The Binghamton University baseball team was picked by America East's coaches as the pre-season favorite to win the conference. Last season the team finished 26-24 overall with a 12-9 conference record, eventually falling to Stony Brook in the America East Championship. The Bearcats lost their top two starting pitchers from that team, Nick Gallagher and Ben Anderson who was drafted in the 13th round of the MLB draft by the Texas Rangers. This year's rotation will be headlined by All-Conference Selection and 2019 America East freshman of the year Thomas Babalis. The lineup is a much different story. Seven of the nine starters in the field return for 2020. Head coach Tim Sinicki who enters his 28th season with the program says that's a big reason for their high expectations.

"I think it speaks to the lineup we have returning," says Sinicki. "We have a pretty veteran lineup. Especially the core of guys that hit in the middle of the order. I think that's what people are seeing. Our pitching is where we need to develop a little bit as the season goes on."

One of the major offensive weapons returning is junior outfielder Shane Marshall. An All-Conference selection last season Marshall led the Bearcats in batting average hitting at .376 clip, home runs with 6, and RBIs with 35. He says the biggest difference with the team this season is that many of the guys now have played on a big collegiate stage.

"The only thing I would say is experience," says Marshall. "Not a lot of guys had played in the tournament until last season. So just having that experience and confidence with how we finished last carries onto this season and we'll see what happens."

The Bearcats Baseball team opens up their season next Friday down in South Carolina as they take on Wofford.