Courtesy of Binghamton Sports Information
GREENVILLE,
N.C. -- Fourth-seeded Binghamton (30-22) continued to impress
with its offensive spunk but top-seeded East Carolina (44-18)
rallied against BU's exhausted pitching staff and eliminated
the Bearcats 16-9 in an NCAA Regional game Sunday afternoon from
Clark-LeClair Stadium. Playing the team's third game in 28 hours,
BU grabbed a 7-3 lead midway through before the Pirates exploded
for eight decisive runs off BU's depleted bullpen in the fifth
inning.
With
four runs in the third and three more in the fourth, the Bearcats
built a 7-3 lead before ECU struck in the top of the fifth. The
Pirates scored half of their runs in the inning after BU didn't
turn what would've been an inning-ending double play. East Carolina
batted around, hit two home runs and chased two Bearcats relievers
in the big frame.
Freshman
first baseman Dave Ciocchi went 3-for-4
with five RBI and sophomore right fielder Peter
Bregartner added a two-run home run and three RBI to pace
BU's offense.
"It
was a wonderful experience for us," head coach Tim Sinicki
said of his team's first NCAA regional appearance. "Our
team competed very hard as we've done all season long. We knew
it would be an uphill battle with our pitching today but our
guys all gave it everything they had and I'm proud of each one
of them. East Carolina ran a first class regional and we hope
this is the first of many trips to the NCAAs for our program."
The
Bearcats looked sharp early and overcame a 2-0 hole with four
runs in the third inning. The team collected five hits and scored
three runs with two out, continuing their clutch hitting. Ciocchi hit an 0-2 pitch up the middle
to score two runs, Bregartner produced
an RBI single and sophomore left fielder Corey
Taylor scored a run with a groundout. The RBI was Taylor's
school-record 56th, breaking the old mark of 55 set by former
America East Player of the Year Mathieu Bergeron in 2005.
Ciocchi delivered
another clutch hit in the fourth inning, clearing the bases with
a two-out, two-strike double down the right field line, making
the score 7-3. With a vocal ECU crowd roaring for a strikeout,
Ciocchi instead ripped a 2-2 pitch over the first baseman's head.
In
just his third collegiate start, freshman Walker
McKinven overcame a shaky first inning, striking out four
and scattering six hits and three runs in 3 1/3 innings. Sophomore
Morgan Smith replaced McKinven in
the fourth and stranded the tying run on second with a groundout
and fly out. But the Pirates got to Smith and lefty reliever
James Giulietti in the pivotal fifth. After utilizing the team's
top four starters on Saturday, Binghamton used five pitchers
in piecemeal fashion on Sunday, and ECU rapped 19 hits and took
advantage of three Bearcat errors and five hit batsmen.
The
teams traded two runs apiece in the seventh inning with Bregartner
hitting his third home run of the season - a 3-2 pitch that sailed
over the right field wall. The Pirates then added one run in
the eighth and two in the ninth for the final margin.
NOTES
The Bearcats placed third at the regional, becoming the first
America East team to win an NCAA game in four years and just
the third AE team in 14 years to win a game... BU increased its
win total for the sixth consecutive season, the longest such
streak in the country.