By By KEVIN TRAVIS
Sports Editor
GREENVILLE — The fourth-seed Binghamton Bearcats picked up their first NCAA tournament victory in school history, taking an 11-6 win over the third-seed George Mason Patriots in Saturday’s elimination game of the 2009 Greenville Regional.
Binghamton (30-21) advanced to face East Carolina in today’s 2 p.m. elimination game.
“We’re not here to be tourists,” Binghamton coach Tim Sinicki said. “We are not here to just have fun. We want to come out and compete and if that means another day of baseball tomorrow, we’re going to do that.”
George Mason (42-14) exited the regional with two straight losses.
“I felt like we had opportunities to score and put runs up and didn’t do it,” George Mason coach Bill Brown said. “Binghamton played well and had good swings when they needed them.”
Jim Calderone had three hits for the Bearcats, who set a school-record with their 30th victory. Henry Dunn (3 RBIs), Corey Taylor, Dave Ciocchi and Jeff Abrams all had two hits in Binghamton’s 14-hit attack. Dunn and Taylor both went deep for the Bearcats.
Taylor’s two-run shot in the first inning gave the Bearcats the early 2-0 lead. Dunn’s three-run homer in the sixth handed Binghamton a 7-2 advantage.
Dan Schafferman had four hits and four RBIs, which included a three-run home run in the eighth that pulled the Patriots within 8-6, for George Mason. Justin Bour added three hits while Chris Henderson had two hits and a pair of RBIs.
After George Mason pulled within 8-6, the Bearcats responded with three runs in the bottom of the eighth. Ciocchi had a clutch two-run single in the frame, helping Binghamton take an 11-6 advantage.
Jeff Dennis (6-5), who allowed two runs (none earned) on nine hits in five innings, picked up the victory.
Kevin Crums (8-4), who gave up seven runs on nine hits in six innings, suffered the loss.