VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton baseball looks to continue gaining momentum when the Bearcats (2-7) travel to Lexington, Va. for a weekend series at Southern Conference member VMI (4-8). The teams will play single games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons at Gray-Minor Stadium.

The Bearcats are coming off a series win at Longwood last weekend in Virginia. Binghamton took games one and three, thanks to double-digit run support in each. 

Junior shortstop Jake Evans leads the team with a .447 average (17-for-38). Senior catcher TJ Wegmann is hitting .368 with a team-high two home runs. Senior second baseman Alex Baratta is batting .361 with a team-high seven RBI and a .455 on-base percentage. As a team, BU is hitting .283 with 24 extra-base hits. 

On the hill, Binghamton will keep with its usual rotation of sophomore left-hander Thomas Babalis (1-1, 6.28 ERA), sophomore righty Jack Collins (0-2, 10.45 ERA) and junior right-hander Josh Kopcza (1-1, 6.00 ERA). In the bullpen, freshmen Douglas Goodwin (3 appearances, 0.00 ERA), Dominic Buonadonna (3 appearances, 2.84 ERA) and Dylan Gearhart (3 appearances, 4.50 ERA) have been the most effective. 

VMI has won two of its last three - home wins over Quinnipiac last weekend. In the team's last outing on Tuesday, Old Dominion laid a 17-2 road loss on the Keydets. The team also has wins over North Florida and Lafayette early in the season. VMI is hitting just .242 as a team but has a 4.87 pitching ERA. They were picked to finish tied for seventh (of nine) in the Southern Conference preseason poll after going 17-41 last spring, including a 9-15 showing in the SoCon.

The Keydets will start a senior and two sophomores on the mound against the Bearcats. At the plate sophomore outfielder Will Knight leads the team with a .500 average and seven extra-base hits in 12 games. Senior Jon Clines has two home runs an a team-best 14 RBI. 

VMI leads the all-time series 15-12. Last season, the Bearcats swept the weekend series, winning 4-2, 8-4 and 2-1. Binghamton has won six of the last nine head-to-head games. 

Weekend Matchups
Friday, March 6 - 3 p.m.
LHP Thomas Babalis (B) (1-1, 6.28 ERA) vs. RHP Jacob Mendlers (VMI) (0-2, 6.89 ERA) | Live Stats

Saturday, March 7 - 2 p.m.
RHP Jack Collins (B) (0-2, 10.45 ERA) vs. LHP Nathan Light (VMI) (1-0, 1.29 ERA)  | Live Stats

Sunday, March 8 - 1 p.m.
RHP Josh Kopcza (B) (101, 6.00 ERA) vs. RHP Adam Jewell (VMI) (2-1, 2.95 ERA) | Live Stats