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WILLIAMSTON, N.C. – The Bloomsburg University baseball team opened the 2016 regular season on Friday morning with an 11-1 loss to Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West rival, Seton Hill University, at Riverside High School on a sunny, but cool morning. It was also the season opener for the Griffins, who finished 43-13 a year ago.
 
Seton Hill did a majority of its damage in the second and fourth innings against redshirt junior starter, Ryuta Amaike (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall). The Griffins plated four runs in the second and then scored six more times in the fourth to take a 10-0 advantage.
 
After a one-two-three top of the first inning for Amaike, the righthander was touched up for four runs, two of which were earned, on five hits in the top of the second inning. Seton Hill's Tyler Sullivan drove in the first runs of the game with a two-run single down the right field line. Taylor Schmidt followed with an RBI single and, later in the inning, Sullivan made it all the way around the bases and eventually scored on a wild pitch for the final run of the frame.
 
In the fourth, Garrett Vrbanic made the score 5-0 with an RBI single and eventually scored himself on a two-run single from Anthony Fanelli. After Amaike hit Chris Miller with a pitch, senior righthander Alex Carpenter (South Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport) was summoned from the bullpen with runners at first and second with one out. Carpenter was greeted rudely as he served up a three-run round-tripper to Zac Heide – the first batter Carpenter faced – to extend the Seton Hill lead to 10-0.
 
Amaike allowed nine runs, six earned, on seven hits in three and one-third innings. The righthander struck out four but allowed four walks, two wild pitches, and a hit batter.
 
After serving up the home run, Carpenter settled down and kept the Griffins off the scoreboard during the rest of his outing. He finished by allowing one run on three hits in four and two-thirds innings. He walked two and struck out two.
 
Bloomsburg solved Seton Hill starter, Jordan Fuller, in the bottom of the seventh. Sophomore Tyler Benson (Montville, N.J./Montville Township) led off the inning with an infield single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Junior Damin Muth (Breinigsville, Pa./Parkland), a preseason NCBWA All-Atlantic Region Second Team selection, drove home the only Husky run of the day with a double to center field plating Benson. Senior Joey Casselberry (Eagleville, Pa./Methacton) followed with a double putting runners at second and third with nobody out, but the Huskies could not muster any more runs as Fuller, and reliever Zach Martinelli, got out of the jam with no further damage.
 
Fuller finished by allowing one run on five hits in six and one-third innings. He didn't walk a batter and struck out ten Huskies. Martinelli allowed a hit and struck out two in two and two-thirds innings of relief.
 
Seton Hill scored its final run of the game on a solo home run from Matt Malacane in the top of the ninth inning against freshman Jeremy Zezza (Exeter, Pa./Wyoming Area). Zezza pitched only the ninth and allowed two hits and a walk but all three outs recorded were via strikeout.
 
Muth finished the afternoon with two of Bloomsburg's six hits. Benson, Casselberry, senior Ryan Kirman (Little Silver, N.J./Red Bank Regional), and freshman Tristan Kevitch (Ardmore, Pa./Harriton) had the other hits for the Huskies.
 
Heide, Vrbanic, and Malacane each had two of Seton Hill's 12 hits against three Bloomsburg pitchers.
 
The Huskies will look to pick up their first victory of the season on Saturday morning, February 20, when they square off against Indiana (PA). First pitch is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. from Riverside High School in Williamston.