VESTAL, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – All eyes of the America East will be on Binghamton this week as the Bearcats host the 2023 conference tournament for baseball.

After winning the tournament last year, BU has high hopes again this time around, however the road will be slightly tougher.

The Bearcats enter as the 3 seed, meaning that not only do they not get a bye through the first round like they did last year, but they also now have to play in a single elimination game on Wednesday against NJIT to begin the tournament.

Head Coach Tim Sinicki spoke about how playing in the first round will affect the strategy.

“It does come into play knowing that you’re not guaranteed a second game and a shot to run it back through the losers bracket,” Sinicki said. “So, we knew that going into the season, we did our best to get one of those top two seeds and credit to Maine and UMBC for securing those. So, we’ll play the hand that we’ve dealt ourselves and do the best we can tomorrow.”

The first-round contest between BU and NJIT is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

The Bearcats went 1-2 this year against NJIT in the regular season.