BREVARD, N.C. - The Bloomsburg University baseball team racked up twelve hits at the plate and got seven strong innings on the mound from redshirt junior Zach Meyer (Muncy Valley, Pa./Sullivan County) en route to a 7-2 victory at Brevard College on Sunday afternoon. The Huskies improved to 9-6 overall while the Tornados dropped to 8-16 on the season.

Meyer went seven innings and allowed two unearned runs on five hits to earn the victory as he improved to 2-1 on the season. He walked four and struck out three. Freshman Brett Alaimo (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) and sophomore Ashton Raines (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) combined to record the final six outs of the game as the Huskies took two of three from the Tornados over the weekend.

Bloomsburg jumped in front with a single run in the top of the first inning. Freshman Cole Swiger (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin) led off the inning with a double and eventually came around to score when junior Tyler Benson (Montville, N.J./Montville Township) reached on an error two batters later.

In the top half of the third, redshirt junior Austin Edgette (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) started a two-out rally with a double to left field. Benson drove him in with a run-scoring single to extend the Huskies' lead to 2-0. Then, in the fourth, freshman Nate Krizan (Montoursville, Pa./Loyalsock) drew a bases loaded walk to drive home the Huskies' third run of the day as the visitors built a 3-0 advantage.

The Tornados answered with a pair of unearned runs against Meyer in the bottom half of the fourth to cut the Bloomsburg lead to 3-2.

It remained a one-run game until the top of the sixth when the Huskies got both runs back and regained their three-run lead at 5-2. Sophomore Ryan Shiffer (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South) led off the inning with a double and advanced to third when freshman Chad Cooperman (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury) singled with one out. Swiger followed with the big blow of the inning - a two-run double to left field - to get the lead back to three.

Meyer stranded runners at first and third in the bottom half of the sixth and then, after a quiet seventh inning, came out to start the bottom of the eighth. But, back-to-back walks ended Meyer's afternoon and Alaimo came on in relief to try to protect the three-run lead. The freshman got a weak flyball to left field and then induced an inning-ending double play ball to keep the Huskies' advantage at 5-2.

Bloomsburg tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Benson led off the inning with a single and advanced to second when senior Damin Muth (Breinigsville, Pa./Parkland) was hit by a pitch. Redshirt senior Ryuta Amaike (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) put down a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance both runners 90 feet and freshman Blake Gular (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton) followed with a two-run double for the final runs of the afternoon.

Raines closed out the game with a perfect 1-2-3 ninth inning, including a strikeout.

Amaike went 2-for-2 with a pair of walks at the plate while Swiger, Edgette, and Benson each went 2-for-5 to pace the Huskies' offense. Benson, Swiger, and Gular each drove in a pair of runs while Muth scored twice.

Teke Scudder dropped to 1-4 on the season for Brevard as he allowed five runs on nine hits and six walks in 5.1 innings of work. 

Bloomsburg will head to Harrogate, Tennessee on Tuesday, March 14 and Wednesday, March 15 for a pair of nine-inning games against Lincoln Memorial. Both games are scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.