For Immediate Release: April 21, 2006
Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-6800

Groh dominant again; BU baseball trades 8-0 games in twinbill split at Vermont
Sophomore pitcher tosses six scoreless innings in nightcap, lowers NCAA-best ERA to 0.44

Game 1 Box
Game 2 Box

BURLINGTON, Vt. - Sophomore pitcher Zach Groh (Reading, Pa.) continued his mastery of opponents, steering visiting Binghamton (17-11-1, 4-2 America East) to an 8-0 win and a doubleheader split at Vermont (7-24, 5-1 AE) Friday afternoon at Centennial Field. The Catamounts won the opener 8-0.

After BU was the victim of a pitching gem in game one, Groh (4-0) took the mound and showed why he leads the entire nation in earned run average. He went six innings without allowing a run - extending his streak of not allowing an earned run to 36 innings. Groh scattered four hits - all singles - and struck out 10 batters. In 41 innings of work this spring, he has allowed just two earned runs and three extra-base hits.

The Bearcats gave him plenty of run support with one in the third inning, six in the fourth and another in the fifth inning.

Junior first baseman Brendon Hitchcock (Laceyville, Pa.) went 2-for-4 with his fifth home run of the season - a two-out, two-run shot in the fourth inning. Freshman third baseman Kyle Klee (Rochester, N.Y.) went 2-for-3 with a two-run single in the same inning. Junior second baseman Matt Simek (Vestal, N.Y.) and senior center fielder Aaron Davis (San Francisco, Calif.) each had two hits and an RBI, and junior catcher Pat Haughie (St. James, N.Y.) belted his fourth home run of the season - a solo bomb in the fifth.

In the opener, BU was blanked by Vermont starter Joe Serafin, who struck out 11 and allowed just five hits in 7.2 innings. The Catamounts scored in five of eight innings to build the winning margin. Binghamton's top four hitters in the lineup went a combined 2-for-18 with eight strikeouts against the lefty.

The teams will conclude the four-game set with a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.