VESTAL, N.Y. - Sophomore DH
Tommy Popoff ripped an RBI single up the middle to score
Braylen Gonzalez with the winning run as Binghamton baseball (24-17, 13-4 America East) walked off visiting Maine (16-27, 10-7 AE) 8-7 in 11 innings Saturday afternoon at Bearcats Baseball Complex.
The Bearcats trailed 7-6 with one out in the 11th before rallying with three straight hits to set the table for leading RBI man Popoff (41 RBI). With one out, sophomore third baseman
Tim Hennig legged out an infield single and Gonzalez followed with with a sharp single to right. Sophomore left fielder
Grant Hunter then jumped on the first pitch he saw and sent it to left field to score Hennig with the tying run. After a fly ball out, Popoff came to the plate with two out. He mashed an 0-1 pitch straight through the middle, narrowly missing the Black Bears pitcher and bringing in the speedy Gonzalez from second with the walkoff run.
The see-saw game featured three ties, 15 runs and 20 hits.
With the victory, the Bearcats ran their conference-best mark to 13-4 and opened back up a three-game lead on Maine with seven games left in the slate.
On Senior Day, Binghamton took an early 2-0 lead when senior shortstop
Mike Stellrecht drilled a first-pitch, 2-run home run in the bottom of the second. It was his second HR of the season. After the teams traded runs in the third, Maine tied it with a pair of unearned runs in the fourth. The Bearcats answered with two runs in the fifth. With two out, sophomore center fielder
Matt Bolton walked and stole second, his 14th stolen base in 14 tries. After a walk, sophomore first baseman
Steven Kraus (4-for-4) delivered an RBI single and another run scored on a Maine outfield error.
Ahead 5-3, the Bearcats were four outs away from a win when Maine hit a 2-out, 2-run home run to tie score at 5-5. After a scoreless 10th, the Black Bears took the lead with back-to-back doubles to open the 11th, setting the stage for the B11 heroics.
Before the game, the Bearcats honored their five seniors:
Mike Stellrecht,
Colin Rhein,
Ryan Bates,
Dan McAliney and
Zack Kent.
The teams finish the weekend series at 11 a.m. Sunday.
