VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton baseball begins its 2022 season with a three-game weekend series at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. The teams will play at 7 p.m. (ET) Friday, 3 p.m. on Saturday and finish up with an 11 a.m. start on Sunday at Vincent-Beck Stadium. It's the first meeting between the two schools. 

The series begins a stretch of 13 straight road games to start the season for the Bearcats. Head coach Tim Sinicki returns 21 letterwinners and he enters his 30th season at the helm. Sinicki, six-time America East Coach of the Year, has the ninth-longest current coaching tenure in NCAA Division I baseball. 

Set to take the mound for Friday night's opener is junior ace Thomas Babalis, a two-time all-conference pitcher who held down a 2.86 ERA last spring. Hard-throwing Siena transfer John Lumpinski is expected to start Game 2 and 6-foot-6 junior Ryan Bryggman will get the ball for Game 3. 

The offense is led by junior first baseman Kevin Gsell, who batted cleanup last spring and hit four home runs with 20 RBI. Senior shortstop Jake Evans anchors the infield and has made 124 career starts in four seasons. 

Lamar went 25-23 last spring, including a 17-19 mark in the Southland Conference (eighth place). The program moved to the Western Athletic Conference this year, where they were picked to finish fourth in the Southwest Division of the 13-team league. Senior first baseman Chase Kemp, a preseason all-conference selection, returns to pace the Cardinals after hitting .302 with 14 home runs and 46 RBIs in 2021. Among the team's 22 newcomers (on a 41-man roster) are 15 junior college transfers, including five JUCO All-Americans. 

Projected Weekend Matchups
Friday, Feb. 18 - 7 p.m. (ET)
LHP Thomas Babalis (BU) (4-4, 2.86 ERA in 2021) vs. RHP Braxton Douthit (L) (1-3, 3.57 ERA in 2021) | Live Stats

Saturday, Feb. 19 - 3 p.m. (ET)
RHP John Lumpinski (BU) (4-2, 3.56 ERA with Siena in 2021) vs. RHP Adam Wheaton (L) (3-5, 3.29 ERA with D3 Trine University) | Live Stats

Sunday, Feb. 20 - 11 a.m. (ET)
RHP Ryan Bryggman (BU) (1-3, 6.66 ERA in 2021) vs. RHP Josh Ekness (L) (1-3, 5.93 ERA in 2021) | Live Stats