VESTAL, N.Y. – Junior infielder Alex Musial hit a two-run, walk off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, propelling Binghamton (22-22) to a 9-7, eight-inning win over Hartford (17-32) in an America East Tournament elimination game on Thursday afternoon at the Bearcats Sports Complex. With the victory, the Bearcats move on to face UMass Lowell in another elimination game on Friday at 1:30 p.m.

Musial's two-run home run capped a five-run rally for the Bearcats, who were down 7-2 entering the bottom of the fifth inning. It marked the largest comeback by Binghamton during its 21-year NCAA Division I history. 

Musial's heroics came with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning and a runner on second base. She clubbed a 1-0 pitch over the left-center field fence to clinch the victory.

"Since we had a runner on second base, I was just trying to hit a gap shot and knock in the run," she said afterwards. "I had faced the same pitcher two weeks ago and I knew I could hit a gapper so when I hit it over the fence, that was a bonus."

Earlier in the day, the Bearcats put up a valiant fight before losing to top-seeded UMBC (29-10) 1-0 in eight innings in a second-round game. They capped the day and extended their season, however, with their second comeback victory in as many days.

"I think we know that at any point in time, we can switch our mindset offensively," head coach Jess Bump said. "We play well under pressure and I think it is super impressive with how young we are that we had the big moments we did today."

The Bearcats began their comeback against Hartford on a sacrifice fly by senior infielder Alli Richmond in the bottom of the fifth inning, trimming the deficit to 7-3. One inning later, sophomore catcher Hailey Ehlers made it 7-5 with a two run-home run.

Binghamton tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning with two more runs. Senior pitcher Sophia Pappas stroked a RBI double and freshman outfielder Sarah Rende tied the game with a sacrifice fly.

Pappas, who came into the game in relief in the fifth inning, set down the Hawks in order in the top of the eighth inning. That set the stage for Musial's heroics in the bottom of the same inning.

Pappas was the winning pitcher for the second time in as many days, raising her record to 4-1. She has allowed just one run in 7.1 innings of work during the America East Tournament.

The loss was tagged to Julianna Kocenski, whose record fell to 10-16.

Freshman outfielder Alayna Harbaugh and senior outfielder Chloe Morgan each went 2-for-3 against the Hawks. Morgan, who has hit safely in all three America East Tournament games, is now 6-for-10 (.600) during that stretch.

Also homering against the Hawks was senior infielder Makayla Alvarez, whose solo shot in the bottom of the second inning gave Binghamton a 2-1 lead. That lead, however, would be erased by six Hartford runs in the top of the fifth inning, which gave the Hawks their seemingly safe 7-2 cushion.

The nine Binghamton runs represents its most in an America East Tournament game since it beat Stony Brook 11-4 in 2017. Musial's homer run is the first walk-off home run by a Binghamton player in an America East Tournament game since Jessica Rutherford against Stony Brook in 2016.

Earlier in the day, Morgan had the only Bearcat hit off of UMBC's Courtney Coppersmith. The three-time America East Pitcher of the Year struck out a tournament-record 16 batters.

The Bearcats hung tough against the Retrievers as the tandem of sophomore pitcher Allison L'Amoreaux and redshirt freshman pitcher Lindsey Walters allowed just four hits over the first seven innings.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, however, Binghamton committed a pair of errors and Coppersmith scored the game-winning run on a RBI single by Logan Hawker.

Coppersmith is now 9-3 while Walter's record dropped to 0-2.

NOTES: The Bearcats had rallied from four runs down three previous times during their Division I era, including against Maine back on April 24 of this season … Richmond's RBI was her team-best 27th of the season … UMass Lowell lost 6-5 to Albany earlier in the day. The Great Danes will face UMBC in a third-round game on Friday at 11 a.m.