VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton baseball begins the final month of the regular season with a three-game weekend set against second-place Hartford. The Bearcats (15-17, 5-6 America East) and Hawks (13-23, 7-5 AE) will play a doubleheader on Saturday (at noon) and finish with a single game on Sunday.

Binghamton has lost four of its last five after winning four of its previous five. The team had its non-conference game against Cornell washed out on Tuesday. Now the Bearcats return to conference play with 12 games remaining in the league schedule (four series').

Junior second baseman Alex Baratta leads the team and is third in the America East with a .374 average. Junior outfielder Daniel Franchi is hitting .331 with a team-high 26 runs scored. Freshman first baseman Kevin Gsell hit his first collegiate home run last Sunday — a 3-run blast that keyed BU's 4-1 win over UMass Lowell.

The Bearcats have received home runs from nine different players this spring. Binghamton ranks second in the America East in hitting (.260) and first in pitching (4.85 ERA).

The team continues to play without key up-the-middle starters Shane Marshall (CF) and Jake Evans (SS). On the hill Saturday will be senior righty Nick Gallagher (1-4, 5.25) in the opener and junior righty Ben Anderson (6-2, 2.25 ERA) in the seven-inning Game 2. Anderson leads the America East in wins and strikeouts and is second in ERA. Freshman left-hander Thomas Babalis (3-1, 4.06) will pitch Sunday's finale.

Hartford has dropped seven of its last eight games but still has a hold on second place in the America East standings. The team lost at Holy Cross, 12-6, on Wednesday, after losing two of three at UMBC last weekend. Earlier in the spring, however, the Hawks took two of three from league-leading Stony Brook. 

Hartford has a .257 team batting average (4th in AE) and a 7.18 pitching ERA (6th). The team boast two players with 30+ RBIs in senior 1B Chris Sullivan (34) and senior left fielder Ashton Bardzell (32). Bardzell has seven home runs and 21 extra-base hits. Starters on Saturday will be sophomore lefty Nick Dombkowski (2-4, 5.13 ERA) and senior righty Billy DeVito (2-2, 6.92 ERA). Senior right-hander Sebastian DiMauro (2-2, 6.90 ERA) will start on Sunday. 

Binghamton leads the all-time series 48-16. The Bearcats had won nine straight in the series until the Hawks swept the three-game set last spring in Hartford. Binghamton is 24-2 at home head-to-head.    

WEEKEND SERIES
Saturday, April 27 (DH) at noon
Game 1: RHP Nick Gallagher (1-4, 5.25 ERA) vs. LHP Nick Dombkowski (2-4, 5.13 ERA) Video Live Stats
Game 2 (7 inn.): RHP Ben Anderson (6-2, 2.25 ERA) vs. RHP Billy DeVito (2-2, 6.92 ERA) Video Live Stats

Sunday, April 28 at 1 p.m.
LHP Thomas Babalis (3-1, 4.06 ERA) vs. RHP Sebastian DiMauro (2-2, 6.90 ERA) Live Stats (no video)