VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton baseball begins a stretch of nine straight road games to end the regular season when the Bearcats (22-16, 8-7 America East) face UAlbany (7-27-1, 1-14 AE) this weekend. The teams will play Friday night and Saturday and Sunday afternoons. 

The Bearcats sit in fourth place but are only 1.5 games out of second in a tightly packed two-through-five in the standings. The top six teams advance to the America East Championship, which BU will host May 24-27. The top two teams earn important first-round byes. 

Binghamton ranks first in the America East in fielding (.979) and second in both hitting (.293) and pitching (5.50 ERA). Number two starter Gabe Driscoll ranks second in wins (5) and third in ERA (3.90). The Bearcats have three hitters among the top-8 in average. Junior center fielder Tommy Reifler is second with a .402 average. Senior first baseman Kevin Gsell is hitting .349 (7th) and sophomore second baseman Nick Roselli is batting .348 (8th). Roselli ranks third with 43 RBI. It's the highest total by a BU player in seven years and keeps Roselli on pace to produce the highest RBI total in 13 years. 

Albany had a conference bye last weekend and took two of three from Wagner. On Wednesday they beat Marist 9-5. The Great Danes have dropped 13 of 14 games against America East opponents but five of those losses have come by two or fewer runs. Senior center fielder Jason Bottari is hitting .302 and has 21 stolen bases - third-most in the conference. Junior outfielder Dan Tauken, son of BU baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Dan Tauken, leads the Great Danes with a .326 average and 12 extra-base hits. 

Since both programs joined the America East in 2002, Binghamton leads the head-to-head series 47-39. But Albany has won six of the last eight meetings, including two of three last year. In games played at Albany, BU leads 21-17.  

Projected Weekend Matchups
Friday, May 5 - 6 p.m. (played at Joseph Bruno Stadium, Hudson Valley CC) 
LHP Thomas Babalis (BU) (3-3, 4.73 ERA) vs. RHP Matthew Mariano (1-2, 6.89 ERA) | Live Stats

Saturday, May 6 - noon (played at UAlbany's Varsity Field)  
RHP Gabe Driscoll (BU) (5-0, 3.90 ERA) vs. RHP Owen Birkman (2-2, 7.08 ERA) | Live Stats

Sunday, May 7 - noon (played at UAlbany's Varsity Field)  
RHP Ryan Bryggman (BU) (4-3, 6.28 ERA) vs. TBD | America East TV | Live Stats