VESTAL, N.Y. - Having already clinched a postseason berth and preparing to host the conference tournament, Binghamton baseball will look to firm up its seed position when the second-place Bearcats (21-19, 10-6 America East) host Albany (22-21, 9-9 AE) in a three-game set this weekend. The longtime SUNY rivals will play a doubleheader beginning at noon on Saturday and finish with a single game Sunday at the Bearcats Baseball Complex. It's the second-to-last regular-season series remaining for BU, which will travel to Maine to close out the regular season next weekend. The Bearcats will then host the six-team tournament beginning May 22. 

With Wednesday's 8-1 home win over Siena, Binghamton has now won seven of its last nine, including six straight in conference play. The Bearcats rank first in the America East in pitching ERA (4.33) and are second in both hitting (.275) and fielding (.978).

Junior second baseman Alex Baratta is riding an amazing stretch at the plate. Baratta, the school's reigning Athlete of the Week and the America East Player of the Week, is hitting .444, has 28 RBI over his last two months (27 games) and is leading the conference in batting by a whopping 33 points. Sophomore center fielder Shane Marshall is back from an injury and is hitting .343 (4th in AE). Junior left fielder Daniel Franchi is is sixth in the AE in hitting (.338) and leads the Bearcats with 33 runs scored. Starting today will be senior right-hander Nick Gallagher (3-4, 4.65 ERA) and junior right-hander Ben Anderson (8-2, 2.65 ERA).

Before the game BU will honor its five seniors: Robert Brown, Nick Gallagher, Anthony Meduri, Sean Trenholm and Matt Tsukroff.   

Albany has won seven of its last nine and has evened its conference record at 9-9. After this weekend, the Danes finish up the regular season with three home games against Hartford. In recent conference play, UA won two of three against UMBC, dropped two of three to league-leading Stony Brook and took two of three from Maine. The team ranks third in the AE in both hitting (.268) and pitching (5.68) and fifth in fielding (.971). Junior outfielder Marc Wangenstein leads the AE with 43 RBI. He has seven HR and is hitting .302. Sophomore 3B Brad Malm ranks seventh in the AE with a .336 mark. 

Senior right-hander Dominic Savino (2-4, 3.34 ERA) is expected to start Game 1 and sophomore right-hander John Clayton (5-3, 5.70 ERA) is slated to start Game 2.   

Binghamton took two of three in the first meeting this spring, March 30-31 in Albany. After dropping the opener in 11 innings (4-3), BU posted lopsided wins of 11-1 and 15-3 to claim the series. Since both teams joined the America East in 2002, the Bearcats lead the series, 45-33, but Albany has won four of the last seven matchups. Before that, BU had won nine of 10 games in 2016 and 2017. Binghamton is 18-12 at home in the series.

Weekend Matchups
SATURDAY, May 11 - DH at noon
Game 1 (9 inn.): RHP Nick Gallagher (3-4, 4.65 ERA) vs. RHP Dominic Savino (2-4, 3.34 ERA) Live Video | Live Stats
Game 2 (7 inn.): RHP Ben Anderson (8-2, 2.65 ERA) vs. RHP John Clayton (5-3, 5.70 ERA) Live Video | Live Stats

SUNDAY, May 12 - single game at 1 p.m.
Binghamton TBA vs. RHP Ray Weber (6-2, 3.96 ERA) Live Video | Live Stats

America East Standings

Pl.	School	W-L	Pct.	Series' Remaining
1.	Stony Brook	14-7	.667	bye, vs. UMass Lowell
2.	BINGHAMTON	10-6	.625	vs. Albany, @ Maine
3.	Maine	9-8	.529	@ Hartford, vs. Binghamton
T4	Albany	9-9	.500	@ Binghamton, vs. Hartford
T4	Hartford	9-9	.500	vs. Maine, @ Albany
6.	UMass Lowell	7-11	.389	vs. UMBC, @ Stony Brook
7.	UMBC	6-14	.300	@ UMass Lowell, bye

NOTE: The last place team will not qualify for the America East Championship