the Bearcats tacked on two runs, courtesy of an RBI single from sophomore infielder Nick Roselli and a sacrifice fly from junior outfielder Mike Gunning, evening the score at six.

After Bryant failed to score in the bottom of the ninth, with the game tied at 6-6, the contest went to extra innings. After a scoreless tenth and eleventh inning, Binghamton would go on to take an 8-6 lead in the twelfth courtesy of sacrifice flies from senior outfielder Cavan Tully and junior outfielder Tommy Reifler. However, with the Bulldogs down to their final out in the bottom of the twelfth, they managed to hit back-to-back solo home runs, tying the game at eight. The game was then suspended due to the sprinkler systems going off at Conaty Park. Then, on Saturday, play resumed and Bryant secured a 9-8 win in the bottom of the thirteenth, walking things off on a hit by pitch.

“After you get a double play ball to get two outs and you are one out away from securing the win, I think we lost the momentum that we had,” Sinicki said. “The fact that we started up 25 minutes later … I do think it had an impact but in the end you’ve got to find a way to overcome that and a way to finish off the game.”

The second game of the series saw much more offense early on from Binghamton. Despite Bryant taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning, Binghamton answered with two runs in the second after sophomore catcher Evin Sullivan scored off of a wild pitch and freshman infielder Mike Stellrecht plated Gunning with an RBI single. The Bearcats continued to build their lead in the third when Sullivan drove Roselli in with an RBI double and sophomore infielder Devan Bade registered a RBI triple of his own, making the score 5-1. Binghamton then scored two runs in the fourth and fifth, expanding its lead to eight. Although the Bulldogs managed to plate two runs in the sixth and one run in the eight, it would not be enough as the Bearcats added three more runs in the ninth, cruising to a 12-4 victory and evening the series at one game a piece.

“We’re able to kind of flush out what happened the day before and come with a new outlook,” Sinicki said. “I like that about our team. I think it shows good character. I was certainly pleased … I was really happy with that effort.”

In the rubber match, Binghamton took an early 2-0 lead in the first, courtesy of Gsell and Gunning, who both collected RBI singles. The Bearcats followed this up with two more runs in the second when Roselli and Gsell slapped RBI singles, extending BU’s lead to four. However, Bryant refused to give up, plating four runs in the third to tie the game up at four. In the sixth, a sacrifice fly from junior designated hitter Andrew Tan gave Binghamton a 5-4 lead, but that would be the visitors’ final run of the day. Not long after, the Bulldogs scraped across one run in the seventh and eighth innings to take a 6-5 lead while shutting the Bearcats down for the rest of the game to secure both the victory and the series win.

“We had a chance maybe in the middle innings to separate a little bit and try to get the lead, but to [Bryant’s] credit, they didn’t give us that opportunity,” Sinicki said. “Then, when we did score a run late, we gave it right back up.”

Binghamton will finish up AE conference play with a series against UMass Lowell starting on Thursday, May 18. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Massachusetts.