BLOOMSBURG – Timely hitting and strong pitching from nationally ranked Millersville sent the Marauders to a doubleheader sweep over the Bloomsburg University baseball team on Monday afternoon at sunny Danny Litwhiler Field.
With the wins Millersville stretches its winning streak to 12 straight and improves to 26-6 overall and 13-3 in the PSAC East while Bloomsburg is now 6-12, 5-9.
GAME ONE – Millersville 11, Bloomsburg 4 | Box Score (HTML)
Each team played long ball to get on the board early. First, Chas McCormick drilled a two-out home run to right for a 1-0 Millersville edge in the first.
Bloomsburg quickly answered with a home run of its own when Tyler Benson (Montville, N.J./Montville Township) cracked a leadoff blast nearly 400 feet to right center for a 1-1 tie with his first career collegiate round-tripper.
The Huskies took the lead in the second when Preston Bare (Palmyra/Palmyra) punched a one-out single to left, moving to second when Brian Almand (Haddon Township, NJ/Paul VI) was hit by a pitch. Following a fly out, Brady West (Harleysville/North Penn) delivered with a smash past third base to score Bare for the 2-1 advantage.
Unfortunately the lead would be short lived as Millersville's Jeremy Musser tied the score with his RBI infield single in the top of the third, a slow roller toward third base with two outs. Millersville loaded the bases, but Bare caught a liner in left for the final out as the Marauders stranded three runners.
Millersville moved ahead with a three-run fourth when McCormick went deep again, hitting a three-run homer to left with all runs being unearned following a Huskies fielding error.
After the Marauders tacked on a run in the fifth, Damin Muth (Breinigsville/Parkland) drove in a run in the home half of the inning with a hit to left.
The Marauders put the game away in the sixth, though, scoring three more times. Millersville also added two insurance runs in the seventh.
An RBI single to left from West completed the scoring for the Huskies.
Benson and West each had two hits each for BU with West knocking in a pair of runs.
Brandon Miller moved to 7-1 on the year for Millersville, tossing six innings while allowing four runs on 11 hits with no walks and five strikeouts.
Tyler Hill (Lehighton/Lehighton) (3-2) started for Bloomsburg with just one of the six runs against him on the day being earned. Hill struck out four and walked one.
GAME TWO – Millersville 15, Bloomsburg 4 | Box Score (HTML)
After two scoreless innings from Millersville starter Jim McDade and Bloomsburg's starter Sean McCloskey (Warminster/Archbishop Wood), the Marauders seized control with four runs in the third.
The Marauders scored twice more in the fourth for a 6-0 cushion, but the Huskies finally got on the board on an RBI ground out off the bat of Almand in the fourth.
Millersville led 7-1 after a run in the fifth, but the Huskies made things interesting in the home half of the inning.
Austin Edgette (Exton/Downingtown East) started the rally with a double to right center with one away. Frain followed by driving a double of his own to the fence in center, scoring Edgette from second. Muth went down swinging after an eight-pitch battle, but Tim Ravel (Sinking Spring/Wilson) then delivered another Huskies double to score Frain. Freshman Shane Woelfel (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah) kept the momentum going by punching a single up the middle to make the score 7-4.
The visitors exploded with eight runs to put the game away in the sixth, however. Millersville sent 12 men to the plate in the inning with McCormick delivering his third home run of the day.
Dan Neff went 4-for-5 for Millersville while McCormick drove in three more runs and Tyler Orris and David Summerfield each finished with three hits apiece.
Ravel finished with a 3-for-4 day at the plate including a pair of doubles for the Huskies. Edgette also had two hits.
McDade (4-2) went five innings on the hill, allowing three runs on six hits to earn the win, adding three strikeouts with no walks.
Zach Newmyer (New Cumberland/Red Land) worked 1.2 innings of scoreless relief out of the Bloomsburg bullpen, striking out one.
The Huskies return to action against Mansfield on Wednesday in a doubleheader that has not had a game site finalized due to Mansfield's field not being playable.
