VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton baseball will try to remain the nation's only home unbeaten team when the Bearcats (17-20) welcome former Division I conference foe New York Institute of Technology (17-21) to campus for a weather-shortened two-game series on Saturday. The teams will square off in a pair of nine-inning games beginning at noon Saturday at Varsity Field. They were scheduled to play a third game on Sunday but that has been cancelled due to impending rain.

Binghamton is 7-0 at home - the lone Division I team in the country (among 300) still unbeaten on its home field. The seven straight home wins is also the longest streak in the program's 15-year Division I tenure. The Bearcats (12-3 America East) have the weekend off from conference play and will head into the final three weekends with a firm hold on first place. Binghamton has won 10 of its last 15 games. The team ranks third in the America East in hitting (.283), eighth in pitching (5.68 ERA) and second in fielding (.979). Individually, junior first baseman Brendan Skidmore ranks second in the America East in home runs and slugging (.573), fifth in RBI and is sixth in average. Senior second baseman Reed Gamache is third in doubles (10) and fourth in slugging (.496) and RBI. Sophomore center fielder CJ Krowiak is third in runs scored and fourth in hits (48).

Junior Jake Cryts (3-4, 5.19 ERA) will start the opener and senior Mike Bunal (4-3, 5.07) will pitch Game 2.  

NYIT (17-21), located in Old Westbury, Long Island, is an independent Division I program. The Bears have played five America East members this season. NYIT split four-game series' with Albany, UMass Lowell and most recently, Maine. Back on March 1, NYIT lost 5-1 in a single game at Stony Brook.

On Wednesday, NYIT lost to Lehigh 16-5 and has now dropped three straight after losing a pair to NJIT last Sunday. Senior OF Joe Daru leads the team with a .373 average, six home runs and 28 RBI. NYIT is hitting .232 as a team and has a 4.81 pitching ERA.

NYIT leads the all-time series 5-2. Binghamton won two of three games last season on Long Island. Before that, the teams played three games in 2001 when both were members of the New York State Baseball Conference, which also included Albany and Stony Brook. NYIT won all three games during that season.