WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Bloomsburg University baseball team used strong pitching and timely hitting on Saturday afternoon as it swept a doubleheader at Winston-Salem State University in a battle of two regionally-ranked opponents. The Huskies won game one by the final of 10-4 and then completed the sweep with a 7-5 victory in the nightcap. With the victories, Bloomsburg improved to 5-1 on the young season while the Rams dropped to 10-4.

The Huskies entered the weekend ranked sixth in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Atlantic Region poll while the Rams were one spot ahead as they occupied the fifth spot in the latest poll.

Bloomsburg took control in the opener against Winston-Salem State starter, Jalen Scott, as it scored four runs in the first three innings to take a 4-0 lead. Sophomore Kyle OFier (Pittston Township, Pa./Pittston Area) drove home the first run with an RBI groundout that plated junior Cole Swiger (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin) who tripled with one out in the top of the first. Swiger kept the Huskies in the lead in the home half of the first when he gunned down Nick Ward at the plate to end the inning.

Sophomore Jared Burcin (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) gave the Huskies a 2-0 lead in the top of the second with an RBI double that scored junior Andrew Holmes (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Egg Harbor Township) who led off the inning with a walk. Bloomsburg tacked on two more runs in the top of the third as Swiger scored on a wild pitch and Holmes plated OFier with a run-scoring single for a 4-0 advantage.

Swiger continued swinging a hot bat as he connected for a leadoff home run in the top of the fifth inning to extend the Huskies' lead to 5-0. It was Swiger's team-leading third home run of the young season.

Senior Ashton Raines (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) continued to cruise through the Rams' batting order until he ran into trouble in the bottom of the seventh. Winston-Salem State loaded the bases with two outs and then was able to break through when Shannon Glover reached on an error that plated a pair of runs to cut the Huskies' lead to 5-2. Freshman Jared Marshman (Berwick, Pa./Berwick), the reigning PSAC East Pitcher of the Week, was summoned from the bullpen but allowed a two-run single to Ward which trimmed the lead to 5-4. Marshman was able to get Nick Williams to pop out to third to end the threat.

The Huskies got two of the runs back in the top of the eighth which extended the lead to 7-4. Junior Chad Cooperman (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury) reached on an error which allowed Burcin to score after he was plunked by a pitch with one out and then advanced to third on a double by senior Ryan Shiffer (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South). Shiffer later scored on a wild pitch for the second run of the inning.

Senior Trey Hinkle (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) came on in relief in the bottom of the eighth and allowed a pair of hits in the inning but pitched around trouble with a pair of strikeouts to end the frame. Bloomsburg added three in the ninth on three consecutive RBI singles from Shiffer, Cooperman, and redshirt freshman Carter Chasanov (Magnolia, Del./Polytech) to balloon the lead to 10-4. Hinkle slammed the door in the ninth for his first save of the season.

Raines improved to 2-0 on the year as he went six and two-thirds innings and allowed four runs - all unearned - on five hits. He walked one and struck out five. Marshman allowed one hit in one-third of an inning while Hinkle pitched around three hits in two scoreless innings while striking out two.

Offensively, the Huskies had 14 hits in the opener as Swiger led the way with a 3-for-5 performance with three runs scored and a home run. Chasanov, Holmes, Burcin, and Shiffer added two hits apiece.

Bloomsburg again took an early lead in game two as junior Nate Krizan (Montoursville, Pa./Home School) laid down a squeeze bunt in the top of the firsth inning to score Chasanov for a 1-0 lead. Chasanov led off the inning with a single against Rams' starter Cole Parks, stole second, and then advanced to third on a passed ball before the bunt from Krizan.

Krizan gave the Huskies a 3-0 lead in the top of the third with a two-out, two-run single as he drove home both Chasanov and sophomore Jake Reed (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown). But, the Rams countered with a pair in the bottom of the third against sophomore starter Nick Stoner (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown). With runners at second and third with two outs, Stoner unleashed a wild pitch which allowed Nick Williams to score. An errant throw to try to nab Williams at the plate allowed E.P. Reese to score from second as Winston-Salem State trimmed the lead to 3-2.

Bloomsburg put together a big inning in the top of the fourth as it scored four runs on four hits to take a 7-2 lead. Freshman Tyler Wiik (Fogelsville, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) led off with a single and advanced to third on a double by Shiffer. Senior Colton Hooker (Warrington, Pa./Upper Moreland) drove home Wiik with a single for a 4-2 advantage. Reed then followed with a two-run single for a 6-2 advantage. Reed stole second, advanced to third on a flyout, and then scored on a wild pitch for the fourth run of the inning.

The Rams would not go quietly, however, as they answered with two in the fourth and one in the fifth against Stoner to cut the lead to 7-5. Williams had a two-run double in the fourth which was followed by an unearned run in the fifth.

Senior Zach Newmyer (New Cumberland, Pa./Red Land) came on in relief in the bottom of the sixth and slammed the door on the Rams for his first save of the season. The righthander pitched a perfect sixth with a pair of strikeouts and then pitched around a one-out single in the seventh to preserve the victory.

Stoner moved to 2-0 on the year as he went five innings and allowed five runs (three earned) on five hits. He walked four and struck out four. Newmyer allowed one hit and struck out four in two scoreless innings for the save. Parks suffered the loss for Winston-Salem State as he was tagged for seven runs on eight hits in three and two-thirds innings.

Reed finished 3-for-3 with two runs scored and two runs batted in. Chasanov added a pair of hits, two stolen bases, and two runs scored as the Huskies totaled nine hits in the nightcap. Williams and Ward each had two hits for the Rams as they combined for four of their six hits.

The teams were originally scheduled to conclude the series on Sunday afternoon with a nine-inning game but that game has been pushed back and will now be played on Monday, March 4. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

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