Bloomsburg (28-18, No. 2 PSAC East) vs. Pitt-Johnstown (22-22, No. 3 PSAC West)
PSAC Tournament First Round
Thursday, May 1, 2014 - 3:30 p.m.
Butler, PA - Kelly Automotive Park

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STORYLINE
The Huskies open PSAC Tournament play Thursday afternoon against Pitt-Johnstown, the third seed from the Western Division. The Mountain Cats posted a 22-22 overall record this spring and went 17-11 in the Western Division. The winner advances to Thursday's second round against the winner of Seton Hill vs. Kutztown at 6:30 p.m. while the loser falls is eliminated from tournament play.

SCOUTING UPJ
-UPJ ranks ninth in the conference in team batting at .288 and is 12th in team ERA at 5.51.
-The Mountain Cats had two All-PSAC West selections: senior catcher Kyle Morrow, first team (.349, two home runs and 20 RBI) and junior outfielder Brett Marabito, second team (.323, six doubles, two triples, 17 RBI).
-Senior right-hander John Fees was named PSAC West Co-Pitcher of the Week on Monday and is 6-5 with a 3.94 ERA this year.
-Senior righty Derek Younker is the other half of the one-two punch at the top of the Mountain Cats rotation, going 7-4 with a 3.52 ERA.

Huskies Return To Post-Season
Bloomsburg has earned its first trip to the post-season since reaching the PSAC Tournament in 2011. In their last trip to the PSAC Tournament in 2011, the Huskies defeated Slippery Rock in the opening round, 11-6, with hits from current Huskies Brad Smith (Morgantown/Twin Valley) and Aaron Russell (Montoursville/Montoursville) while starter Kyle Hunter (Lehighton/Lehighton) went four innings, striking out two. After a 7-5 loss to IUP, Bloomsburg stayed alive with a 5-3 win over Shippensburg  with an RBI hit from Russell and 4.1 innings of scoreless relief from Eric Geedey (Elverson/Twin Valley). A 6-4 loss to IUP ended the Huskies run in the semifinals.

Season For The Record Books
The Huskies have enjoyed one of the strongest seasons in school history this spring, setting a BU record for PSAC victories while posting one of the top overall win totals in program history. Bloomsburg completed the regular season with a 20-8 record within the PSAC East, breaking a school record for conference wins which had stood since the 1997 team won 16 PSAC contests. The Huskies enter the PSAC Tournament with 28 wins overall, the third-most in program history.

Eastern Success
The Huskies remained atop the PSAC East standings throughout the spring thanks to strong play against conference foes. Bloomsburg did not lose a divisional series all season, recording series victories over Lock Haven (3-1), West Chester (3-1), Kutztown (4-0), Shippensburg (3-1) and Mansfield (3-1) while splitting with Millersville (2-2) and East Stroudsburg (2-2).

Pitching has been a strength of the Huskies throughout the year, in particular Bloomsburg's depth in the starting rotation. Among the strongest staffs in the Atlantic Region statistically, Bloomsburg's starting rotation has a season ERA of 2.71 while the starters have a 2.88 ERA vs. PSAC East competition.

In the Regional Rankings
The Huskies ranked No. 6 in the first NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional rankings released on April 23. Bloomsburg is seeking its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1995, when the Huskies reached the Division II College World Series for the only time in school history.

Second Inning Scoring
Bloomsburg has been extremely successful in the second inning this year. During the second, the Huskies have outscored opponents 48-16.

Season vs. The Field
Bloomsburg has a 10-4 record on the year against teams in the PSAC Tournament. The Huskies claimed a 3-1 series victory over West Chester and took five games from Kutztown while splitting a four-game series with Millersville in PSAC East play. The Huskies also dropped a game in Tennessee vs. Mercyhurst. Bloomsburg has not played Pitt-Johnstown, Seton Hill or Slippery Rock.

Vs. Millersville (East No. 1)
4/5/14 - W, 9-2 (W- Amaike, L- Murphy)
4/5/14 - L, 4-2 (8) (W- Zipko, L- Hill)
4/6/14 - L, 3-1 (W- Barton, L- Cooperman)
4/6/14 - W, 4-2 (9) (W- Heane, L- McDade)

Vs. West Chester (East No. 3)
3/27/14 - W, 10-2 (W- Cooperman, L-McAllister)
3/27/14 - W, 5-2 (W- Hill, L- Breidenbach)
4/2/14 - W, 2-1 (W- Geedey, L- Weary)
4/2/14 - L, 1-0 (W- Petrizzi, L- McCloskey)

Vs. Kutztown (East No. 4)
2/22/14 - W, 9-1 (W- Cooperman, L- Moul)
4/12/14 - W, 1-0 (W- Cooperman, L- Holmes)
4/12/14 - W, 2-1 (W- Hill, L- Flynn)
4/13/14 - W, 7-6 (W- Jaskolka, L- Shimo)
4/13/14 - W, 11-7 (W- Geedey, L- Piromalli)

Vs. Mercyhurst (West No. 2)
3/15/14 - L, 4-1 (W- Altavilla, L- Cooperman)

Huskies Short Hops
-Bloomsburg has turned 40 double plays this season, second-most in the PSAC.

-Opponents have scored two or fewer runs vs. the Huskies in 20 games this season. Bloomsburg is 18-2 in those contests.

-The Huskies have outscored opponents 248-178 on the year.

-Bloomsburg's team ERA of 3.19 is third in the PSAC and ranks 29th in the country.

-BU's strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.24) ranks second in the PSAC while the Huskies walks allowed per nine innings (2.66) also is second.

-Only Gannon's Aaron Cox (10) has more complete games than Casey Cooperman (Allentown/Parkland)'s eight among all PSAC pitchers.

-Brad Smith (Morgantown/Twin Valley)'s 10 sacrifice hits are the most in the PSAC this year.

-The 64 hits this year for Eric Frain (Philadelphia/Archbishop Ryan) rank third in the PSAC.

Huskies Take All-Conference Honors
The Huskies were well-represented in the PSAC East All-Conference teams released Tuesday. In all, Bloomsburg had four players named all-conference and also captured two of the league's major awards.

Head coach Mike Collins was named PSAC East Coach of the Year. It marks his second PSAC East Coach of the Year Award as he was also honored with the accolade following the 2011 season. In his ninth year at the helm of the Huskies, Collins led Bloomsburg to a record-setting season. The Huskies set the school record for most PSAC victories in a season by finishing with a 20-8 mark against PSAC East competition while posting a 28-18 overall record for the third-most victories in program history.

Damin Muth (Breinigsville/Parkland) was named PSAC East Freshman of the Year, becoming the second Husky in a row to take the award after Brian Almand (Haddon Township, NJ/Paul VI) earned the honor last year. Muth also was named second team at DH. Junior third baseman Eric Frain (Philadelphia/Archbishop Ryan) and senior pitcher Casey Cooperman (Allentown/Parkland) landed spots on the first team while junior pitcher Tyler Hill (Lehighton/Lehighton) was named to the second team.