VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton baseball (16-24, 12-11 America East) rallied to win the opener, 4-3 in eight innings, but visiting NJIT (20-20, 12-11 AE) countered with a 4-1 win in the nightcap to split the doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Bearcats Baseball Stadium. With the split, the teams remain tied for the top playoff position in the division heading into Sunday's 1 p.m. rubber game.

Binghamton was within three outs of losing Game 1, trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the seventh. But the Bearcats rallied to tie the game and force extras, and then won it in the bottom of the eighth on a walkoff.

In the eighth, junior left fielder Cavan Tully led off with a single up the middle and freshman center fielder Logan Haskell and junior catcher Connor Aoki followed with back-to-back walks to load the bases. After a strikeout, freshman second baseman Nick Roselli drove in the winning run with a hard shot to the right side of the infield. The NJIT second baseman dove to field it but his throw home was off the mark, allowing Tully to slide head-first with the winning run. 

The Bearcats were stifled for much of the game and headed into the seventh having 16 straight batters retired. But Aoki led off with a single up the middle and freshman DH Evin Sullivan launched his sixth home run of the season - a two-run shot over the bullpen in left field to pull BU to within one, down 3-2. Roselli walked on a 3-2 pitch to put the tying run on base. He went to second on a sacrifice by pinch-hitter Owen Parliament and to third on a groundout. With two outs, senior shortstop Jake Evans tied the game with an RBI single to right center. 

Sophomore reliever John Lumpinski (W) worked a 1-2-3 eighth with an Evans nice putout from deep short and a strikeout aiding his cause. Lumpinski took over after freshman Troy Butler tossed a scoreless seventh inning in relief of starter Thomas Babalis, who pitched 6.0 innings and scattered five singles and three runs with eight strikeouts. 

Sullivan (2-for-4, 2 RBI) and Aoki (2-for-3) had four of BU's six hits. 

In Game 2, NJIT used a two-out, two-run single in the fourth inning to break away from a 1-1 deadlock and two Highlander pitchers kept BU (4 hits) off balance from the second inning on.

Evans delivered the Bearcats' lone run with a two-out, RBI single in the bottom of the second to score freshman third baseman Devan Bade, who had doubled to right center with two out. 

Sophomore reliever Justin Rosner looked sharp in his 4.0 innings. Rosner allowed just one run with three strikeouts.

Junior Ryan Bryggman (4-4, 4.92 ERA) gets the start Sunday.