SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On Saturday afternoon, the Wofford College baseball team defeated Binghamton 9-5 at Russell C. King Field. The Bearcats had a 2-1 advantage before the Terriers scored three runs in the bottom of the third inning to take the lead. Three runs in the fifth inning and two in the seventh put the game away for Wofford.
 
Wofford opens the season at 2-0, while Binghamton is 0-2. The Terriers had 15 hits in the game, with three by Hudson Byorick and two each from Brett Rodriguez, John Dempsey, Lawson Hill, Alec Cargin and Andrew Orzel. Cargin led the team with three RBIs. The Bearcats had ten hits, including four by Justin Drpich.
 
The Bearcats were retired in order in the top of the first inning. Brett Rodriguez led off the bottom of the first with a double and then Hudson Byorick was hit by a pitch. A sacrifice bunt advanced the runners and a ground out by Lawson Hill drove in Rodriguez for a 1-0 lead. In the top of the second with one out, the Bearcats had a double before a pair of strikeouts ended the half inning.
 
Wofford left one runner on base in the bottom of the second.  The Bearcats opened the third inning with a single and a walk, with the runners moving into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. A sacrifice fly tied the game and a double gave Binghamton a 2-1 lead. In the bottom of the third Brett Rodriguez walked and Andrew Orzel singled to begin the frame. With one out and runners on the corners, a balk brought in a run to tie the game at 2-2. Lawson Hill added a double and then with two outs a single up the middle by Alec Cargin drove in both runners for a 4-2 advantage.
 
Both teams were retired in order in the fourth inning and the Bearcats went in order in the top of the fifth. Hudson Byorick and John Dempsey had back-to-back doubles to begin the bottom of the fifth, with Byorick avoiding the tag at the plate to take a 5-2 lead. After a walk by Lawson Hill, Colin Davis had an RBI single for a 6-2 score. A bunt single loaded the bases, but the Bearcats turned a double play. A double steal and error plated a run for the Terriers for a 7-2 lead at the end of five innings.
 
In the top of the sixth with two outs, the Bearcats had a pair of singles. A passed ball on a strikeout loaded the bases, but another strikeout ended the scoring opportunity. Mike Brown singled with one out in the bottom of the sixth, moved to second on a failed pick off and stole third base before the inning ended. The Bearcats were retired in order in the top of the seventh. John Dempsey and Lawson Hill singled to begin the bottom of the seventh. Colin Davis reached on a fielder's choice and Dempsey scored on a sacrifice bunt by Alec Cargin. A single by Andrew Orzel drove in a run for a 9-2 advantage.
 
The Bearcats had back-to-back singles to open the eighth inning and with one out a double drove in two runs to cut the lead to 9-4. A single and an error had the bases loaded before a ground out ended the top half. Wofford left two runners on base in the bottom of the eighth after singles by Brett Rodriguez and Hudson Byorick. In the top of the ninth, the Bearcats had two runs scored for the final margin of 9-5.
 
Wofford starting pitcher Hayes Heinecke (1-0) went 5.2 innings with two runs allowed on five hits, along with six strikeouts. Rasesh Pandya threw 2.1 innings and gave up two runs on three hits. Matt Ellmyer allowed one run on two hits in the ninth inning.
 
Jack Collins (0-1) started for Binghamton and worked 4.0 innings with six runs allowed on seven hits, while striking out two.  Dominick DiRado went 3.0 innings with three runs allowed on six hits, while Dominic Buonadonna went the final frame with two hits allowed and a strikeout.
 
Wofford and Binghamton will conclude the series at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.