Baseball | 4/17/2018 11:51:00 AM

THE DETAILS
Slippery Rock (19-9, 12-4 PSAC West) at Bloomsburg (21-7, 13-3 PSAC East)
Wednesday, April 18 - 1:00 PM (DH)
Bloomsburg, Pa. | Danny Litwhiler Field

GAME COVERAGE
Live Stats

RELATED LINKS
Bloomsburg - Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Slippery Rock - Roster | Schedule | Statistics

STORYLINE
While Wednesday's games do not count in the divisional standings, the doubleheader between Slippery Rock and Bloomsburg could have major postseason implications for receiving regional berths in the 2018 NCAA Division II Tournament. The Huskies have climbed all the way up to fourth in the region according to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) by virtue of winning eight of their last nine and 14 of their last 17 games. Slippery Rock is third in the region and is coming off of a four-game split against 11th-ranked Mercyhurst last weekend.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Slippery Rock leads the all-time series, 14-10, over Bloomsburg. Last season, the teams split a doubleheader in Slippery Rock with the Huskies winning game one, 14-6, in nine innings before falling to The Rock, 5-4, in game two.

SCOUTING BLOOMSBURG
Offensively, the Huskies are second in the PSAC with a .325 team batting average, trailing only Lock Haven's .328 mark. Bloomsburg currently leads the conference with a .433 team on-base percentage and is third in the league in slugging percentage (.498). Austin Edgette (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East), who has claimed each of the last two PSAC East Player of the Week honors, leads the team with a .470 average (39-of-83) which puts him second in the league. Edgette, who has hit safely in 23 of his 24 games this season, also leads the team in runs scored (33), home runs (5), on-base percentage (.573), slugging percentage (.795), and stolen bases (8). His .573 on-base percentage is tops in the conference while his .795 slugging percentage is second in the league. Shane Woelfel (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah) is second on the team, fourth in the PSAC, with a .437 average (38-of-87). He is second on the team in on-base percentage (.509) and slugging percentage (.644) and is tied for second in home runs with four. Cole Swiger (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin) has posted a .381 average (40-of-105) which has him third on the team. He leads the team in hits (40) and doubles (12) while ranking second in runs (30), home runs (4), and stolen bases (6). Chad Cooperman (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury) and Ben Newbert (Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Harriton) also have averages above .300 on the season. Cooperman is hitting .367 (22-of-60) with 14 RBI while Newbert is batting .342 (25-of-73) while ranking second on the team with 26 runs driven in.

On the mound, the Huskies are third in the PSAC with a 4.33 team earned run average, trailing only Seton Hill (3.64) and Mercyhurst (3.82). Bloomsburg is also second in the league in opponents' batting average at .235. Nick Stoner (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) leads the team with a 1.98 ERA while sporting a 4-0 record on the season. In seven appearances (six starts), Stoner has allowed only 20 hits in 36.1 innings while striking out 34. His .155 batting average against is fourth in the conference. Ashton Raines (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) is 6-0 on the season with a 2.45 ERA. He has limited the opposition to a .194 average and has struck out a team-high 37 batters in a team-high 44 innings. Cooperman has a 2.53 ERA in six starts and has struck out 33 batters in 32 innings. He threw his first collegiate complete-game shutout on Saturday against Mansfield. Meanwhile, JJ Spehrley (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville Area) has emerged as the other weekend starter and is 5-0 with a 3.81 ERA in nine appearances (three starts). He has 23 strikeouts in 26 innings. Out of the bullpen, Trey Hinkle (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) has been the savior as of late. He had a win and two saves in four appearances against East Stroudsburg two weekends ago and is now 2-0 with four saves and a 4.05 ERA in nine appearances this season. He has struck out 15 batters in 13.1 innings. Mike Warren (Garnerville, N.Y./St. Joseph Regional) and Ed Herbener (Freeland, Pa./MMI Preparatory School) have also pitched well in relief.

SCOUTING SLIPPERY ROCK
At the plate, Slippery Rock is seventh in the PSAC with a .305 team batting average. The Rock have hit a league-high 40 home runs in 29 games and they lead the league in slugging percentage (.522). Abraham Mow leads the team in hitting with a .370 batting average (34-of-92). He has a team-high 10 doubles to go along with six home runs and 25 runs batted in. Christian Porterfield is batting .362 (34-of-94) to rank second on the team. He leads the team with 30 runs scored, 29 runs batted in, and a .713 slugging percentage. He is tied for the team lead, with Tyler Walters, in home runs with eight. Walters is hitting .345 (29-of-84) on the season and has driven in 24 runs. Joe Campagna is also having a fine year at the plate as he sports a .357 average (30-of-84) with five home runs and 27 RBI. Six of Slippery Rock's nine usual starters have an average above .300 on the season.

On the mound, Slippery Rock is sixth in the league with a 4.88 team ERA. Matt Gordon has been sensational as he enters with a 4-0 record and a team-best 2.23 ERA in six starts. He has allowed 29 hits in 36.1 innings while walking only two batters and striking out 27. Chris Anastas is 4-1 with a 3.98 ERA in six starts while Alex Pantuso (4-2, 4.15 ERA) has struck out 63 batters in only 39 innings of work. He ranks third in the PSAC in strikeouts. Out of the bullpen, Wyatt Daugherty leads the conference with six saves. He is 2-2 in a team-high 12 appearances and sports a 3.94 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 16 innings.

UP NEXT
The Huskies will return to divisional play when they open a four-game weekend series against Eastern Division rival, Lock Haven University. The teams will begin in Lock Haven on Friday, April 20, before heading back to Bloomsburg on Saturday afternoon to conclude the series. Both doubleheaders are scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Stay tuned for buhuskies.com for any schedule changes.