COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Binghamton baseball went through its final preparations on Thursday at Blue Bell Park and the America East champion Bearcats (30-23) are set to open play at the NCAA Regional against the nation's No. 1 team, Texas A&M (45-14) Friday at 9 p.m. (ET). The game will be shown on the SEC Network and also on ESPN3. Second-seeded Minnesota will face third-seeded Wake Forest in the 4 p.m. game. The double-elimination regional continues on Saturday and Sunday.  

The Bearcats, who are playing in the NCAAs for the third time in four years and fourth time in the last eight, arrived at their hotel late Wednesday night after more than 12 hours of travel. The team bussed from Binghamton to Newark, N.J., then took a flight to Houston and after a baggage delay at the Houston airport, a final bus ride to College Station. On Thursday, BU practiced at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park for just over an hour, following a press conference with 24th-year head coach Tim Sinicki and seniors Mike Bunal and Reed Gamache. 

Binghamton has won 15 of its last 18 games and has gone on a 28-10 clip since starting the season 2-13. The Bearats captured the America East regular season title with a 19-5 mark and then rolled through the tournament last weekend, going 3-0 to claim the postseason title. That run, punctuated with an historic nine-run, ninth-inning rally to beat Hartford, caught the eye of Texas A&M coach Rob Childress.

"Our entire focus has been on Binghamton," Childress said. "They are as hot, probably hotter than any in the tournament right now. They won their league going away, 19-5, and then went undefeated in their tournament. They are not new to the posteason - they've been to the regionals in four of last eight years and have been in big venues before. Our guys understand what Binghamton is all about. They know they scored nine runs in the ninth inning. I'm certain they feel like they're never out of a game. We know we will get their best shot tomorrow." 

Senior Mike Bunal (8-3, 3.45 ERA) will get the task of facing an Aggies lineup that is hitting .316 this season. Texas A&M captured its first SEC championship on Sunday with a 12-5 win over top-seeded Florida in Hoover, Alabama. They scored 37 runs in three SEC tournament games. The title was the program's sixth. The Aggies will be making their 10th consecutive NCAA appearance and 32nd overall.  

Bunal is the reigning America East Pitcher of the Year and has allowed just two earned runs in his last five starts (0.58 ERA in 31 IP).

Senior second baseman Reed Gamache leads BU in hitting (.367) and RBI (46) and has reached base in 25 consecutive games heading into the regional. Sophomore center fielder CJ Krowiak is hitting .322 with a team-high 45 runs scored. He is the 13th-toughest player to strike out in the nation, fanning just once every 18 at-bats. 

Binghamton's senior class is making its third trip to the NCAAs in four years - making it the most successful senior class in the America East over the last 15 years.

"These guys are doing something that I don't think many Mid-Major programs can do," 24th-year head coach Tim Sinicki said. "Just to get to three regionals in four years ... I think that speaks a lot to the type of kids that we have in our program. We will go out and control the things we can, play good fundamental baseball and do our best to represent the University and the America East." 

The Bearcats' lineup will face senior right-hander Kyle Simonds (9-3, 2.79 ERA), who beat No. 6 Vanderbilt in his last start at the SEC tournament. He has a team-high three complete games this season - one of which was a no-hitter.  

Olsen Field is a fantastic venue, both between the lines and including all the amenities. The 6,100-seat stadium was renovated before the 2012 season and the Aggies went 29-5 at home this spring. 

NOTES
This will be the first time BU baseball has played the No. 1 team in the nation. Before this, the Bearcats twice played a No. 4 opponent, losing three games to No. 4 Arkansas during the 2012 regular season and before that, losing a 13-7 slugfest at No. 4 LSU in 2010 ... This will also be the sixth time that a BU sports team has faced the nation's No. 1 team. Softball played No. 1 Tennessee in 2014, volleyball faced No. 1 Penn State in the 2012 NCAA tournament, wrestling had matches against No. 1 Iowa State (2007) and Iowa (2008) and men's soccer faced No. 1 Maryland in 2006.