WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Binghamton baseball came within a whisker of knocking off No. 1 Wake Forest ... twice in one afternoon. But the host Demon Deacons (9-1) escaped with a 7-5 win and a walkoff 9-8 win to sweep a twinbill at Couch Ballpark. 

The Bearcats (2-6) had the go-ahead run at the plate in the eighth inning of the opener and then scored six runs in their final two at-bats to tie the nightcap 8-8 before Wake Forest plated the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Binghamton trailed 6-0 in the opener before battling back and then trailed 5-0 in Game 2 before coming all the way back in the late innings. 

In the opener, BU dug itself a big hole after Wake Forest scored five runs in the first inning. Down 6-0, BU scored two runs in the fourth and three in the sixth to make it 6-5. The hosts added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth and then withstood a Bearcats push in the eighth. 

Senior right fielder Mike Gunning, the reigning America East Player of the Week, kept up his scorching start to the season with another offensive explosion in Game 1. He belted a pair of two-run home runs to key BU's comeback. In the fourth inning, junior catcher Evin Sullivan singled with two out and Gunning followed with his first blast. Then in the sixth, Sullivan plated a run with an RBI groundout and Gunning belted his second long ball of the game and fifth of the season. Down a pair in the eighth, BU got its first two hitters on when junior outfielder Logan Haskell (2 hits) and junior third baseman Devan Bade singled, putting the tying run on second with no out. But a fly ball, strikeout and infield pop ended the uprising. 

Sophomore reliever Dan McAliney was strong in 3.1 innings, allowing just two hits and a run with three strikeouts. Senior John Lumpinski worked the final 2.1 scoreless, 1-hit innings with three strikeouts. Binghamton pitching held Wake Forest in check after the five-run first, allowing just two runs over the final seven frames. 

Game 2 started with a similar early strike from the Demon Deacons, who scored four runs in the second to surge ahead 5-0. But from there, BU outscored Wake Forest 8-3 the rest of the way and came within a base hit of winning the game. Down 8-2, BU began its surge in the eighth inning. Senior center fielder Tommy Reifler drew a leadoff walk and Bade followed with a single. Sullivan then plated Reifler with a groundout. After a walk to Gunning, senior catcher Kevin Reilly hit an RBI single to make it 8-4. Two more walks brought in another run to make it 8-5. A deep bases loaded fly by Haskell closed the inning without further production.

Binghamton then brought eight men to the plate in the ninth, scored three runs to tie the game and had runners on first and second with one out before the strike zone shifted to favor the ACC hosts. Before that, Bade and Sullivan ripped RBI singles and Reilly hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to tie the game at 8-8. But with the go-ahead run on second, BU batters were called out on successive 3-2 pitches to shut the door on the comeback. Then in the bottom of the ninth, the zone tightened on the BU bullpen, which issued three walks before Wake Forest ended it with a bases-loaded single.    

Sullivan had three RBIs and Bade went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Reilly drove in a pair and Reifler went 2-for-3 with three runs scored. After hurting the Demon Deacons with two home runs and four RBI in the opener, Gunning was walked three times in the nightcap. 

Binghamton closes out its weekend with a neutral-site matchup against first-time foe Valparaiso at 10 a.m. Sunday at Couch Ballpark.  

NOTE
The games marked the second time BU baseball has met the nation's No. 1 team and like the first time, Binghamton played their elite hosts near-even. The first matchup was in the 2016 NCAA Regionals, hosted by No. 1 Texas A&M. In that game, BU was edged 4-2, despite outscoring the Aggies over the final seven innings ... Binghamton has faced the No. 1 ranked team in the country 12 combined times across eight sports (baseball, wrestling, men's basketball, men's soccer, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, softball and volleyball).