Baseball | 4/22/2015 3:19:00 PM

 
STORYLINE
The Huskies will finish their regular season schedule with a four-game PSAC East series against rival East Stroudsburg to determine which team grabs the fourth and final spot from the Eastern Division in the PSAC Tournament with both teams entering the weekend tied in the divisional standings.
 
ABOUT EAST STROUDSBURG
East Stroudsburg started the season strong, opening with an 18-7 record and continues to stay well above .500 at 25-16, but conference play has not been easy – the Warriors slipped back into the clutches of the Huskies in the No. 4 spot in the East after being swept in a four-game series with West Chester over the weekend. Still, ESU's statistics show that the Warriors are a dangerous team – ESU ranks third in the PSAC in team batting average (.336) and fifth in team ERA (5.21) and first in team strikeouts by its pitching staff (303).
 
The Warriors entered the week ranking second in the PSAC and fourth in Division II with 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings, and their pitchers have also shown strong control of the strike zone by averaging 2.39 strikeouts per walk. Sophomore southpaw Ian Allan (4-2, 4.25 ERA) leads the starting rotation with three complete games in eight starts, striking out 53 in 42.1 innings. Junior right-hander Brandon Holup (2-3, 5.09) also has strike out stuff, fanning 44 in 35.1 innings. Right-handers Matt Festa (5-4, 5.51) and Andrew Furber (3-1, 5.90) have also been members of the conference rotation.
 
Offensively, redshirt sophomore infielder Jay Young leads the team and ranks among the PSAC's leaders in batting average at .428, also knocking in 37 RBIs. Junior first baseman Dylan Tamecki brings power to the middle of the lineup, checking in at .379 with six home runs and a team-high 44 RBIs while two-way player Ian Allen also has delivered 37 RBIs. Allen adds a speed threat as well, swiping 22 bases in 23 tries this spring.
 
PSAC PLAYOFF PICTURE
Three of the four playoff spots from the PSAC East are already spoken for – West Chester (17-5), Millersville (18-6) and Shippensburg (15-9) are locked into the postseason tournament already. That leaves Bloomsburg and East Stroudsburg tied for the final spot at 10-14 while Mansfield also remains in the playoff picture at 8-14. Both Lock Haven and Kutztown remain barely alive at 8-16, but each must pull a sweep of the other in a head-to-head series to remain in the tiebreaker discussion. Bloomsburg split with both teams.
 
Bloomsburg's easiest route to clinching a playoff spot this weekend is by winning its four-game series with East Stroudsburg. In the event of a series split that would leave the teams still tied at 12-16, tiebreakers would need to come into effect. In that case, the Huskies would benefit from West Chester winning the division as the first tiebreaker is record against teams in the division starting at the top. Bloomsburg went 1-3 against WCU this season, but ESU lost all four of its games with the Golden Rams. Should Millersville win the East, ESU would win the tiebreaker with its 1-3 record vs. the Marauders while Bloomsburg went 0-4. Shippensburg also remains in play for the divisional title at 15-9 – ESU split with the Raiders while Bloomsburg went 1-3.

In the West, Mercyhurst (20-4) and Seton Hill (20-4) have each locked up spots with Slippery Rock (14-10), California (13-11) and IUP (11-12-1) battling for the final two spots.
 
Remaining East doubleheader schedules:
BLOOMSBURG: vs. East Stroudsburg (home Friday, away Saturday)
EAST STROUDSBURG: vs. Bloomsburg (away Friday, home Saturday)
WEST CHESTER: vs. Shippensburg (away Friday, home Saturday); at Mansfield (Sunday)
MILLERSVILLE: vs. Mansfield (away Friday, home Saturday)
SHIPPENSBURG: vs. West Chester (home Friday, away Saturday)
MANSFIELD: vs. Millersville (home Friday, away Saturday); vs. West Chester (Sunday)
LOCK HAVEN: vs. Kutztown (away Friday, home Saturday)
KUTZTOWN: vs. Lock Haven (home Friday, away Saturday)
 
WHO'S HOT
Senior Tim Ravel (Sinking Spring/Wilson) and freshman Tyler Benson (Montville, N.J./Montville Township) have been red hot for the Huskies over the past 10 games. Ravel leads the team during that stretch by hitting .438 with a home run and 11 RBIs while Benson is hitting at a .432 clip with seven doubles and getting on-base at a .523 percentage over the past 10 games. Both Jared Schaffer (Perkasie/Pennridge) (1-0, 3.24 ERA) and Alex Carpenter (South Williamsport/South Williamsport) (1-0, 3.38) have pitched well during that span with three appearances each as well.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
2 – Redshirt freshman Cy Treaster (Lewistown/Mifflin County) blasted two home runs in the non-conference doubleheader at IUP on Tuesday.
 
11 – Both Tim Ravel (Sinking Spring/Wilson) and Brady West (Harleysville/North Penn) have a team-high 11 two-out RBIs this spring.
 
19 – The 19 runs scored by the Huskies in a game one victory at IUP Tuesday represent the most for the team this season.
 
.384 – Freshman Tyler Benson (Montville, N.J./Montville Township) leads the team with a .384 batting average this year, adding a .500 on-base percentage for the season.
 
.432 – Eric Frain (Philadelphia/Archbishop Ryan) is hitting a team-high .432 with runners on base this year. Frain also has a .654 success rate in advancing runners, highest on the team. Tim Ravel (Sinking Spring/Wilson) is second at .620
 
995 – The Huskies enter this weekend with 995 wins all-time since the program began in 1934, needing just five more for 1,000.