Baseball | 4/27/2018 9:10:00 AM

THE DETAILS
Bloomsburg (26-10, 15-5 PSAC East) vs #21 West Chester (24-12, 13-7 PSAC East)
Saturday, April 28 | 1:00 PM (DH) | West Chester, Pa. | Serpico Stadium
Sunday, April 29 | 1:00 PM (DH) | Bloomsburg, Pa. | Danny Litwhiler Field

GAME COVERAGE
Saturday (Both Games) - Live Stats
Sunday (Both Games) - Live Stats

RELATED LINKS
Bloomsburg - Roster | Schedule | Statistics
West Chester - Roster | Schedule | Statistics

STORYLINE
Bloomsburg, the top-ranked team in the Atlantic Region according to the initial NCAA Division II regional polls released on Wednesday afternoon, currently holds a two-game lead in the PSAC Eastern Division over both West Chester and Millersville. The Golden Rams currently occupy the third spot in the Atlantic Regional rankings. The series features two of the frontrunners for PSAC East Player of the Year - Bloomsburg's Austin Edgette (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) and West Chester's Jared Melone.

ALL-TIME SERIES
West Chester leads the all-time series against Bloomsburg, 62-31. The Golden Rams won three of four meetings against the Huskies last season.

SCOUTING BLOOMSBURG
Offensively, the Huskies are second in the PSAC with a .328 team batting average, trailing only Lock Haven's .344 mark. Bloomsburg currently leads the conference, and ranks second in the country, with a .435 team on-base percentage and ranks second in the league, 16th in the country, with a .508 team slugging percentage. Austin Edgette (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) leads all of Division II with a .495 average (55-of-111) and has hit safely in 30 of his 32 games played this season. Edgette also leads the team, or is tied for the team lead, in runs scored (41), on-base percentage (.588), slugging percentage (.775), and stolen bases (18). His .588 on-base percentage also leads the nation while his .775 slugging percentage is third in the league and 16th in the country. He also leads the conference in stolen bases. 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). Cole Swiger (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin) has posted a .383 average (51-of-133) which has him third on the team and 14th in the league. He leads the team in doubles (16) and ranks second in runs scored (40), hits (51), total bases (81), walks (23), and stolen bases (8). Chad Cooperman (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury) and Ben Newbert (Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Harriton) also have averages above .300 on the season. Cooperman is hitting .350 (28-of-80) with one home run and 19 RBI while Newbert is batting .333 (33-of-99) with four home runs and a team-high 35 runs driven in. Kyle OFier (Pittston, Pa./Pittston Area) leads the team with six home runs. In fact, all nine usual starters have hit at least one home run, scored at least 18 runs, and driven in at least 19 runs.

On the mound, the Huskies are fifth in the PSAC with a 5.14 team earned run average. Bloomsburg is also third in the league in opponents' batting average at .254. Cooperman leads the Huskies with a 2.88 ERA in seven starts while posting a 2-2 record. He has struck out 35 batters in 34.1 innings. Nick Stoner (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) is 4-1 with a 2.95 ERA in eight appearances (seven starts). The freshman has allowed 23 hits in 36.2 innings while striking out 34. His .173 batting average against is tenth in the conference. Ashton Raines (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) is 6-0 on the season with a 2.98 ERA in 11 appearances (eight starts). He has limited the opposition to a .217 average and has struck out a team-high 47 batters in a team-high 51.1 innings. Meanwhile, JJ Spehrley (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville Area) has emerged as the other weekend starter and is 6-0 with a 4.80 ERA in ten appearances (four starts). He has 26 strikeouts in 30 innings. Out of the bullpen, Trey Hinkle (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) has become a huge factor down the stretch as he is now 4-1 with four saves and a 3.32 ERA in 13 appearances this season. He has struck out 17 batters in 19 innings and is tied for fourth in the conference in saves.

SCOUTING WEST CHESTER
The Golden Rams are sixth in the PSAC with a .308 batting average and they are tied for third with 279 runs scored. Jared Melone is second in the PSAC, and in the country, with a .489 batting average (67-of-137). He leads the PSAC with 56 runs batted in and ranks second on the team with seven home runs. He is third in the PSAC in on-base percentage (.538) and fourth in slugging percentage (.759). Nick Ward is also a huge threat at the dish as he sports a .347 average (41-of-118) with 10 home runs and 39 runs batted in. He leads the PSAC with 54 runs scored and is tied for second in home runs. Like Melone, Ward also has an on-base percentage north of .500 (.503) and a slugging percentage better than .700 (.746). Shane Dressler is the other regular with a batting average higher than .300 as he comes in at a .331 clip (44-of-133) with three home runs and 35 RBI. The trio has combined to hit 20 of the team's 29 home runs.

On the mound, West Chester is fourth in the league with a 4.45 team ERA. The four usual weekend starters each have ERAs at 4.76 or better. Zach Rice and Mike Cipolla are tied for the team lead with five victories apiece. Rice is 5-2 with a 4.35 ERA in ten appearances (eight starts) while Cipolla is 5-1 with a 4.56 ERA in nine appearances (eight starts). Rice also leads the team with 30 strikeouts in 49.2 innings. Andrew Scarpelli has had a fantastic year out of the pen as he is 1-0 with a 1.71 ERA in 13 outings. He has punched out 28 batters in 21 innings and is holding opponents to a .162 batting average.

UP NEXT
Bloomsburg will play its final regular season non-conference game of the year when it hosts Pitt-Johnstown at Danny Litwhiler Field on Tuesday, May 1, for a single, nine-inning game. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. and it will be Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day at the ballpark.