B-Mets Game Notes

YESTERDAY’S GAME: In a marathon affair, the B-Mets fell in
14 innings to Trenton 5-4. Binghamton held a 3-2 lead going
into the ninth only to see the slim margin evaporate and again
led in the 12th 4-3, but Trenton answered again to tie the
game. Finally, in the 14th inning, RHP Nick Abel walked the
bases loaded and Marcos Vechionacci hit the game-winning
single through the middle of the drawn in infield to secure the
walkoff win for the Thunder. Caleb Stewart hit Binghamton’s
first home run of the season in the 6th, which gave the B-Mets
their first lead 3-2.

STARTING PITCHING MATCHUP: RHP Jose Sanchez gets the
call tonight on the mound for Binghamton. Sanchez finished
second in the Eastern League with 13 wins last season and
was named the B-Mets Most Valuable Pitcher for 2008. He
recorded a 3.83 ERA in 152.2 with a career-high 118 strikeouts,
which ranked fifth best in the league

Trenton counters with RHP Zach McAllister who is considered
the sixth-best prospect in the Yankees organization by Baseball
America. McAllister spent 2008 with between Charleston
(Low-A) and Tampa (High-A) totaling a 2.08 ERA between the
two with 14 wins.

“HERE I GO, ON THE ROAD AGAIN”: 14 of the B-Mets first 21
games will be spent away from NYSEG Stadium. Last season,
however, the Mets played 14 of their first 21 at home and set
a new attendance record for NYSEG Stadium with 34,997
spectators passing throw the turnstiles in the month April.
“TURN THE PAGE”: 2008 was a positive year for the B-Mets on
the field, finishing two games behind wild-card winner Portland
in the Eastern League’s North Division with a record of
73-69. It was the first time since 2004 that Binghamton finished
the season with a winning record.

HISTORY LESSON: This is the B-Mets 18th consecutive season
Eastern League season and 92nd season overall dating back
to the Binghamton Bingoes of the New York State League,
who debuted in 1885. Binghamton was a charter member of
the Eastern League playing from 1923-1963 and again in
1967 and 1968 as the Binghamton Triplets. When the Triplets
began play in 1923, however, the league was dubbed the New
York-Pennsylvania League. It was not until 1938 that the
league garnered the “Eastern League” moniker.

MANAGING THE GAME: Mako Oliveras returns to skipper the B
-Mets in 2009 for a third season. In his first two years as Binghamton’s
manager, Oliveras has tallied a 134-150 record