ENDICOTT, N.Y. -- Six days after watching Vermont rally for an emotional win in the late innings, top-seeded Binghamton (27-20) returned the favor, staging its own comeback to post a 10-7 win the over fourth-seeded catamounts (22-32) in an opening round game of the America East Championship Thursday night at Pete Sylvester Field. The Bearcats advance to play second-seeded Albany in Friday's 8 p.m. winners' bracket game. Albany defeated third-seeded Stony Brook 8-1 in the day's first game. Vermont will face Stony Brook in the 4 p.m. elimination game.

The game featured 22 hits (20 singles), a whopping 11 errors and two huge momentum swings. The Bearcats carried a 4-0 lead into the seventh inning behind junior ace Murphy Smith, who handcuffed the Catamounts on two hits through six innings as more a half-dozen pro scouts flashed their radar guns behind the backstop. But Vermont struck in the seventh, plating four runs on four hits and three BU errors. The Catamounts chased Smith and wound up scoring three more runs in the eighth to open up a 7-4 lead.

But the Bearcats ignited in the bottom of the eighth with four consecutive singles - the final of which was a one-out, two-run hit to center by senior third baseman Kyle Klee that pulled BU to within one run at 7-6. After an intentional walk loaded the bases, junior left fielder Joe Charron delivered a sacrifice fly to center, scoring sophomore center fielder Henry Dunn with the tying run. After a bases loaded hit batter was nullified by the home plate umpire, BU took advantage of a pair of Vermont throwing errors and a wild pitch to score the three decisive runs. With two outs, sophomore designated hitter Jeff Skelhorne-Gross hit a slow grounder between the mound and third that Vermont pitcher Keith Rakus fielded on a slide but threw wide of first, allowing sophomore center fielder Corey Taylor and Klee to score. Freshman first baseman Dave Ciocchi scored the final run on a wild pitch.

Senior closer Greg Lane pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to record the win.

Junior second baseman Jim Calderone went 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Klee and Charron drove in two runs apiece and Dunn had two hits and an RBI. Ciocchi and sophomore catcher C.J. Lukaszewski also had two hits each.

NOTES
Binghamton improved to 3-0 against Vermont in the last two America East tournaments.