VESTAL, N.Y. – Binghamton baseball (2-4) will play two games against the nation's No. 1 team down in Winston-Salem, N.C. on Saturday. In a schedule altered because of rain, BU will see No. 1 Wake Forest in a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. The Bearcats will then finish up the weekend with a single game against Valparaiso at 10 a.m. Sunday at Wake's David F. Couch Ballpark. 

In its Saturday pair of games against the Demon Deacons (7-1), BU will be facing the No. 1 team in the country for the first time in the regular season and second time ever, after facing No. 1 Texas A&M in the 2016 NCAA Regionals in College Station, Texas. Wake Forest is coming off a 54-12 season that didn't end until the College World Series semifinals. The elite program in the ACC, Wake is averaging more than nine runs this spring and its pitching staff is led by 6-foot-5 junior lefty Josh Hartle, a projected first round MLB draft pick who will face the Bearcats in Game 1. Hartle, a first team All-American in 2023, struck out 140 and went 11-2 with a 2.81 ERA last spring. Scouts have him as a future MLB No. 2 or 3 starter, making him perhaps the best pitcher any BU team has ever faced. Oddly, the Deacons' lone loss of the season came against the same UNC Greensboro team that BU took two of three against last weekend. Last season then-No. 4 Wake Forest defeated the Bearcats 6-0. 

On Sunday morning, BU will stay in Winston-Salem to face Missouri Valley Conference member Valparaiso (Ind.) (2-5). Valpo's early season play included a three-game sweep at the hands of No. 17 Alabama.

Senior outfielder and clean-up hitter Mike Gunning, the reigning America East Player of the Week, leads BU's offense. Gunning went 7-for-13 (.538) in a three-game set against UNC Greensboro last weekend, steering BU to a pair of wins. He belted three home runs, a triple and drove in seven runs. For the season, Gunning is hitting a team-high .391 with a 1.374 OPS. He is tied for the conference lead in home runs, second in RBI and fourth in average.  

The Bearcats' pitching staff has a 5.22 ERA, highlighted by senior No. 1 Gabe Driscoll (3.24).
 
Projected Weekend Matchups
Saturday, March 2 (DH) - 1 p.m. | BU at Wake Forest 
Game 1: RHP Gabe Driscoll (BU) (0-1, 3.24 ERA) vs. LHP Josh Hartle (W) (1-0, 1.59 ERA) | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 2: RHP Ryan Bates (BU) (0-1. 6.48 ERA) vs. RHP Chase Burns (W) (2-0, 2.38 ERA) ESPN+ | Live Stats

Sunday, March 3 – 10 a.m. | BU vs. Valparaiso (in Winston-Salem, N.C.)
LHP Nelson Berkwich (BU) (0-1, 4.32 ERA) vs. LHP Lucas Foley (V) (1-1, 6.30 ERA) | Live Stats