VESTAL, N.Y. – Sophomore outfielder Jessica Rutherford tripled home the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning, leading Binghamton (31-13) to a 2-1 win over Syracuse (27-25) in a non-conference softball game on Tuesday afternoon at the Bearcats Sports Complex. The victory kept the Bearcats unbeaten at home (11-0) and it came against an Orange team with a RPI ranking of No. 74.

The 31 wins is the most by Binghamton during its 16-year NCAA Division I era and is the second-highest total in the 36-year history of the program. The 1995 squad finished the year 37-8.

Rutherford, who finished the game 3-for-4, belted a two-out triple to the left-center field fence, scoring sophomore outfielder Carrie Maniccia on the play. Maniccia led off the inning with a single and reached second two batters later on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore second baseman Stephanie Bielec.

On the mound, the Bearcats got a sterling performance from senior pitcher Cara Martin, who scattered one run on four hits, struck out two batters and did not issue a walk. Her record is now 10-4.

The Bearcats struck first in the bottom of the first inning on a sacrifice fly by senior first baseman Lisa Cadogan. Scoring on the play was junior outfielder Gabby Bracchi.

Syracuse was two outs away from defeat in the top of the seventh inning when Rachel Burkhardt tied the game with a home run to deep center field. It was her second home run of the season.

Martin allowed a single to the next batter but retired the following two hitters. That set the stage for Rutherford's heroics in the bottom of the seventh inning.

"I thought our players did a good job in trusting each other in the bottom of the seventh inning," head coach Michelle Burrell said. "I thought we did a good job of putting runners on during the game and we stayed nice and relaxed at the end."
The loss was tagged to Jocelyn Carter, who is now 12-10.

Binghamton resumes America East play with a three-game set against Hartford, starting on Friday at the Bearcats Sports Complex. The Bearcats lead the conference with a 12-3 record.

NOTES: Rutherford is now batting a team-best .434, which ranks second in the America East. She also has a team-best 40 RBI … having already broken the single-season record, Rutherford now has 63 hits this year … Bracchi now has scored a conference-best 51 runs, which is also a Binghamton single-season program record … Syracuse came into the game with a team ERA of just 2.89.