Binghamton 4, Erie 3

Kirk Nieuwenhuis cracked his third homer of the year and Binghamton’s bullpen fired 3 2/3 scoreless innings to bring the B-Mets back from a two-run deficit to beat Erie 4-3 at Jerry Uht Park Tuesday night. Binghamton has now won a season-best six straight games and has knocked off the SeaWolves in all five of the two teams’ meetings.

Due to Eric Niesen’s absence due to injury, right-hander Dylan Owen was pressed into service as a spot starter for Tuesday’s contest. Owen worked around a leadoff double in the first inning before running into trouble in the second. After getting the first two hitters of the frame, Owen issued a two-out walk to Cale Iorg. Erie catcher Jeff Kunkel followed with a magestic two-run homer to center, pitting the SeaWolves a 2-0 lead. It was Kunkel’s second homer off Owen this season. He also homered off him April 14 at NYSEG Stadium.

Binghamton (16-9) got a run back in the fourth courtesy of Nick Evans’ fifth homer of the season, a solo shot to deep left off Erie (12-13) starter Andy Oliver, his second homer off the lefty this season.

The SeaWolves answered with a run in the fifth. Justin Henry tripled to lead off the inning. Owen retired the next two hitters and was one out away from escaping, but Andy Dirks lined a double past Evans at first, plating Henry to recoup the two-run lead.

The B-Mets tallied the equalizers in the sixth inning. Nieuwenhuis started with a double off Oliver. Luis Hernandez followed with a groundball to short that Iorg handled and flipped to third in an attempt to get the lead runner, however Nieuwenhuis slid in ahead of Audy Ciriaco’s tag. Hernandez reached on the fielder’s choice, putting runners at the corners with no one out. Evans was next to the plate and ripped a run-scoring single to left to get Binghamton within a run. Two hitters later, after Oliver walked Zach Lutz to load the bases, Marshall Hubbard hit a fielder’s choice to first that plated Hernandez, tying the score at three.

Jared Gayhart, who came on in relief of Oliver in the sixth, remained in the game for the seventh. He walked Carlos Guzman to start the stanza, but Kunkel caught Guzman stealing to erase the baserunner. Gayhart, then, induced a lineout off the bat of Jonathan Malo before running into Nieuwenhuis. The B-Mets centerfielder smashed a high fastball over the wall in right to give Binghamton its first lead of the game, 4-3. Gayhart was charged with the loss.

The bullpen did the rest. Derrick Ellison, who relieved Owen in the sixth, tossed 2 1/3 shutout innings and would eventually be credited with the win. With two outs and the tying run on first, Ellison handed the ball off to Jose De La Torre, who retired Iorg on strikes to send the game to the ninth. In the ninth, stopper Roy Merritt came out of the pen for the second straight game and fired a 1-2-3 frame for his third save in four chances.

Owen hurled 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits in a no-decision. On the flipside, Oliver fired 5 2/3 innings and also allowed three runs.

Nieuwenhuis notched two hits, a double and a homer, and was joined in the multi-hit category by Evans, who homered, singled and drove in two.