Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)

VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton baseball gets back into America East play this weekend when the Bearcats (4-9, 1-2 AE) face host UMBC (7-9, 1-2 AE) in a three-game set at Alumni Field. The teams will play a single game Saturday beginning at 4:30 p.m. and then finish up with a doubleheader Sunday starting at noon.

The Bearcats are coming off a 6-2 loss at Bucknell on Tuesday. They were outhit 9-6 and left 10 stranded on the bases. Bucknell plated four runs in the bottom of the second inning before the teams traded two runs apiece the rest of the way. Junior second baseman Reed Gamache went 2-for-3 to raise his season average to .347.

Senior right fielder Jake Thomas leads the team in average (.391) and RBI (12). Senior center fielder Zach Blanden is hitting .370 with 13 runs scored. Sophomore catcher/outfielder Eddie Posavec has bumped his average up to .289 and has 10 RBI.

On the mound, BU is set to go with junior Rob Hardy (1-2, 3.92 ERA) in Saturday's opener. Junior Mike Bunal (1-2, 10.80) and senior Greg Ostner (1-3, 7.98) will pitch Sunday's twinbill.

Binghamton opened conference play by taking one of three at Stony Brook two weeks ago. In that series, Gamache went 7-for-13 with six RBI and BU's pitching staff held down a 4.70 ERA.

UMBC is coming off a 2-0 win over Navy Wednesday night. The Retrievers tallied both runs (unearned) in the fifth inning and four pitchers held the 16-win Mids to just four hits. UMBC has now won three in a row and five of its last seven. The team opened conference play by dropping two of three at Hartford two weeks ago. After winning the series opener 6-1, UMBC lost 5-2 and 6-4.

The Retrievers were picked to finish sixth (out of seven) in the Coaches' Preseason Poll. They return 2014 All-Rookie selections Hunter Dolshun and Andrew Casali and are looking to advance to the America East tournament for the first time since 2008. Casali, a sophomore outfielder, is hitting .344 with a team-high 10 RBI. Dolshun is hitting .298 with nine RBI. Junior college transfers Kevin Little (0-2, 12.34 ERA) and Conrad Wozniak (0-0, 1.50 ERA) and Temple transfer Connor Stasky (2-2, 4.70 ERA) have boosted a pitching staff that currently boasts a 3.55 ERA.

UMBC will pitch junior lefty Joe Vanderplas (1-3, 4.44 ERA) in the opener. Wozniak, a junior right-hander, and freshman right-hander Matt Chanin (1-0, 1.38 ERA) are slated to go on Sunday. 

Binghamton owns a commanding 40-6 lead in the all-time series - its best win percentage against any team in the America East. The Bearcats swept last season's three games in Vestal, winning 16-3, 7-3 and 8-4. Two years ago in Baltimore, however, UMBC took two of three, snapping a 21-game losing streak in the series.