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Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)

VESTAL, N.Y. - In an out-of-league battle between two reigning conference champions, Binghamton (16-19-1) hosts Siena (16-23) in a single game at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Bearcats Sports Complex. The game is the final non-conference game before BU finishes up the regular season with six games against America East rivals.

The Bearcats are coming off a frustrating weekend sweep at the hands of UMBC — three defeats that have put the team's string of postseason appearances (8 straight) in jeopardy. Two-time defending America East champion Binghamton entered the season owning a commanding 40-6 lead over the Retrievers in the all-time series but UMBC went 6-0 head-to-head in 2015.

Now BU (6-11 AE) sits two games out of a playoff spot (top four) with six regular season games remaining. Those six consist of a long journey and weekend set at Maine followed by three games against first-place Stony Brook. The Bearcats left 32 runners stranded in the UMBC series and committed eight errors which led to eight unearned runs.

Senior right fielder Jake Thomas is three hits shy of reaching the 200-hit plateau. He leads the AE in on-base percentage and ranks second in slugging and third in hitting. Sophomore infielder Brendan Skidmore belted his fifth home run of the season in Sunday's finale and leads the team (and ranks fifth in the AE) with 30 RBI. The Bearcats are hitting .269 and their pitching staff has a 5.13 ERA.

Freshman left-hander Nick Wegmann (0-1, 7.71) gets the start on Tuesday.

Reigning MAAC champion Siena sits in fourth place (out of 11) in the conference standings with six games remaining in the regular season. The top six teams advance in the MAAC so the Saints (9-6 MAAC) look to be in good shape to defend their postseason title after being picked fourth in the Preseason Poll.

After starting the season 1-11 against rugged competition down in Florida, Siena has gone 15-8-1 overall and has won 10 of its last 14. Over the weekend, the Saints dropped two of three against Monmouth after winning nine of their previous 11.

Senior third baseman Justin Esquerra is batting .326 with four home runs and 18 RBI. Freshman infielder Joe Drpich is hitting .302 with a team-high seven home runs and 20 RBI. The Saints have clubbed 23 home runs but only have a .238 team batting average. On the mound, the staff has a 4.81 ERA. Senior closer Matt Quintana (4 saves, 1.99 ERA) is one of the best relievers in the MAAC.          

Binghamton is 10-8 all-time against Siena. Last April, BU outslugged the Saints 10-9 in Loudonville.