VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton baseball (8-8, 8-8 America East) will test its talented pitching unit when the Bearcats face the league's No. 1 offense in UMBC (12-12, 7-12 AE) in a four-game weekend set in Baltimore. The teams are scheduled to play doubleheaders Friday (1 p.m.) and Saturday (2 p.m.) afternoons at hitter-friendly (360' to center) Alumni Field. 

Binghamton took three of four from NJIT last weekend to move back into second place in the America East Division "B" standings - 3.5 games clear of the third-place Retrievers. Eight BU pitchers held down a 0.84 ERA in the series after limiting the Highlanders to three earned runs. The Bearcats rank No. 1 in the conference and No. 17 in the country in pitching ERA (3.37). Sophomore Thomas Babalis tossed a complete-game five-hit shutout in Game 1 and was named the America East Pitcher of the Week. Right-hander Jack Collins limited NJIT to one run in 6.0 innings and moved into the No. 1 spot in the nation in ERA (0.66). Game 2 starter Ryan Bryggman pitched 6.0 shutout innings to notch his first win of the season and Game 4 starter Josh Kopcza earned a win and struck out a career-high 11 in his 7.0 innings. 

The Bearcats rank sixth in the league in hitting (.247) and third in fielding (.970). Outfielder Tommy Reifler ranks ninth in the America East in hitting with a team-best .350. Shortstop Alex Baratta has a team-high nine RBI and outfielder Daniel Franchi has team-highs of 10 runs and 18 hits. 

UMBC is coming off a weekend sweep at the hands of conference-leading Stony Brook. But all four games were close affairs, with two games decided by a single run and the other two by a two-run margin. Before that the Retrievers won three of four against Hartford and split four with Albany. 

The Retrievers are hitting .291 as a team - a full 21 points higher than any other America East team. They also rank fourth in fielding (.968) and eighth in pitching (6.71 ERA). The team was picked to finish seventh (of eight) in the Coaches' Preseason Poll. 

Freshman shortstop Drew Roberts ranks third in the conference with a .369 average and leads the league with nine doubles. Senior first baseman Christian Torres is third in the conference with 22 RBI.      

Weekend Matchups
Friday, April 23 - 1 p.m. (DH)
Game 1 (7 inn.): LHP Thomas Babalis (B) (1-3, 3.42 ERA) vs. RHP Reid Celata (UMBC) (3-3, 3.86 ERA) | Live Stats | Video
Game 2 (9 inn.): RHP Ryan Bryggman (B) (1-1, 4.94 ERA) vs. RHP Owen Hamilton (UMBC) (1-4, 8.80 ERA) | Live Stats | Video 

Saturday, April 24 - 2 p.m. (DH)
Game 1 (7 inn.): RHP Jack Collins (B) (2-0, 0.66 ERA) vs. RHP Luke Johnson (UMBC) (1-1, 4.01 ERA) | Live Stats | Video
Game 2 (9 inn.): RHP Josh Kopcza (B) (1-1, 2.00 ERA) vs. RHP Luke Wootten (UMBC) (1-1, 7.32 ERA) | Live Stats | Video