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HAMPTON, Va. - The Bloomsburg University baseball team got three hits and three runs batted in from redshirt junior Austin Edgette (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) and eight solid innings on the mound from sophomore Trey Hinkle (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) en route to a 7-3 victory over the College of St. Joseph (Vt.) on Friday morning at the Builder Invitational, hosted by the Newport New Apprentice School. The Huskies improved to 4-2 overall while the Fighting Saints dropped to 4-6 on the season.

Hinkle, who lasted just two innings in his first start against Pitt-Johnstown, allowed three runs on five hits in eight innings. He walked two and struck out five for his first win in a Bloomsburg uniform. Redshirt freshman James Reardon IV (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) came on in the ninth and allowed one hit while striking out one in a scoreless inning.

Edgette collected three of Bloomsburg's six hits on the afternoon while redshirt senior Ryuta Amaike (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) continued to swing a hot bat as he went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Senior Damin Muth (Breinigsville, Pa./Parkland) had the Huskies' other hit on the day.

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the third inning when the Huskies got on the board with an unearned run. Nelson Barriero, who went five innings for the Fighting Saints, retired the first two batters of the inning but freshman Nate Krizan (Montoursville, Pa./Loyalsock) kept the inning alive when he reached on an error with two outs. Edgette came up and stroked a triple down the right field line to score Krizan and to give the Huskies a 1-0 advantage.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Huskies added a pair of runs to take a 3-0 lead. Freshman Blake Gular (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton) led off the inning with a walk and then advanced to second when freshman Chad Cooperman (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury) was hit by a pitch. Krizan sacrificed the runners up 90 feet and Edgette plated both runners with a two-run single to give Bloomsburg a three-run lead. The Huskies tried to tack on more, but Edgette was gunned down at the plate, on a single from Muth, to close out the inning.

Momentum quickly shifted following the play as St. Joseph scored three times in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at 3-3. Connor Martin got the Fighting Saints on the board with an RBI groundout and Chris Doyle plated a pair with a two-out, two-run single to knot the score.

However, the Huskies responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame against Fighting Saints' reliever, Derek Sanderson. Sophomore Ryan Shiffer (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South) led off the inning with a walk and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Amaike then singled to put runners at the corners with nobody out. Gular walked to load the bases with one out and then Sanderson uncorked his third wild pitch of the inning to score Shiffer to give the Huskies a 4-3 lead. Cooperman added a sacrifice fly to center to score Amaike for the second run of the inning.

Bloomsburg added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth - on three walks, one hit batter, and two wild pitches, to build up a 7-3 advantage. Freshmen Tyler Nowmos (Wrightstown, Pa./Council Rock North) and Cole Swiger (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin) scored the Huskies' runs in the inning - both after wild pitches.

Reardon IV allowed a one-out single in the top of the ninth but then closed out the game on a strikeout to secure the Huskies' second consecutive victory.

Hinkle was in control for much of the game as he recorded 19 of his 24 outs via groundout or strikeout. Other than the sixth inning, during which St. Joseph scored all three of its runs, Hinkle did not allow a runner into scoring position.

Sanderson took the loss for the Fighting Saints as he allowed four earned runs on one hit. He walked five, hit a batter, and unleashed five wild pitches.

The Huskies return to action on Friday evening against IUP. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.