Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)

ITHACA, N.Y. - Freshman Casey Wenzel tossed five scoreless innings and Binghamton baseball scored seven runs in the first six innings to roll past host Cornell 7-0 Thursday afternoon from Hoy Field. Five different players notched RBIs as the Bearcats (10-18) readied for a big conference weekend with 15 hits and a victory.

Wenzel (W, 1-2) lowered his season ERA to 3.60 with five strong innings. He scattered four hits and struck out a pair before turning it over to BU's bullpen. He pitched a 1-2-3 second inning, stranded two runners in the fourth and worked around two walks in the fifth to keep a clean scorebook.

Four relievers tossed a scoreless inning apiece to maintain the shutout.

The Bearcats opened the scoring in the first inning with an unearned run. With one out, senior center fielder Bill Bereszniewicz singled and stole second. After a two-out walk by junior left fielder Jake Thomas, senior DH Shaun McGraw hit a ball to short that was misplayed, allowing Bereszniewicz to come home with the game's first run.

Wenzel kept the Big Red (15-15) from responding in the bottom of the first. Cornell advanced a runner to third with one out but Wenzel came up with a strikeout and grounder to second.

In the third, BU scored four runs - with McGraw delivering the big blow with a two-run double to left field. Earlier, Bereszniewicz singled and stole second and senior second baseman Daniel Nevares plated him with a single. Freshman shortstop Brendan Skidmore added an RBI double in the frame.

In the sixth, Nevares worked a one-out walk and stole second. He came in to score on an RBI single to center from Thomas, who bumped his team-leading RBI count to 18. Two batters later, sophomore first baseman Reed Gamache scored Thomas with an infield single.

Thomas went 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Bereszniewicz went 3-for-6 with two runs scored and two stolen bases. Freshman catcher Eddie Posavec added two hits and threw out a baserunner at third in the third inning.

The Bearcats (4-7 AE) host Maine (13-19, 4-5 AE) in a key America East series this weekend. The teams are separated by one game in the standings with 12 games remaining in the conference slate. Both are chasing Stony Brook (7-1), Hartford (6-2) and UMBC (6-6) for qualifying position in the seven-team pack. Saturday's doubleheader begins at noon at the Bearcats Sports Complex with a nine-inning game followed by a seven-inning contest. The teams conclude the three-game series with a single game at 1 p.m. on Sunday.