Score Game 1: UAlbany 7, Binghamton 3
Score Game 2: UAlbany 7, Binghamton 6
Location: Bearcats Baseball Complex in Vestal, N.Y.
Records: UAlbany (14-9, 4-4 AE) | Binghamton (4-17, 1-7 AE)
Short Story: The University at Albany baseball team swept Saturday's doubleheader against Binghamton, defeating the Bearcats 7-3 and 7-6.
Michael Whalen was the difference maker for the Great Danes, going 3-3 with an RBI in game one and hitting a walk-off single for the win in game two. The weekend series had to be moved from Albany to Binghamton due to field conditions and potential inclement weather.
Coach Jon Mueller: "We got two solid starts from Weber and Scherrer. The defense carried us all afternoon and
Michael Whalen continues to come up big for us, and
Will Binder has become a real dangerous option for us in the middle of the lineup."
Key Stats Game 1:
- UAlbany pitchers
- Michael Whalen led the UAlbany offense, going 3-3 with one RBI and two scored runs.
- Will Binder (1-3), Will Feil (1-3), John Daly (1-3), Josh Loeffler (1-2), and Mike Prisco (1-1) each had one hit for the Great Danes. Binder, Daly and Prisco all finished with one RBI. Both Feil and Daly crossed home once.
- Johnny Marti went 0-1, but picked up an RBI.
- UAlbany stranded three runners, Binghamton stranded four.
- UAlbany pitchers allowed two walks, Binghamton allowed one.
- Great Dane batters struck out four times, whereas the Bearcats struck out eight times
Key Stats Game 2:
- UAlbany pitchers
- Two Great Danes had multiple hits. Will Binder went 3-5 with one RBI and a scored run. Johnny Marti went 2-3, also with an RBI and a scored run.
- Brad Malm (1-3), Michael Whalen (1-5), Jason Bottari (1-4), and Josh Salandy (1-3) all had one hit for UAlbany. Malm, Bottari and Salandy each picked up an RBI and scored a run. Whalen collected the final RBI with a walk-off single in the ninth.
- UAlbany left six runners on base, Binghamton left five.
- UAlbany recorded three walks, whereas Binghamton had five.
- Great Dane batters struck out eight times, Bearcat batters struck out six times.
How it Happened Game 1:
- Ray Weber started on the mound for the Great Danes, Thomas Babalis started for the Bearcats.
- UAlbany struck first in the bottom of the opening inning when Johnny Marti hit a sac fly to center field, scoring Jason Bottari, who walked to get on base and advanced to third on a single by Will Binder.
- Michael Whalen hit a leadoff double to center field in the bottom of the second to get into scoring position. He advanced to third on a passed ball and was then driven in by John Daly who doubled to center the following at-bat.
- The Great Danes added another run in the third, making it 3-0 as Will Binder grounded out to the pitcher, scoring Brad Malm in the process.
- The Bearcats tied up the game in the fifth following two home runs. Andrew Tan hit a two-run shot to left field, scoring Evin Sullivan, who led off with a single. Nick Roselli homered to right field the following at-bat.
- Connor Eisenmann took the mound for the Great Danes midway through the sixth.
- UAlbany took back the lead in the bottom of the sixth, crossing home plate four times. Whalen first singled up the middle, bringing home Marti. Later, Will Feil and Whalen scored on a throwing error as Carson Dunkel reached first on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded.
- Kyle Eskildsen replaced Babalis for the Bearcats halfway through the sixth.
- Mike Prisco made it 7-3 when he hit an RBI single through the ride side, scoring John Daly, still in the bottom of the sixth.
How it Happened Game 2:
- Cregg Scherrer started on the mound for the Great Danes, Driscoll started for the Bearcats.
- UAlbany got on the board first in the bottom of the third inning. Josh Salandy hit a leadoff single and Will Feil walked to get on base before Brad Malm singled down the left field line to drive in Salandy. The following at-bat, Will Binder singled to right-center, scoring Feil. Johnny Marti made it 3-0 with a sac fly to right field, bringing home Malm.
- Salandy made it 4-0 in the bottom of the sixth when he walked with the bases loaded, scoring Binder.
- John Lumpinski came in to pitch for the Bearcats midway through the sixth.
- The Bearcats got three runs back in the top of the eighth on a three-run home run by Connor Aoki. He scored Devan Bade and Cavan Tully in the process.
- Marshall Winn entered the game for UAlbany midway through the eighth.
- UAlbany extended its lead to 6-3 in the bottom of the eighth when Jason Bottari doubled down the right field line to drive in Marti, who hit a leadoff double to get into scoring position. Bottari went on to steal third and later crossed home plate as Salandy reached first on a fielding error.
- Rob Manetta took the mound for the Great Danes halfway through the ninth
- The Bearcats evened things out in the top of the ninth on another three-run shot over the left field wall by Andrew Tan. He drove in Colin Mason and Nick Roselli.
- Jack Collins replaced Lumpinski on the mound to start the bottom of the ninth.
- Michael Whalen got the walk-off win for the Great Danes in the bottom of the ninth when he singled to right field with the bases loaded to score Josh Loeffler.
Next: The Great Danes close out their series with Binghamton tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. at the Bearcat Baseball Complex in Vestal, N.Y. Keep up with all of the latest news, highlights, and insights on UAlbany baseball by following the team on
Twitter and
Instagram and by using the hashtag
#BeGreat.
