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VIDEO OF MUTH'S SEVENTH-INNING HOME RUN

HAMPTON, Va. - Senior Damin Muth (Breinigsville, Pa./Parkland) belted two home runs and drove in seven as the Bloomsburg University baseball team outslugged Kutztown University, 17-11, on Saturday afternoon at the Builder Invitational, hosted by the Newport News Apprentice School. The Huskies improved to 5-3 on the season while the Golden Bears fell to 2-1 in the early going.

The Huskies, who were blanked on just six hits by IUP on Friday night, had a season-high 15 hits against four Kutztown pitchers on Saturday afternoon. Muth finished the day going 3-for-4 with four runs scored, two home runs, and seven runs batted in. Freshman Blake Gular (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton) also had three hits, including his first collegiate home run, while redshirt junior Austin Edgette (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East), redshirt senior Ryuta Amaike (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall), and sophomore Ryan Shiffer (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South) each had two hits in the win. Amaike also belted his first collegiate round tripper.

Edgette wasted little time jump-starting the offense as he led off the game with a triple against Kutztown starter, Anthony Atticks, and promptly scored on an RBI groundout from junior Tyler Benson (Montville, N.J./Montville Township) to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. The Golden Bears answered with a run in the bottom of the second against redshirt junior Zach Meyer (Muncy Valley, Pa./Sullivan County) to tie the game at 1-1.

Bloomsburg regained the lead courtesy of a three-run third inning. Freshman Nate Krizan (Montoursville, Pa./Loyalsock) started the rally with a leadoff single and, after a pair of groundouts moved him to third, Muth came up with an RBI single to give the Huskies a 2-1 lead. Amaike followed with his first career home run - a blast to left field - to extend the advantage to 4-1.

However, Kutztown exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the fourth against Meyer to take a 9-4 lead. The Golden Bears had two three-run home runs in the frame - one from Joe Santospago and the other from Bo Rottet - to aid in the outburst. However, five of the eight runs in the inning were unearned as a one-out error proved costly.

The Huskies came right back with four runs in the top of the fifth inning to cut the Kutztown lead to 9-8. Golden Bears' reliever Anthony DeVito struggled with his command early as he allowed back-to-back walks to Edgette and Benson to start the inning. Muth came up and launched his first home run of the game - a three-run bomb to left - to trim the lead to 9-7. Shiffer kept the bats going as he followed with a double to right center and then scored on Gular's RBI single, two batters later.

Kutztown answered with an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth before the Huskies got that run right back in the top of the sixth to stay within a run, 10-9. Edgette singled up the middle to start the inning and then Benson and Muth were both plunked to load the bases with nobody out. However, the only run Bloomsburg could muster came on a sacrifice fly from Shiffer with one out in the inning.

The Golden Bears tacked on another run against Meyer in the bottom of the sixth before Muth and the Huskies poured it on in the seventh. Gular led off the inning with a double and, after back-to-back hit batsmen again, scored from third on a wild pitch to cut the lead to 11-10. Benson followed with an RBI single to tie the game at 11-11 and Muth hit a mammoth home run - his second three-run round-tripper of the game - over the scoreboard in left center field to give Bloomsburg a 14-11 advantage.

Freshman Brett Alaimo (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) came on in relief of Meyer in the seventh inning and slammed the door on the Golden Bears for his second three-inning save in as many appearances this season. The Huskies, meanwhile, continued to score as Gular led off the top of the eighth with his first collegiate home run to extend the lead to 15-11. Bloomsburg added two more in the ninth on a two-run double from freshman Cole Swiger (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin). Kutztown had two runners on in the bottom of the ninth, but could not score.

Meyer earned his first win of the season despite allowing 11 runs (five earned) and ten hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out one. Alaimo, meanwhile, was sensational as he pitched three scoreless innings and allowed two hits while striking out five. Kutztown's Matt Matricardi suffered the loss as he gave up six runs (all earned) on four hits and four hit batters in an inning and a-third.

Gular was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two runs batted in while Edgette and Benson each scored three times hitting in the 1-2 spots of the batting order. Amaike was 2-for-6 with two runs scored and two RBI.

The Huskies will play again on Sunday against an opponent and at a time to be determined during the final day of the Builder Invitational.