Baseball | 3/28/2019 9:49:00 PM

 
GAME COVERAGE
• LIVE STATS (FRIDAY)
• LIVE STATS (SATURDAY)

RELATED LINKS
• Bloomsburg: Schedule • Roster • Statistics
• Kutztown: Schedule • Roster • Statistics

THE STORY
• The Bloomsburg University baseball team returns to conference action this weekend as it embarks on a four-game series against Kutztown. The teams will play a doubleheader at Kutztown on Friday and then will conclude the series on Saturday at Danny Litwhiler Field. The Huskies are coming off of a 16-4 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas on Tuesday afternoon to improve to 11-6 overall. Bloomsburg is ranked fifth in the Atlantic Region according to the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll. The Golden Bears dropped three-of-four against Shippensburg last weekend and are 2-12 overall.

SERIES HISTORY
• The teams have met 222 times in the all-time series with Kutztown leading Bloomsburg, 112-109-1. Last season, Bloomsburg won five out of six games against the Golden Bears and outscored them in the process, 55-28.

THE HUSKIES AT A GLANCE
• Bloomsburg started the year with eight victories in its first nine games but has since gone 3-5 in its last eight to bring an 11-6 overall record into the weekend. The Huskies are coming off a season-high 16 runs in a 16-4 non-conference win over St. Thomas Aquinas on Tuesday afternoon. Bloomsburg scored all of its runs on just ten hits against five St. Thomas Aquinas pitchers as the Spartans made six errors in the field while their pitching staff walked 12 Bloomsburg batters, hit three more, uncorked two wild pitches, and also committed a balk on the day. Junior Cole Swiger (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin) had three hits and drove in three runs while junior Andrew Holmes (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Egg Harbor Township) went 2-for-3 with a grand slam home run.

• Offensively, the Huskies are hoping to get the bats going as they enter ranked 13th out of 16 teams in the conference with a .255 batting average. Despite the average, Bloomsburg is averaging nearly seven runs per game thanks to a .392 on-base percentage which is tied for seventh in the PSAC. Sophomore Jake Reed (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) sports the highest average on the team at .371 (13-of-35). He has scored seven runs and has also driven in nine. Four of his 13 hits have gone for extra bases - all doubles. Swiger is hitting .328 (21-of-64) and leads the team in runs (17), hits (21), runs batted in (20), total bases (37), stolen bases (9), and slugging percentage (.578). Swiger is also second on the team in home runs with four, trailing only sophomore Kyle OFier (Pittston Township, Pa./Pittston Area) who has belted five round-trippers. Holmes is up to .286 (12-of-42) and leads the team with a .500 on-base percentage. He has one home run and nine runs batted in. Junior Nate Krizan (Montoursville, Pa./Home School) joins Swiger (20) and OFier (14) in double figures in RBI with 10. The Huskies are 33-of-36 in stolen bases this season - sixth-best in the conference.

• Bloomsburg is fifth in the league in team earned run average at 4.05. The Huskies are limiting opponents to a .217 batting average - second only to Mercyhurst's .199 opponent average. Bloomsburg pitchers have also struck out 161 batters in 131 innings of work. Among the starters, senior Ashton Raines (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) leads the way with a 3.54 ERA in four starts. He has struck out 20 batters in 20.1 innings and is holding opponents to a .213 average. Junior Chad Cooperman (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury) is 2-1 with a 3.60 ERA and has struck out a team-high 26 batters in 20 innings while holding opponents to a .169 average. Junior JJ Spehrley (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville Area) is 1-1 with a 3.80 ERA and has 21 strikeouts in 21.1 innings, and sophomore Nick Stoner (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) is 2-1 with a 4.22 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 21.1 innings. Out of the bullpen, seniors Trey Hinkle (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) and Zach Newmyer (New Cumberland, Pa./Red Land) have been sensational. Hinkle has not allowed an earned run in 6.2 innings while striking out seven. Newmyer, meanwhile, is 1-1 with a 0.79 ERA and a team-high two saves. He has struck out 18 batters in 11.1 innings of work.

SCOUTING KUTZTOWN
• The Golden Bears are 2-12 overall and 1-3 in the PSAC East after dropping three-of-four against Shippensburg last weekend to open conference play. Kutztown's only other win came against Glenville State, 13-2, on March 9. Seven of its 12 losses have been by three runs or fewer.

• Kutztown has struggled at the plate to open the season as it ranks 15th in the league with a .219 team batting average. The Golden Bears also average 3.35 runs per game on offense - second-lowest in the league. Kutztown is last in the conference with a .322 on-base percentage and is tied for last with seven stolen bases on the year. Jacoby Pate is the only regular hitting above .300 as he sports a .375 average (6-of-16). He has also walked five times and been by a pitch four times for a team-high .600 on-base percentage. Pate has also scored a team-high seven runs. Nick Lafferty is at .283 (13-of-46) with a team-high five doubles and a home run. Zach Moretski, Bo Rottet, and Jake Augustus also have home runs on the year as Kutztown has hit only four as a team. Rottet leads the squad with 15 runs batted in.

• Kutztown pitching has been solid as it ranks eighth in the league with a 4.95 team ERA. The Golden Bears have struck out 108 batters in 111 innings but are allowing opponents to hit .291 thus far. Doug Conrad leads the starters with a 2.70 ERA in three starts. He sports a 1-2 record and has struck out 14 batters in 16.2 innings. Gavilan Fogarty-Harnish is 0-1 with a 2.93 ERA in a team-high five appearances (two starts). He has a team-best 23 strikeouts in 15.1 innings. Zach Moretski and Jeff Charles have been good out of the pen. Moretski has a 2.25 ERA with five striekouts in four innings while Charles posts a 3.86 ERA and is holding opponents to a .192 average in seven innings of work.

LOOKING AHEAD
• The Huskies will return to action next Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6, when they square off against Shippensburg in a four-game series. The teams will begin in Shippensburg on Friday and then will play at Bloomsburg on Saturday for Autism Speaks Day at Danny Litwhiler Field. First pitch of both doubleheaders is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.