VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton baseball (19-26, 8-12 America East) ripped three home runs and scored in six of the last seven innings to roll over UMBC (23-21, 12-8 AE) 11-6 Saturday afternoon at Bearcats Baseball Stadium. With the win, Binghamton moved into a tie for fifth place in the conference standings with four games remaining in the regular season.

Senior right fielder Mike Gunning blasted his 15th and 16th home runs of the season, tying the school record shared by Mathieu Bergeron (2005) and Hall of Famer Corey Taylor (2009). Gunning hit solo home runs in the second and third innings and ran his team-leading RBI count to 37. Binghamton's 3-6 hitters went a combined 12-for-18 with seven RBI. 

After UMBC jumped ahead 1-0 in the top of the second, Binghamton scored eight straight runs to build a cushion. The Retrievers battled back with four straight runs and trailed 8-5 in the eighth before the Bearcats restored their margin with a three-run eighth. 

Junior catcher Zach Rogacki went 4-for-5 with three RBI and junior second baseman Nick Roselli went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and two RBI. Roselli led off the third inning with his fifth homer of the season - a shot into the Binghamton bullpen in right. Two pitches later, Gunning went back-to-back with his soaring shot over the wall in left center. 

Senior starter Nelson Berkwich (W, 5-5) worked 7.0 innings and limited UMBC to six hits and three runs. Berkwich retired 10 in a row in the middle innings and would've had an even better stat line were it not for a dropped ball in the outfield sky that plated two Retriever runs. As it was, Berkwich lowered his season ERA to 4.54 and ran his team-high strikeout total to 63.

The teams play the rubber game of the series at 1 p.m. on Sunday.