VESTAL, N.Y. – After a year that included its first-ever America East regular-season title, Binghamton's quest to repeat as conference champions came to an end with a 6-4 loss to Albany in an elimination game on Saturday morning at the Bearcats Sports Complex. The Bearcats (34-15) finish third in the tournament while Albany lost in the finals to Maine 14-1 later in the day.

As was the case against Maine the previous day, the Bearcats got off to a slow start. The Great Danes scored all of their runs in the first two innings. Three of those runs were unearned as Binghamton committed a trio of errors.

Although Albany led 4-0 after one inning, the Bearcats clawed back for three runs in the top of the second inning. Junior shortstop Crysti Eichner scored on a throwing error and Kate Richard trimmed the deficit to 4-2 on a sacrifice fly. Sophomore outfielder Carrie Maniccia capped the inning with a RBI single.

With the Bearcats down 6-3 in the top of the fourth inning, Richards delivered her second sacrifice fly of the game. Scoring on the play was junior pinch runner Bridget Hunt.

From there, however, Binghamton's potent offense was kept off the scoreboard. It stranded a pair of runners in the top of the fifth inning and had the tying run at the plate when the game ended.

Devin Durando held Binghamton to four hits and struck out a pair of batters to improve to 17-8.

Senior pitcher Cara Martin lasted just 1.1 innings and dropped to 12-5 with the loss. Sophomore pitcher Sarah Miller pitched the final 4.2 innings and allowed only one hit.

Miller, who was last year's America East Tournament Most Outstanding Player, was one of two Bearcat players named to this season's All-Tournament Team. Joining her was sophomore outfielder Jessica Rutherford, who finished the tournament 4-for-11 (.367) with a home run and three RBI.

Junior outfielder Gabby Bracchi hit a team-best .444 (4-for-9) during the America East Tournament while senior catcher Taylor Chaffee was 3-for-7 (.429) and drew three walks.

Rutherford, who was named first-team all-conference earlier in the week, finished the season with a .441 batting average. That is the fourth-best, single-season average in program history as well as the highest mark since Binghamton moved up to the NCAA Division I level in 2002.

Chaffee, who was also named first-team all-conference, ended her senior year with a .398 batting average. That is the ninth-highest, single-season mark in program history and the fourth-best during the program's NCAA Division I era.

Bracchi, meanwhile, finished the season with a program-record 55 runs. Against Albany on Saturday, she also tied the Binghamton record with her 32^nd walk of the year. Earlier in the week, Bracchi was named to the America East All-Academic Team.
The Bearcats as a team finished with a program-record .348 batting average, demolishing the 1995 squad's mark of .325. In addition, Binghamton set single-season marks with 347 runs and 460 hits.

Chaffee and Martin are part of a group of six seniors whom the program will lose to graduation. The others include Sydney Harbaugh, Lisa Cadogan, Griffin McIver and Stephanie Arneson. Between the six of them have come the 2014 America East Player of the Year (Harbaugh), the 2013 Rookie of the Year (Cadogan), two NFCA All-Region Players (Cadogan twice and Harbaugh once, with this year's teams being named this upcoming week) and four first-team all-conference players (Cadogan, Chaffee, Harbaugh and McIver).

NOTES: The 34 wins is the second-most in Binghamton program history and its highest at the NCAA Division I level. The 1995 team finished the year 37-8. The Bearcats have now recorded at least 30 wins twice in the past four years.