Baseball | 2/12/2015 10:46:00 AM

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Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)

VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton baseball will open its 2015 season with a bang, facing SEC member Auburn in a three-game weekend set in Alabama. The teams will play single games at 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday afternoons and at 1 p.m. Sunday (ET) – all at Plainsman Park. Friday and Saturday's games will be shown on the SECN+ digital platform on WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.

Binghamton left campus early Thursday morning for a long day of travel. The Bearcats will get into Auburn early tonight and squeeze in a workout at Plainsman Park - the first outdoor practice since the fall.

The two-time reigning America East champion Bearcats return 19 letterwinners from a 25-27 squad that stormed back through the consolation bracket to claim the program's third conference championship in the last six years. Head coach Tim Sinicki, in his 23^rd season, is the longest-tenured coach at Binghamton and he returns five position starters and seven pitchers from the '14 title team. Read the season preview here (link)

Senior right fielder Jake Thomas (156 career hits, 96 RBI), a two-time first team all-conference selection, highlights BU's lineup. Sophomore catcher Eddie Posavec (.309 in '14), junior second baseman Reed Gamache (.283, 26 RBI) and senior center fielder Zach Blanden (.276, 33 runs) also return to key roles.

Auburn is part of the powerful SEC, which boasts eight nationally-ranked teams, including No. 1 Vanderbilt and No. 2 Florida. The Tigers play out of the SEC Western Division. Auburn returns five position starters and one weekend pitcher from a 28-28 squad of a year ago. A total of 17 lettermen return from last spring. The Tigers have produced 28 MLB draft picks in the last five years.

These will be the first games between the two programs, though BU has faced five other SEC schools during its Division I tenure. Binghamton is 1-9 all-time against the SEC, earning its win over Tennessee in 2010 — a 7-4 victory on March 5 in the opening game of an abbreviated two-game series. Last year, the Bearcats dropped three games to Georgia, though BU went to extra innings in the series opener before falling 4-3 in 11. The Bearcats also have played Arkansas (No. 4 at time, lost three games in 2012), LSU (No. 4 at time, lost 13-7 in 2010). Binghamton lost to No. 23 Ole Miss, 8-4, at the 2013 NCAA Raleigh Regional..

Senior No. 1 Greg Ostner will get the ball to open the 2015 campaign on Friday. Junior Mike Bunal and junior transfer Rob Hardy are expected to pitch Games 2 and 3, respectively.

Auburn has announced its starting rotation and the Bearcats will see sophomore RHP Keegan Thompson on Friday. Thompson (5-3, 2.01 ERA) was a Freshman All-American last year when he held opponents to a .192 batting average. The remaining Tigers starters will be Trey Wingenter and Rocky McCord - both right-handers.

 "The first four weekends will be an opportunity for our guys to compete against very high-level programs and for coaching staff to play a number of lineup combinations to see which one or ones will make us most competitive entering America East Conference play," Sinicki said.