VESTAL, N.Y. – Sophomore outfielder Jessica Rutherford drilled a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning, leading top-seeded Binghamton (34-13) to a 7-6 win over fourth-seeded Stony Brook (25-23) in a second round America East Tournament game on Thursday afternoon at the Bearcats Sports Complex. With the victory, the Bearcats remain in the winner's bracket and will face Maine in a third-round game on Friday at 11 a.m.

In a see-saw game that saw Binghamton rally twice to tie the game, Rutherford drilled pitch over the right field fence, ending a game that took nearly three hours to complete. She finished the day 2-for-5 and drove in three runs.

Rutherford's other hit, which came in the bottom of the sixth inning, was just as important. The Bearcats entered the frame down 5-2 but got a run back when sophomore Jillian Bovitt scored on a groundout. With two outs, Rutherford stroked a two-run single into right-center field to tie the game.

The Seawolves briefly took the lead when Danielle Kemp scored on a fielder's choice. Down to their last out in the bottom of the seventh inning, however, the Bearcats got a bases-loaded walk from junior outfielder Gabby Bracchi to deadlock the game again.

Stony Brook had a pair of runners on base in the top of the eighth inning but senior pitcher Cara Martin was able to get out of the jam. That set the stage for Rutherford's heroics.

Martin improved to 12-4 with the victory while Jane Sallen fell to 16-14 with the loss.

"I am so proud of our team today," head coach Michelle Burrell said. "We were leaving runners on base early in the game but they trusted each other and were able to come through in the end."

Bracchi, sophomore second baseman Stephanie Bielec and senior catcher Taylor Chaffee each finished with a pair of hits. Bracchi and Rutherford each scored a pair of runs.

NOTE: The Black Bears defeated Albany 7-4 in the other second round game on Thursday .... this marks the first extra-inning America East Tournament game for Binghamton since its 2-1, nine-inning loss in the first round of the 2011 tournament … Rutherford, who was named first-team all-conference earlier in the week, is now batting a team-best .445 with five home runs and a team-best 48 RBI.