Softball | 4/1/2019 6:23:00 PM

 
 THE STORY
• The Bloomsburg University softball team looks to stay undefeated at home when they host Bloomfield College in a doubleheader at Jan M. Hutchinson Field Wednesday afternoon. The Huskies have won eight of their last nine games and are above .500 for the first time this season at 12-11 overall, and 3-1 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Central following a decisive doubleheader sweep of Lock Haven this Saturday. The Bloomfield Bears enter Wednesday's games at just 6-14 overall, and 3-6 in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC).

PSAC WEEKLY HONORS
• Sophomore hurler Tara Baney (Howard, Pa./Bellefonte) and freshman center fielder Erin DelPierre (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) were named the PSAC Central Pitcher of the Week and Athlete of the Week, respectively, after powering the Huskies to a 5-1 week and a pair of doubleheader sweeps of Jefferson and Lock Haven. DelPierre continued her torrid start to her collegiate career, going 11-of-23 (.478) with two doubles, seven runs scored, and five runs batted in. DelPierre is riding an 11-game hitting streak and is batting .463 (37-of-80) in her first collegiate season. Baney made four appearances in the circle during the week and went 3-0 with one save while not allowing a run in 21 innings of work. She threw complete-game shutouts against Jefferson, Mansfield, and Lock Haven, and earned a save in the opening game against the Bald Eagles on Saturday. Baney has not allowed a run in her last 24.2 innings of work.

THE HISTORY: BLOOMSBURG vs. BLOOMFIELD
• Wednesday will mark the first-ever meeting between the Huskies and Bloomfield College. Bloomsburg is 4-0 against CACC opponents this season, notching a pair of doubleheader sweeps over Goldey-Beacom and Jefferson last week. 

THE HUSKIES AT A GLANCE
• Baney tossed a three-hit gem in game two and Sammi Starr (Berwick, Pa./21st Century Cyber Charter) had a homer and six RBI on the day as the Huskies cruised to a twinbill sweep over visiting Lock Haven Saturday afternoon. Bloomsburg snapped Lock Haven's 23-game win streak against division opponents that stretched back to the 2017 season with a 7-4 victory in game one, and followed with a 9-0 win in game two. DelPierre went 4-for-8 with an RBI and three runs scored on the afternoon, while fellow frosh Danielle Barnes (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) went 3-for-4 with two runs scored in game one. Starr, the third dynamic freshman in the Bloomsburg lineup, went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a whopping RBI in game two, including a mammoth three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to clinch the 9-0 victory for the Huskies.

• Abby Wild (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) has been sensational in the circle this season, sporting a sterling 1.04 earned run average (ERA) in 74.0 innings of work, which is good for second in the PSAC. The sophomore is 8-5 on the season, and has a team-high 71 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting a paltry .178 off Wild, which is also good for second in the conference. Baney has been tremendous as of late for the Huskies, posting a 3.18 ERA and notching 50 strikeouts in 61.2 innings.

• The Huskies offense has been powered by a trio of freshmen in DelPierre, Barnes, and Starr. DelPierre leads the team in batting average (.463), runs batted in (15), walks (6), and stolen bases (4), while Starr has a team-high four homers and 14 RBI. Barnes is hitting .237 with nine RBI, a long ball, two doubles, four swiped bags, and a team-high 19 runs scored. Marissa Shelhamer (Bloomsburg, Pa./Central Columbia) has 10 RBI and 12 runs scored on the year, and Taylor Winkelman (Springfield, Pa/Springfield) is batting .325 with eight RBI and 11 runs scored. Kelsey Impink (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) has 10 RBI and eight runs scored.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
• Bloomfield College enters Wednesday's games at 6-14 overall, and 3-6 in the CACC after dropping a pair of games to Wilmington (DE) at home on Saturday. The Bears plated just three runs on the afternoon, falling 4-1 in game one and 3-2 in game two. Sarisha Daugherty went 2-for-3 with an RBI in game one, while Jerae Keli'ikoa went 1-for-3 with an RBI in game two. 

• Arlene Flores leads the Bears in hitting this season, batting .352 with six RBI and four runs scored. Keli'ikoa is .338 at the plate with six RBI and eight runs scored, while Mariah Wysocki is hitting .319 with a team-high 11 runs batted in, two home runs, and three doubles. Wysocki also leads the team in stolen bases this season with four.

• Taylor Galyean and Maddie Feddersen have been the anchors of the Bloomfield rotation this year, notching nine starts apiece. Galyean has a team-low 2.00 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 73.2 innings pitched, while Feddersen has 25 strikeouts, but is just 1-7 with a 7.00 ERA. Lauren Booth has appeared in six games in the circle for the Bears, and has a 3.71 ERA.

LOOKING AHEAD
• Bloomsburg returns to PSAC Central play this Friday, April 5, at Pitt-Johnstown. The Huskies will then travel to IUP for a divisional doubleheader on Saturday, April 6, before wrapping up a six-game road trip next Tuesday, April 9, at Millersville. First pitch in game one with the Mountain Cats is set for 2:30 p.m. Friday.