Baseball | 4/30/2018 1:57:00 PM

THE DETAILS
Bloomsburg (27-13, 16-8 PSAC East) vs Pitt-Johnstown (11-26, 8-16 PSAC West)
Tuesday, May 1 | 3:00 PM | Bloomsburg, Pa. | Danny Litwhiler Field

GAME COVERAGE
Live Stats

RELATED LINKS
Bloomsburg - Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Pitt-Johnstown - Roster | Schedule | Statistics

STORYLINE
Bloomsburg, the top-ranked team in the Atlantic Region according to the initial NCAA Division II regional polls released last Wednesday afternoon, clinched a PSAC postseason berth on Sunday by virtue of its split with #21 West Chester University. The Huskies are currently in a three-way tie for first place in the Eastern Division (with West Chester and Millersville) with a 16-8 divisional record. The Mountain Cats, meanwhile, have been eliminated from playoff contention. Pitt-Johnstown has won three times in its last ten games.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Pitt-Johnstown leads the overall series against Bloomsburg, 3-2. Last season, the teams split a doubleheader in Williamston, North Carolina back on February 19, 2017. The Huskies took game one, 9-3, before falling in game two by an 8-7 final.

SCOUTING BLOOMSBURG
Offensively, the Huskies are second in the PSAC with a .324 team batting average, trailing only Lock Haven's .337 mark. Bloomsburg currently leads the conference, and ranks second in the country, with a .429 team on-base percentage and ranks second in the league, 16th in the country, with a .498 team slugging percentage. Austin Edgette (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) leads the PSAC with a .475 average (58-of-122) and has hit safely in 33 of his 36 games played this season. Edgette also leads the team, or is tied for the team lead, in runs scored (43), hits (58), triples (2), total bases (90), on-base percentage (.570), slugging percentage (.738), and stolen bases (19). His .570 on-base percentage also leads the conference while his .738 slugging percentage is third in the league. He also ranks second in the conference in stolen bases. Shane Woelfel (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah), who has not played since April 14 against Mansfield, is second on the team, third 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 .365 average (54-of-148) which has him third on the team. He leads the team in doubles (16) and ranks second in runs scored (42), hits (54), total bases (84), and stolen bases (9). His 16 doubles are tied for third in the league. Chad Cooperman (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury), Ben Newbert (Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Harriton), and Nate Krizan (Montoursville, Pa./Loyalsock Township) also have averages above .300 on the season. Cooperman is hitting .341 (30-of-88) with one home run and 19 RBI while Newbert is batting .319 (36-of-113) with five home runs and a team-high 38 runs driven in. Krizan, since an 0-for-7 day at the plate against Slippery Rock, has 16 hits in his last 28 at bats to get his average to .311 (37-of-119) on the season. The sophomore has two home runs and 24 RBI. 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 20 runs, and driven in at least 19 runs.

On the mound, the Huskies are eighth in the PSAC with a 5.60 team earned run average. Bloomsburg is, however, tied for fourth in the league in opponents' batting average at .265. Nick Stoner (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) leads the Huskies with a 2.95 ERA in eight appearances (seven starts). He is 4-1 and has allowed only 23 hits in 36.2 innings while striking out 34. His .173 batting average against is seventh in the conference. Cooperman is second among starters with a 3.89 ERA in eight starts while posting a 2-2 record. He has struck out 43 batters in 39.1 innings. Ashton Raines (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) is 6-1 on the season with a 3.90 ERA in 12 appearances (nine starts). He has limited the opposition to a .243 average and has struck out a team-high 51 batters in a team-high 55.1 innings. Meanwhile, JJ Spehrley (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville Area) has emerged as the other weekend starter and is 6-1 with a 5.57 ERA in 11 appearances (five starts). He has 27 strikeouts in 32.1 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 five saves and a 3.09 ERA in a team-best 16 appearances this season. He has struck out 19 batters in 23.1 innings and is tied for third in the conference in saves.

SCOUTING PITT-JOHNSTOWN
The Mountain Cats are ninth in the PSAC with a .295 team batting average. Jack Shirk is the team's leading hitter at .375 (42-of-112). He leads the team, and ranks second in the PSAC, with 17 doubles to go along with two home runs and 13 runs batted in. Mason Prickett is second on the squad with a .370 average (30-of-81). He has two home runs and 14 RBI and has been plunked 12 times to give him a team-high on-base percentage of .485. Dan Clark is hitting .346 (40-of-135) and is the team's main power source. He leads the team in both home runs (5) and runs batted in (27) while ranking second on the team with 11 doubles. He also leads the Mountain Cats in both runs (30) and hits (45). Cameron Gerhard and Scott Thompson also having averages north of .300 this season.

What has been Pitt-Johnstown's achilles heel is its pitching as the team has the second-to-worst ERA in the PSAC at 8.44. Opponents are hitting .319 off of the Mountain Cats' pitching staff. Dylan Heid is the team's ace with a 3.96 ERA in ten appearances (seven starts) but only has a 1-6 record to show for his strong season. Opponents are hitting only .236 off of Heid and he has a team-high 44 strikeouts in 38.2 innings. Brady Walker has the team's next-best ERA at 5.33 while going 2-4 on the season. He has struck out 41 batters in 50.2 innings of work. Only Heid and Brad Coleman (.269) have kept opponents under a .300 average on the season. Coleman (1-0, 7.71 ERA) has one of the team's two saves with Nathan Bearer (0-1, 6.50 ERA) collecting the other.

UP NEXT
Bloomsburg will tangle with Millersville University in a four-game series beginning Friday, May 4 in Millersville. The teams will then reconvene at Danny Litwhiler Field on Saturday, May 5, for Senior Day. Both doubleheaders will begin at 1:00 p.m. The series could determine the PSAC East regular-season championship and will have enormous seeding implications for the PSAC tournament which is slated to begin on Wednesday, May 9, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.