ORONO, Maine - Binghamton baseball (22-22, 10-10 America East) kept Maine (20-26, 13-10 AE) off the scoreboard over the final four innings but came up short, 8-6, Saturday night at Mahaney Diamond. The teams have split the first two games of the series and will play the rubber game at noon Sunday.

The Bearcats fell behind 3-0 and 8-3 as the Black Bears scored runs in each of the first four innings. But Binghamton chipped away, drew within two and had two good chances to tie with multiple runners on base in both the eighth and ninth innings. The Bearcats just lacked the closing key hit and saw their record return to .500 overall and in conference play. Binghamton was held to six hits - five singles and a double. They were given seven walks and three hit batters to add traffic on the bases but left nine stranded. 

Senior third baseman Devan Bade went 2-for-4 with three RBI and graduate first baseman Freddy Forgione added two hits and an RBI. 

Freshman reliever Brady Bouchard worked 5.0 innings and scattered three hits and three runs with a season-high eight strikeouts. Sophomore Jackson Mitchell fanned two in a scoreless eighth. 

In the third, Binghamton trailed 3-0 before senior catcher Zach Rogacki belted an RBI double and Bade followed with a two-run single - all with two outs. But Maine quickly snapped the 3-3 tie in its half of the inning, scoring four runs with the big blow a two-out, bases clearing double. 

Down 8-3, the Bearcats scored twice in the fifth and once in the sixth to pull within two, 8-6. Bade and Forgione brought home the fifth-inning runs with singles to left and freshman center fielder Matt Bolton plated the team's final run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth. 

In the eighth, Binghamton had two on with one out but a strikeout and groundout distinguished the threat. In the ninth, a walk from Bade and single from Forgione again put the tying runs on base before a strikeout ended the game.