Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
BLOOMSBURG—With two out in the bottom of the seventh, Jerry Lloyd (Mifflinburg/Mifflinburg) smashed a three-run home run for the walk-off victory in game two, as the Bloomsburg University (11-11) baseball team defeated Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) (12-16) in a pair of non-divisional games on Sunday afternoon. The Huskies secured a comfortable 5-2 win in the first game before Lloyd clinched the 5-4 triumph in the second.
In game one, the Huskies opened the scoring with a run in the second inning. In the fourth. Joey Ianiero (Bloomsburg/Central Columbia) tripled down the right line, and Lloyd hit his first home run of the day to add two runs and give BU the 3-0 lead.
IUP logged two runs in the top of the fifth, but the Huskies responded in the bottom of the inning, as Lloyd singled through the left side to bring Nick Mazza (Carbondale/Carbondale) and Keith Meyer (Richboro/Council Rock South) to the plate for a 5-2 advantage. The Crimson Hawks would fail to answer in the final innings, sealing their defeat.
Bloomsburg starter Mike Rossetti (Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg) (2-3) allowed runners to reach scoring positions in three innings but kept his composure and escaped unscathed, as the junior captain threw 4 scoreless innings while striking out 2, walking 2, and leaving 8 runners stranded. Casey Cooperman (Allentown/Parkland) struck out 2 in 2 innings of work, and Matt Kline (Sugarloaf/Hazleton) registered his third save of the year in 1 inning on the mound.
For IUP, Greg Stewart (3-1) was hit with his first loss of the season after yielding 3 runs (2 earned), with 2 strikeouts, 2 walks, and 3 hits.
In game two, the Crimson Hawks took control with a 3-1 lead through six innings. Bloomsburg's lone run came in the third, when Ianiero doubled and was brought home on a single from Vince Smarrelli (Mt. Airy, MD/Urbana).
IUP's Vern Powell hit an RBI-single in the top of the seventh to extend the Crimson Hawks' advantage to 4-1.
Bloomsburg's Jarrod Kramer (Orwigsburg/Blue Mountain) led off the bottom of the final inning with a single, and Paul Rosa IV (Wyomissing/Wilson) followed with a single of his own. Two outs later, Smarrelli, who represented the game-tying run, tallied the third hit of the inning with a single through the left side, bringing home pinch-runner Meyer.
Trailing 4-2 with two outs but runners on first and second base, Lloyd fell behind in the count, 1-2. After fouling off the penultimate pitch to stay alive, Lloyd connected on a long shot over the right-center fence for his fourth homer of the season, bringing home three runs to complete the rally for a 5-4 win.
Kyle Hunter (Lehighton/Lehighton) had the start for the Huskies and struck out 3 in 3.1 innings. Vinny Voorhees (New Hope/New Hope Solebury) served as middle reliever, striking out 4 in 2.2 innings. Closer Eric Geedey (Elverson/Twin Valley) (1-0) got his first career victory after 1 inning on the mound with 1 strikeout, 3 hits, and 1 run (1 earned).
Chris Douglas pitched an effective game for IUP, recording 3 strikeouts, 2 walks, 3 hits, and 1 run (1 earned) in 5 innings of duty. Stephen Cooke (2-4) received the loss despite striking out 2 of his 9 batters faced.
On the day, Lloyd finished 3-for-5, batting in seven runs with slugging and on-base percentages of 1.800 and .714, respectively. Smarrelli hit 3-for-6, Ianiero went 2-for-5, and Kramer was 2-for-3 to round out the Huskies with multiple hits.
Bloomsburg will potentially face its next opponent, Lincoln University, in a home doubleheader on Tuesday, April 5. Local forecasts project significant rainfall in the Bloomsburg area in the coming days. Any changes to the baseball schedule will be posted at BUhuskies.com.
