VESTAL, N.Y. - Junior reliever Hayden Tarsia tossed four shutout innings and Binghamton baseball (19-13, 10-3 America East) turned four double plays, including one to end the game, in a 4-2 series-opening win over visiting Bryant (19-16, 7-6 AE) Friday afternoon at the Bearcats Baseball Complex. The victory extended Binghamton's win streak to nine games - longest in 16 years. The Bearcats have won 13 of their last 15 games and strengthened the team's position atop the conference standings.

Tarsia shut down the conference's top-hitting lineup on two hits over the final four frames and sophomore catcher Tommy Popoff gave the Bearcats the lead for good with a 2-run home run.

Binghamton shook off an early 1-0 deficit and plated two runs in the second on the Popoff long ball. The Bearcats added a single run in the third and then an insurance run in the eighth to offset a Bryant lone run in the fifth. An early bullpen call resulted in four Bearcat pitchers seeing action and the quartet limited the Bulldogs to just four hits - three singles and a double. Binghamton turned four double plays to stymie the Bryant offense - twin killings in the third, fourth, sixth and ninth innings. 

In the second inning, sophomore first baseman Steven Kraus led off with a walk to extend his consecutive-games-reaching-base streak to 31 games - fourth-most in program history. Popoff followed and sent an 0-1 pitch over the wall in right center for his first career home run. 

Ahead 2-1, the Bearcats added another in the third when sophomore third baseman Tim Hennig and sophomore right fielder Braylen Gonzalez singled. After a sacrifice bunt by sophomore second baseman Sean Sweeney, sophomore center fielder Matt Bolton plated Hennig with a sacrifice fly to left. 

Up 3-1, Binghamton got out of a two-on, no-out jam with a 6-4-3 double play and strikeout by junior Jake Dally in the fourth. In the fifth, sophomore Vincent Luther entered a bases-loaded jam and after a sacrifice fly cut the Bearcats' lead to 3-2, Luther got two big strikeouts to strand three and keep the lead.

Tarsia entered with the tying run on in the sixth and induced another double play to end the threat. After Sweeney delivered a key 2-out RBI single in the eighth to give the Bearcats a 4-2 lead, Tarsia worked around a leadoff single in the ninth. A 6-4-3 double play ended it. 

Six different Binghamton players collected one hit apiece. 

The teams will close the series with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 11:30 a.m.