LOWELL, Mass.- No. 1 seed Stony Brook advanced to the championship game, while third-seeded Binghamton staved off elimination in the 2014 America East Baseball Tournament at LeLacheur Park on Friday. The Seawolves came out of the winners bracket with a, 10-6, victory over No. 2 Hartford. Binghamton defeated Maine, 6-3, in an elimination game.
The Bearcats and Hawks will play Saturday at 2 p.m. in an elimination game with the winner moving on to face Stony Brook at 6 p.m.
Recap Friday's games:
No. 3 Binghamton, No. 4 Maine
Box Score
Zach Blanden, Shaun McGraw and Eddie Posavec each drove in two runs as third-seeded Binghamton defeated No. 4 Maine, 6-3, in an America East Baseball Championship elimination game at LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Mass.
The victory sends Binghamton into another elimination game on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Hartford. Maine ends its season with a 24-29 record.
Jake Cryts got the win on the hill, going 7.1 innings while allowing three runs on nine hits. Nicholas Liegi earned the save, allowing only one baserunner to reach in 1.2 innings.
For the Black Bears, Scott Heath went 3-for-4 at the plate and also got the start on the mound, allowing three runs over 4.2 innings. Colin Gay, Troy Black and Brian Doran each contributed two hits as Maine finished with three runs on ten hits.
Maine jumped on Cryts early, putting two runs on the board in the first. Heath helped himself out, bringing in the first run with a one-out triple. The junior then came around to score on a two-out single to center by Troy Blackr.
Cryts settled in after the first, holding the Black Bears scoreless over the next six innings, allowing just six to reach base until giving way to Liegi in the eighth.
The Bearcats got one back in the bottom of the first when McGraw found a hole between third and short with two outs that scored Blanden and cut the deficit to 2-1.
After neither team scored in the second or third, the Bearcats were able to take the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Posavec, an All-Rookie selection, came up with the big hit in the inning, bringing home two runs with a one-out single to left field that made it 3-2 Binghamton.
Binghamton threatened against Heath in the fifth, putting two on with two outs. Maine head coach Steve Trimper made the move to the bullpen and Shaun Coughlin came in to strike out Reed Gamache to keep the deficit to one run.
Blanden provided a couple insurance runs for the Bearcats in the next two innings; first with a sacrifice fly in the sixth and then with an infield single in the seventh to make it 5-2. Binghamton had seven infield hits in the contest.
After Maine got one run back in the top of the eighth, Shaun McGraw hit the first home run for any player in the 2014 tournament off the scoreboard in left field, making it 6-3 Bearcats.
With the victory, Binghamton advances to the third day of the tournament for the third-straight year and will continue its title defense.
No. 1 Stony Brook 10 vs. No. 2 Hartford 6
Box Score
Senior Kevin Courtney went 3-for-5 with three RBI, freshman Casey Baker was 2-for-4 with three RBI and senior Brandon McNitt struck out 10 Hartford batters over 6-2/3 innings as Stony Brook defeated the Hawks, 10-6, Friday night at LeLacheur Park to advance to the title game of the 2014 America East Championship.
With the loss, Hartford will face Binghamton in an elimination game Saturday at 2 p.m. with the winner facing Stony Brook at 6 p.m. in the championship round.
James Alfonso led the Hartford offense with three hits and an RBI while Chris DelDebbio, David MacKinnon, Ryan Lukach and Trey Stover all had two hits on the night.
The Hawks got on the board first as Billy Walker singled up the middle scoring Alfonso from second. The catcher just beat the throw home on the play, getting his hand around the tag to make it 1-0.
Courtney came up with his first of two big hits on the night in the top of the third, lining a two-out, two-run single to put the Seawolves on top 2-1.
The Hawks threatened with two outs in the fifth, putting two on after a pair of errors by the Seawolves. Alfonso was then robbed of an RBI by a diving catch by Baker in right, keeping the SBU lead at 2-1.
Stony Brook opened up the game with a four-spot in the seventh. Courtney had an RBI double while Baker drove in two with a single in the frame that made it 6-1.
Hartford got two back in the bottom of the seventh, but Stony Brook extended the lead to 10-3 with four more in the top of the eighth. America East Player of the Year, Kevin Krause, hit a two-run double just inside the third base bag that sparked the offense in the inning.
The Hawks tried to rally late, plating three runs in the ninth before relief pitcher Bryan Tatelman got Adam Touhey to ground into to fielder's choice to end the game.
The Seawolves will play in their second America East title game in three years. Stony Brook won the 2012 crown en route to a trip to the College World Series.