GAME 1 HTML BOX SCORE | GAME 2 HTML BOX SCORE

EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg University baseball team kept right on rolling on Sunday afternoon as it completed a doubleheader sweep at East Stroudsburg University. The Huskies came-from-behind to win game one, 4-2, and then won a slugfest in game two, 13-11, to improve to 16-6 overall and 8-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division. The Warriors, meanwhile, dropped to 14-12 overall and 4-6 in the division.
 
In game one, sophomore JJ Spehrley (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville Area) allowed only three hits – all of which came during East Stroudsburg's two-run second inning – in just his second collegiate start. He walked three and struck out two to improve to 5-0 on the season. Junior Trey Hinkle (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) pitched a perfect seventh inning, including two strikeouts, for his fourth save of the season. It was his second save during the four-game series against the Warriors.
 
East Stroudsburg scored the first two runs of the game in the bottom of the second after stringing together three consecutive hits against Spehrley. Mike Sulcoski and Carson Freeman had the run-scoring hits for the Warriors.
 
Those, however, would be the only hits East Stroudsburg would manage against the righthander and the Huskies would begin to chip away against Freeman who started on the mound for the Warriors.
 
In the top of the third, Bloomsburg responded with an unearned run to cut the lead to 2-1. Redshirt senior Austin Edgette (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) led off the inning with a double and then advanced to third on a groundout off the bat of redshirt junior Shane Woelfel (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah). Edgette came in to score the lone run of the inning when junior Ryan Shiffer (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South) reached on a fielding error.
 
Spehrley kept the Warriors off the scoreboard in the third and fourth innings and then Bloomsburg struck for three runs in the top of the fifth to take a 4-2 advantage. Edgette walked to lead off the frame and then advanced to second on a bunt single from Woelfel. Shiffer attempted to sacrifice both runners ahead but got more than he bargained for as a throwing error allowed the Huskies to load the bases. Sophomore Andrew Holmes (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Egg Harbor Township) came through with a two-run single, scoring both Edgette and Woelfel, to give Bloomsburg a 3-2 lead. Three batters later, sophomore Chad Cooperman (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury) drove home Holmes with an RBI single to extend the advantage to 4-2.
 
Spehrley pitched around a one-out walk in the sixth and then Hinkle nailed down his fourth save by striking out the first two batters he faced before retiring Zarley Cina on a flyout to center to end the game.
 
Freeman dropped to 1-1 on the season for East Stroudsburg after allowing four runs (one earned) on seven hits in five and one-third innings. He walked two and struck out three.
 
The Huskies out-hit the Warriors, 10-3, in the opener. Cooperman finished 3-for-4 with an RBI while Edgette and Woelfel each had a pair of hits. Edgette scored two of the Huskies' four runs and had the only extra-base hit for either team – a leadoff double in the third.
 
Game two was quite different as the Huskies had to win a slugfest to complete the sweep.
 
Cooperman took the mound for Bloomsburg in the nightcap and pitched brilliantly until running into trouble in the bottom of the fourth. Meanwhile, the offense got to East Stroudsburg starter Logan Zavada early to set the tone.
 
The Huskies took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first as sophomore Cole Swiger (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin) led off the inning with a double and then came in to score on a two-out RBI single from Shiffer. The Warriors managed to tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom half of the first on a solo home run from Steven Zimmerman but the Huskies got it right back in the top of the second when freshman Ben Newbert (Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Harriton) launched his first collegiate home run to straightaway center to leadoff the frame. Bloomsburg later added another run in the second that was charged to Zavada. Freshman Kyle OFier (Pittston, Pa./Pittston Area) was hit by a pitch and freshman Jake Reed (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) walked to end Zavada's day early. After a sacrifice bunt from sophomore Nate Krizan (Montoursville, Pa./Loyalsock Township), Swiger hit a sacrifice fly to center off of Mike Pepio to give the Huskies a 3-1 lead.
 
It stayed that way until the top of the fourth when the Huskies added another run to extend the lead to 4-1. Newbert led off the inning with a single and later came in to score on a double steal as Reed, who walked with one out, swiped second on the play.
 
But, the Warriors, who had managed only the solo home run in the first inning, finally solved Cooperman as they struck for three runs of four hits in the bottom of the fourth to tie game at 4-4. Bloomsburg, however, answered with three runs in the top of the fifth to retake its three-run lead at 7-4. Edgette led off the inning with a bunt single, stole second, and then came in to score on an RBI triple by Shiffer. Then, with two outs, the Warriors intentionally walked Newbert to pitch to OFier and the freshman second baseman made them pay by lacing a two-run double to bring home both Shiffer and Newbert for the 7-4 lead.
 
East Stroudsburg got a run back in the bottom of the fifth before the Huskies scored four more times in the sixth to take a commanding, 11-5, advantage. Krizan led off with a walk and then advanced to third on a double by Swiger. Edgette brought them both home with a two-run triple to build the lead to 9-5. Three batters later, Holmes doubled to score Edgette and then Newbert singled to score Holmes for the 11-5 lead.
 
But, the Warriors came storming back in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 11-11 with six runs on four hits, two walks, a hit batsman, and a costly fielding error, against three Bloomsburg pitchers.
 
Bloomsburg threatened in the seventh as it started the frame with back-to-back walks to Krizan and Swiger. Two batters later, Woelfel reached on an infield single to load the bases with one out. Shiffer then came through with a two-run single to give the Huskies a 13-11 lead before East Stroudsburg's Derrick Jackson wriggled out the jam without allowing any further damage.
 
Hinkle, who pitched to two batters in the sixth, pitched a perfect bottom of the seventh inning to nail down his first victory of the season.
 
Cooperman allowed five runs on six hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out five in the no-decision. Sophomore Ed Herbener (Freeland, Pa./MMI Preparatory School) and senior Mike Warren (Garnerville, N.Y./St. Joseph Regional) pitched the sixth before giving way to Hinkle who improved to 1-0 after striking out a batter in an inning and a third. Andrew Alvino fell to 1-1 for the Warriors as he allowed the two-run single to Shiffer in the seventh.
 
Bloomsburg had 14 hits in game two – three each from Shiffer and Newbert. Shiffer went 3-for-5 with a run scored and four runs batted in while Newbert was 3-for-4 with three runs scored, a home run, and two RBI. Swiger, Edgette, and OFier added two hits apiece. In fact, all nine Huskies starters reached base at least once and eight of the nine starters either had a hit, scored a run, or drove in a run.
 
Bloomsburg will return to conference action next Friday, April 13, and Saturday, April 14, as it will battle PSAC East-rival, Mansfield University. The teams will begin the four-game series in Mansfield on Friday before heading to Bloomsburg on Saturday. Both doubleheaders are slated to begin at 1:00 p.m.