VESTAL, N.Y. - Visiting Maine (16-11, 10-0 America East) scored four runs in the eighth inning to rally past Binghamton baseball (18-11, 5-1 AE) 5-4 in a series-opening battle of the top two teams in the America East Friday afternoon at the Bearcats Baseball Complex.

With the win, the Black Bears remained unbeaten in conference play and snapped BU's six-game win streak.

In a game featuring the top two offenses in the America East, the game actually was a pitchers' duel through seven innings with Binghamton ahead 2-1. But Maine scored four runs on five hits in the decisive eighth - three coming on a 3-run home run with one out. 

Down 5-2, BU mounted its own surge in the bottom of the eighth, getting two runs back before a double play and strikeout left the tying run on third base. The Bearcats then went down 1-2-3 in the ninth.

Senior starter Thomas Babalis pitched a gem, stifling Maine's potent lineup on two hits through 7.0 innings. Babalis struck out eight, allowed only a solo home run, and retired the last 14 hitters he faced. 

The Bearcats struck first with a run in the bottom of the second inning. Senior first baseman Kevin Gsell hit a first-pitch, leadoff shot over the wall in left field for his third home run of the season. 

Maine tied it in the third with a 1-out shot before Babalis settled into four straight scoreless frames. BU missed chances in the third and fourth innings by stranding runners after leadoff batters reached second.

The Bearcats took the lead on a two-out solo home run from sophomore second baseman Nick Roselli in the bottom of the sixth. The opposite field shot was his fifth of the season. Binghamton was on the verge of extending the lead in the seventh when junior outfielder Mike Gunning hit a two-out double down the left field line and junior DH Kevin Reilly cranked a ball toward the wall in right center. But the Maine outfielder dove and hauled it in on the warning track to end the inning. 

Roselli went 2-for-4 - the only Bearcat with more than one hit. Binghamton outhit Maine 8-7.

The teams continue the weekend series with a single game at 2 p.m. on Saturday.