THE DETAILS
Bloomsburg (10-8, 3-1 PSAC East) vs. West Chester (10-4, 3-1 PSAC East)
Thursday / Saturday, March 27 / 29 – 1 p.m.
Bloomsburg, PA (Thursday) / West Chester, PA (Saturday)
Online Coverage – Live Stats (Thursday)  /  Live Stats (Saturday)
 
STORYLINE
The Huskies continue PSAC East play with home-and-home doubleheaders vs. West Chester this Thursday and Saturday, hosting the Golden Rams at Danny Litwhiler Field on Thursday afternoon before traveling to WCU on Saturday. Thursday's games were originally scheduled for Friday, but moved up one day due to rain in the forecast this weekend. Both teams won three of their first four conference games last weekend with Bloomsburg taking three of four vs. Lock Haven while West Chester lost its first conference game vs. Kutztown before winning the next three.
 
SCOUTING WEST CHESTER
The Golden Rams, the 2012 national champions, jumped into the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II Atlantic Region poll for the first time this season on Monday at No. 8. West Chester ranks 13th in the PSAC in team batting average at .265, and seventh in team ERA at 3.55. Despite ranking low on the list of team batting averages, the Golden Rams still are scoring over six runs per game this season. Drew Diehl leads the way, batting .357 on the season while Matt Petrizzi (.340, 13 RBIs), Justin Roman (.333, 12 RBIs), Chris Pula (.306, nine RBIs) and Rob Spekhardt (.300, six RBIs) are all batting .300 or better on the year. Reigning PSAC East Pitcher of the Week Kyle Weary highlights the pitching staff posting a perfect 0.00 ERA with no earned runs allowed in his 12.1 innings out of the bullpen. Joe Gutowski (3-0, 2.37), Matt McAllister (1-1, 4.08) and Fred Breidenbach (1-2, 4.29) have been the workhorses of the rotation thus far.
 
HUSKY BATS STAY HOT
Bloomsburg continues to rank among the top teams in the conference offensively, accumulating a .303 team batting average through the first 18 games of the season. That total is third among all PSAC teams – only Slippery Rock (.319) and Lock Haven (.304) are ahead of the Huskies.
 
SMITH TAKES CONFERENCE, REGIONAL AWARDS
Senior centerfielder Brad Smith (Morgantown/Twin Valley) earned awards as both the PSAC East Athlete of the Week as well as the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Atlantic Regional Hitter of the Week after helping the Huskies win three of four games over Lock Haven last week. Smith batted .615 during the week (8-for-13) with six RBIs along with a double and a triple for a .667 on-base percentage and also slugged .846. Smith is hitting .358 on the year with 14 RBIs in 18 games entering Friday.
 
ROTATION REMAINS STRONG
Bloomsburg enters the weekend with a 3.01 team ERA thanks in large part to strong work by its starters. Tyler Hill (Lehighton/Lehighton) pitched six shutout innings at Lock Haven in a 16-0 win last Sunday and now stands at 3-1 on the year with a 2.05 ERA along with 19 strikeouts in 26.1 innings. Casey Cooperman (Allentown/Parkland) did not allow an earned run in a win last Saturday vs. Lock Haven and now is 2-2 with a 2.19 ERA. Matt Jaskolka (Warren/Warren Area) (3-1, 2.22) and Kyle Hunter (Lehighton/Lehighton) (0-1, 4.66) complete what has been a very dependable rotation.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
4: Four regulars enter the weekend batting .300 or better – Damin Muth (Breinigsville/Parkland) (.455), Brad Smith (Morgantown/Twin Valley) (.358), Eric Frain (Philadelphia/Archbishop Ryan) (.315) and Joey Casselberry (Eagleville/Methacton) (.308). Tim Ravel (Sinking Spring/Wilson) is at .299.
15: Bloomsburg's defense has turned 15 double plays on the year.
23: The Huskies have scored more runs in the second inning than any other this year, outscoring opponents 23-4 during the second.
35: Tim Ravel (Sinking Spring/Wilson) has 35 career stolen bases entering the weekend, ranking seventh in school history.
.335: Bloomsburg is batting .335 with runners in scoring position this year. Damin Muth (Breinigsville/Parkland) leads the way at .524 (11-21).