Binghamton University Athletics

ORONO, Maine – For the second consecutive year - and third time in program history - the Binghamton softball team has won the America East Tournament and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The Bearcats needed to defeat UMass Lowell twice in the finals on Saturday at the Lebet Softball Complex to retain their crown- and that they did by virtue of 10-8 and 4-2 victories.

The Bearcats will find out their NCAA Tournament destination on Sunday at 7 p.m. during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show. The event will air live on ESPN2.

"It feels unbelievable right now," head coach Jess Bump said. "This has been a tough season for us and we have battled through a lot of adversity so I knew our team had grit coming into the tournament. I'm just so proud of our players and everything that they've done."

Sophomore Rachel Carey was named the America East Tournament Most Outstanding Player. She clubbed a tournament-record four home runs during the week to go along with a .471 batting average (8-for-17) and 12 RBI. 

Joining Carey on the All-Tournament Team were senior pitcher Olivia Kennedy, junior pitcher Delaney Glover and freshman designated player Lauren Payne. Kennedy won both games on Saturday while Glover finished the week with a win and a save. Payne, meanwhile, hit a team-best .500 during the tournament (7-for-14).

In the first game on Saturday, the Bearcats set a program record by storming back from a seven-run deficit. They had trailed 7-0 after three innings and were down 8-2 entering the bottom of the sixth inning.

It was during that frame, however, that the Bearcats scored eight runs to completely turn the game around. Freshman outfielder Megan Wolf drove in the first run on a bunt single and the last run on a sacrifice fly. In between her at-bats was a two-run single by Carey as well as RBI singles from graduate student outfielder Darien McDonough, senior first baseman Emma Lawson and junior outfielder Maddy Dodig.

From there, Kennedy held the River Hawks hitless in the top of the seventh inning to finish off the game. She entered the contest in the top of the second inning and scattered two runs on four hits to raise her record to 7-7.

McDonough, Wolf and Payne each collected a pair of hits in the first game.

In the final game, Carey led off the bottom of the first inning with her 14th home run of the season. The River Hawks deadlocked the game at 1-1 in the top of the third inning but Dodig answered with an RBI single in the bottom of the second inning.

Binghamton's final two runs came courtesy of a leadoff home run by Payne in the bottom of the fourth inning and an RBI single by Lawson one inning later.

The River Hawks pulled to within 4-2 in the top of the sixth inning and loaded the bases one inning later. Kennedy and the Bearcats, however, were able to get out of the jam and lock up the title.

Kennedy got around 10 UMass Lowell hits in the finale to improve to 8-7 on the season. The Bearcat defense, meanwhile, turned three double plays in the second game.

Dodig finished the tournament 6-for-14 (.429) with seven RBI while Wolf batted .385 (5-for-13) and drove in four runs. McDonough was 6-for-16 (.375) with three RBI while redshirt junior infielder Akira Kopec hit .364 (4-for-11). 

For the season, Carey is now batting .477 with her 14 home runs as well as 47 RBI. In addition, her 73 hits sets Binghamton's single-season record. The old mark of 71 hits was recorded by Jessica Rutherford in 2016. 

As a team, Binghamton hit .338 during the America East Tournament and posted a 3.82 ERA. 

The Bearcats' title came exactly 11 years after their first championship in 2015. In that instance, Binghamton also needed to win twice in the finals - and defeated Stony Brook 4-2 and 9-3.

The softball team is the second Binghamton women's program to win three America East championships. The volleyball team captured the conference crown in 2005, 2009 and 2012.

Prior to its Division I era - which began in 2002 - Binghamton advanced to the NCAA Division III Softball Tournament four straight years (1995-98). 

NOTES: The previous record for the largest comeback in Binghamton program history was six  runs against Fordham on March 7, 2026. The Bearcats were down 7-1 before winning 8-7. Carey belted a grand slam in that victory that proved to be the eventual game-winning hit … in its previous two trips to the NCAA Tournament, Binghamton was sent to the James Madison Regional in 2015 and the Oregon Regional in 2025.