HTML BOX SCORE vs SETON HILL
HTML BOX SCORE vs LE MOYNE

THOMASVILLE, N.C. - The Bloomsburg University baseball team split a pair of contests on Sunday afternoon, taking the opening game against Seton Hill by a 9-2 final before dropping a 12-3 decision to Le Moyne in the nightcap. The Huskies moved to 7-5 on the season and won two of their three games at Finch Field this weekend. The Griffins fell to 3-3 while the Dolphins improved to 7-3.

In the opener, the Huskies got eight dominant innings on the mound from sophomore Ashton Raines (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) and home runs from junior Tyler Benson (Montville, N.J./Montville Township), freshman Cole Swiger (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin), and freshman Andrew Holmes (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Egg Harbor Township) en route to the win over Seton Hill.

Raines allowed two runs while scattering nine hits over eight innings of work to improve to 2-0 on the young season. The righthander walked one and struck out a career-high 10 batters in his third start of the season. He threw 113 pitches during the outing, 80 of which were strikes.

The game was close early as Raines and Seton Hill starter, Zach Martinelli, were locked in a low-scoring duel for five innings before Bloomsburg was able to blow the game open in the later innings. The Griffins struck first with a run in the top of the first inning before the Huskies responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the frame when senior Damin Muth (Breinigsville, Pa./Parkland) singled down the left field line to drive home Benson, who reached on a one-out single.

Neither team scored again until the top of the fifth when Seton Hill plated a run to take a 2-1 advantage. But, in the bottom half, Benson launched a 1-0 offering from Martinelli over the right field fence to knot the game at 2-2. It was Benson's third home run of the season, tying him with Muth for the early team lead.

Bloomsburg took the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth when Holmes belted a two-run home run to right field - his first collegiate round tripper - to give the Huskies a 4-2 advantage. Swiger stretched the lead in the bottom of the seventh when he connected on his first collegiate home run - a three-run shot to left off of Seton Hill reliever Bryce Spak with two outs. Spak, in fact, retired the first two Huskies before redshirt senior Ryuta Amaike (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) kept the inning alive with a single. After sophomore Ryan Shiffer (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South) walked, Swiger delivered the big blow to give the Huskies a 7-2 lead.

The Huskies tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth on a two-out, two-run double from Amaike.

Freshman Chad Cooperman (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury) came on in the ninth, in relief of Raines, and retired the side in order which included a pair of strikeouts.

Both teams had nine hits in the opener, but Bloomsburg took advantage of four Seton Hill errors and used the long ball to earn the victory. Benson, Amaike, and redshirt junior Austin Edgette (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) each had two hits to lead the Huskies while Benson scored three times in the victory.

In the nightcap, Le Moyne got to redshirt junior starter Zach Meyer (Muncy Valley, Pa./Sullivan County) early and never looked back as it posted the 12-3 victory over the Huskies.

Meyer faced 15 batters in two-plus innings and allowed six runs (five earned) on ten hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out two to drop to 1-1 on the season. The Dolphins' Sean Pisik benefited from the offense and improved to 3-0 after allowing only an unearned run and four hits in six innings. He walked four and struck out nine.

The Dolphins got the on the board with three runs on five hits in the bottom of the second against Meyer to take a 3-0 lead. After Amaike cut the lead to two with an RBI single in the top of the third, Le Moyne chased Meyer in the bottom of the third by starting the inning with four consecutive hits against the righthander to end his afternoon. Sophomore Trey Hinkle (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) came on in relief and allowed two more runs to score, thanks to an error, as the Dolphins took a 6-1 lead after three innings.

Le Moyne added two runs in the bottom of the fifth and then tacked on another in the sixth to balloon the advantage to 9-1. In the top of the seventh, Bloomsburg got a run back when Benson scored on a two-out Dolphin error.  Benson had reached with a one-out double. The Dolphins scored three in the bottom of the eighth before Benson plated a run in the top of the ninth with an RBI double for the final tally of the contest.

Hinkle, freshman Brett Alaimo (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township), sophomore Jeremy Zezza (Exeter, Pa./Wyoming Area), and freshman Ed Herbener (Freeland, Pa./MMI Preparatory School) combined to pitch the final six innings and allowed six runs on four hits.

Amaike continued his hot start to the season by going 3-for-5 with an RBI in the setback. Benson had two hits in four trips while Muth added the Huskies' only other hit in the contest. JT Pittman went 3-for-5 with two home runs and six runs batted in for the Dolphins.

The Huskies will travel to Brevard College on Saturday, March 11 and Sunday, March 12. The teams will play a single, nine-inning game on Saturday with the first pitch being thrown at 3:00 p.m. The teams will then play a twinbill on Sunday with a 12:00 p.m. start time.