VESTAL, N.Y. - Second-place Binghamton baseball (18-10, 5-1 America East) faces first-place Maine (15-11, 9-0 AE) in an early season battle for position atop the conference standings. The teams open a three-game set at 3 p.m. Friday at the Bearcats Baseball Complex. Games Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning will close out the series.   

The Bearcats have won six in a row and 14 of their last 17 games. On Tuesday, BU blanked visiting Cornell 6-0. Binghamton is 13-1 at home this season and 5-1 in league play.

But the Bearcats find themselves looking up at Maine in the standings, thanks to the Black Bears' 9-0 start. This series showcases the top two offenses in the conference and several elite individuals. The top seven hitters and four of the top seven pitchers are from either Binghamton or Maine. Junior outfielder Tommy Reifler (.384) is second in hitting, and senior first baseman Kevin Gsell (.376) is fourth. Senior left fielder Cavan Tully is seventh with a .353 mark. Bearcat pitchers have thrown 19 consecutive shutout innings, second-longest streak in program history, behind the 22 straight innings tossed by the 2006 team. The league's top pitching staff (BU) will be tested against the league's top hitting team (Maine). The Bearcats will continue with their usual weekend rotation of Thomas Babalis (3-2, 4.68 ERA), Gabe Driscoll (4-0, AE-best 2.64 ERA) and Ryan Bryggman (4-2, 6.94).  

The Black Bears are sitting comfortably in first place after sweeping their first three America East series'. Dating back to last season, Maine has won 30 of its last 39 against conference opponents. But after capturing the regular season title last spring with a 21-9 mark, Maine is looking to erase the sting of going 0-2 as the No. 1 seed at the America East Championship, which it hosted. This season, the Black Bears lead the league in average (.311), home runs (42), slugging (.507) and nearly every other offensive category. The team also ranks third in fielding (.969) and fifth in pitching (7.02 ERA). Set to pitch are Colin Fitzgerald (Fri.), Caleb Leys (Sat.) and Noah Lewis (Sun.). Second baseman Quinn McDaniel leads the America East in hitting (.385) and he and 1B Jeremiah Jenkins (11 HR, 40 RBI) have combined for 19 HR. 

Maine swept the season series last year in Vestal, scoring 37 runs in three games. The Black Bears hold a 42-37 lead head-to-head, but the teams have split the last 20 encounters.

Projected Weekend Matchups
Friday, April 14 - 3 p.m.  
LHP Thomas Babalis (BU) (3-2, 4.68 ERA) vs. RHP Colin Fitzgerald (2-1, 4.01 ERA) | ESPN+ | Live Stats

Saturday, April 15 - 2 p.m.  
RHP Gabe Driscoll (BU) (4-0, 2.64 ERA) vs. LHP Caleb Leys (2-0, 6.10 ERA) | ESPN3 | Live Stats

Sunday, April 16 - 11 a.m. 
RHP Ryan Bryggman (BU) (4-2, 6.94 ERA) vs. RHP Noah Lewis (3-1, 4.82 ERA) | ESPN+ | Live Stats