ORONO- The Binghamton University Bearcats needed to go two games and then some on Sunday, but would top defending champion Bryant University in the decisive second contest 6-5 in 11 innings at Mahaney Diamond to win their league-tying sixth America East Baseball Title.
In game one- Bryant used a big fifth inning to force a winner take all second game with a 7-3 victory. In a 2-2 tie into the fifth inning, the Bulldogs broke it open in the bottom half of that frame. Charlie Saul led off with a double down the third base line, and Jacob Gaudreau followed with a single to put runners on the corners. They jumped ahead when Zac Zyons reached on a fielders choice bunt that went for an RBI. After Noriega was retired for the second out, Drew Wyers provided the biggest hit of the inning and the eventual game winner when he hit a three-run homerun to leftfield. Pat D’Amico came up next and made it a five run lead by also hitting one out for a solo shot to increase the advantage to 7-2. Gaudreau, Wyers, and D’Amico had two hits each to lead the way. Luke Delongchamp (1-4) got his first victory of the season on the mound allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits with three walks and four strikeouts in 5.0 innings. Toby Scheidt gave up no runs on just one hit and didn’t walk anyone over the final 4.0 innings to pick up his third save. Zach Rogacki and Devan Bade had two hits each for Binghamton, and Hayden Tarsia (4-3) suffered the loss on the hill as he was touched up for seven runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings.
In the decisive game two- Todd Abraham lifted a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning to score Zack Kent, as Binghamton squeaked past Bryant to claim their sixth title in school history. The Bulldogs hit the scoreboard first by putting up two runs in the bottom of the second without hitting the ball out of the infield. Two bunt singles with the bases loaded by Matt D’Amato and Saul that went for runs batted in had them ahead early. The Bearcats came right back in the top of the third to tie it on a RBI double to left center by Matt Bolton, and a RBI single from Bade. Brandyn Durand made it 3-2 Bryant with a run scoring single in the last of the third, before Abraham evened it again with a RBI single in the fourth. The Bearcats went up 5-3 in the top of the fifth inning when Bade singled with one out, and then with two outs recorded Freddie Forgione hit a two-run homerun to leftfield. With the game getting late, the defending champion Bulldogs had the answer in the eighth. Durand led off with a solo homer to left center. After a single by D’Amato and a walk drawn by Gaudreau, Gavin Noriega came through with a RBI single to right with two outs to make it 5-5. The score remained the same until the top of the 11th. Kent and Logan Haskell hit back to back singles for Binghamton, and then Mike Stellrecht laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners into scoring position. Abraham lined out to left that scored Kent just ahead of the tag at the plate that turned out to be the game winner. Ben Griffith set Bryant down 1-2-3 in the last of the 11th to end it. Bolton, Bade, Forgione, and Kent all had two hits for Binghamton. With all hands on deck, both teams used five pitchers. Griffith (4-0) picked up the win for the Bearcats with a perfect 2.2 innings with two strikeouts. Landon White (0-1) took the pitching loss for Bryant giving up one run three hits in 3.0 innings. Durand and D’Amato each had two hits. The Bulldogs end their season with a final record of 36-19-1. Binghamton (29-24) is headed to the NCAA Tournament and will find out their opponent, location, and game time during the selection show on Monday at 12 p.m.
*Notes- This is the first time since 2014 that the America East Baseball Tournament Championship Round has gone to a second game. Binghamton was also playing in that tournament and took the title over Stony Brook. The Bearcats have now tied Maine and former league members Stony Brook and Delaware for most conference titles with six*.
After the championship games on Sunday, America East announced their All-Championship Tournament teams. Here is the list-
Leewood Molessa- UMBC
Myles Sargent- Maine
Cole Campbell- NJIT
MT Morrissey- NJIT
Levi McAllister- Albany
Matthew Mariano- Albany
Toby Scheidt- Bryant
Luke Delongchamp- Bryant
Jackson Vanesko- Bryant
Devan Bade- Binghamton
Zach Rogacki- Binghamton
Freddie Forgione- Binghamton
Zack Kent- Binghamton
Elite 18 Award (given to the student/ athlete playing in the championship game that has the highest GPA)- Zach Rogacki- Binghamton- 3.75 GPA
Most Outstanding Player- Devan Bade- Binghamton- (5 games): 12-22 at the plate, 2 homeruns, 2 doubles, 12 RBI, 9 runs, 5 walks
