JAMAICA, N.Y. – The Binghamton softball team (3-8) lost a pair of games in the opening day of the St. John's Invitational. The Bearcats were defeated 12-9 by UMass (10-8) in the opener and 8-4 by St. John's (6-16) in the finale.

Binghamton went up against stiff competition in the first day of the invitational. UMass won 29 games last season and was the runner-up in the Atlantic 10 conference tournament. St. John's, meanwhile, won 32 games and advanced to the BIG EAST title game.  

Freshman first baseman Alex Guay batted a team-best .667 (4-for-6) with a double and scored a pair of runs during the Bearcats' two games on Saturday. Sophomore designated player Kassidy Seary doubled twice and drove in a team-best three runs while senior second baseman Stephanie Bielec and sophomore catcher Sarah Herskowitz each had two RBI.

Against UMass, Binghamton fell behind 5-0 by the middle of the second inning but rallied to take a 6-5 lead through three innings. Bielec had a two-run double in the bottom of the second inning and Seary came through with another two-run double one inning later.

The lead swung back and forth over the ensuing three innings but UMass put up four runs in the top of the seventh inning to go up 12-8. Binghamton got a run back in the bottom of the frame but were unable to compete the comeback.

Meg Colleran improved to 3-3 with the win while sophomore pitcher Rayn Gibson fell to 0-4 with the loss.

Guay finished 3-for-4 against the Minutewomen while senior outfielder Carrie Maniccia went 2-for-3.

Against St. John's, the Bearcats once again fell behind early. The Red Storm jumped out to an 8-4 lead after just two innings.

Binghamton got a run back on a fielding error in the top of the fourth inning and put three runs on the board in the top of the fifth inning. Herskowitz doubled home the first two runs and scored one batter later on Seary's second double of the day.
From there, however, the Red Storm retired the final seven Binghamton batters of the game.

McKenzie Murray got the win, raising her record to 2-9. Sophomore pitcher Rozlyn Price was tagged with the loss, dropping her record to 2-3.

Senior outfielder Jessica Rutherford collected a pair of hits during the two games. She now has 186 career hits – just four away from the Binghamton program record set by Sydney Harbaugh (2013-16).

Binghamton wraps up play at the St. John's Invitational with games against Boston University (1:15 p.m.) and Hofstra (3:45 p.m.) on Sunday. Both games are scheduled to be played at Hofstra.