Baseball | 4/17/2019 11:45:00 AM

 
GAME COVERAGE
• LIVE STATS (THURSDAY)
• LIVE STATS (SATURDAY)
• LIVE VIDEO (SATURDAY)

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

THE STORY
• The Bloomsburg University baseball team, winners of 11 of its last 14 games, embarks on a four-game series against Mansfield University. The teams open at Danny Litwhiler Field on Thursday and then will head to Mansfield on Saturday. The Huskies are in a three-way tie for second in the PSAC East and moved up to fourth in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Atlantic Regional poll.

SERIES HISTORY
• Mansfield leads the overall series against Bloomsburg, 134-117. However, since 2010, the Huskies have won 25 of the 32 meetings between the two teams which includes a four-game sweep last season. Bloomsburg outscored Mansfield, 37-11, in the four-game series last year.

RAINES WATCH
• Senior Ashton Raines (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) has put together quite a career on the mound and is quickly climbing career leaderboards on a number of different categories. This season, Raines is 4-1 with a 2.97 ERA in seven starts and has struck out 31 batters in 39.1 innings. His 31 strikeouts this season has given him 174 for his career - nine shy of breaking the school record of 182 set by Sean Holden from 1997-99. Raines now has 16 victories which is tied for fourth in school history with By Hopkins (1963-66) and he also ranks fifth in appearances (48) and sixth in innings pitched (202).

THE HUSKIES AT A GLANCE
• Bloomsburg has won three straight weekend divisional series and is 11-3 in its last 14 games. The Huskies took three of four from East Stroudsburg last weekend to move into a three-way tie for second place in the PSAC East.

• The Huskies are tied for ninth in the PSAC with a .279 team batting average and they score nearly six-and-a-half runs per game, aided by their .393 on-base percentage which ranks sixth in the conference. Sophomore Jake Reed (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) continues to lead the team in hitting as he sports a .337 average (28-of-83). He ranks third on the team in hits (28), on-base percentage (.434), and stolen bases (8). Junior Nate Krizan (Montoursville, Pa./Home School) batted .600 last week (9-of-15) and has moved into second on the team with a .326 average (29-of-89). He is second on the team in hits (29) and RBI (23). Junior Andrew Holmes (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Egg Harbor Township) enters with a .311 average (23-of-74). Holmes has four home runs and 19 runs batted in while leading the team with a .480 on-base percentage and a .514 slugging percentage. Senior Ryan Shiffer (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South) is also above .300 as he sports a .301 batting average (22-of-73) and has a .429 on-base percentage. Junior Cole Swiger (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin) is hitting .288 (30-of-104) and leads the team in runs (23), hits (30), runs batted in (32), total bases (52), and stolen bases (14). Sophomore Kyle OFier (Pittston Township, Pa./Pittston Area) leads the team with seven home runs on the season.

• Bloomsburg is second in the league in team earned run average at 3.78, trailing only Cal U (3.75) in that department. The Huskies are limiting opponents to a .231 batting average - second only to Mercyhurst's .213 opponent average. Bloomsburg pitchers have also struck out 248 batters in 224 innings of work. Among starters, junior Chad Cooperman (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury) leads the Huskies with a 2.58 ERA and is 4-2 on the year. He leads the team with 45 strikeouts in 38.1 innings and is holding opponents to a .181 average. The afromentioned serves as the team's opener on the weekend and is second among starters in ERA. Junior JJ Spehrley (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville Area) is 3-2 and has a 4.15 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 34.2 innings. Sophomore Nick Stoner (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) should also start and is 3-2 with a 5.50 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 34.2 innings. Out of the bullpen, seniors Trey Hinkle (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) and Zach Newmyer (New Cumberland, Pa./Red Land) have been sensational. Hinkle is 3-0 with two saves and has not allowed an earned run in 12.2 innings while striking out 13. Newmyer, meanwhile, is 1-1 with a 2.50 ERA and a PSAC-leading five saves. He has 30 strikeouts in 18 innings of work.

SCOUTING MANSFIELD
• The Mountaineers have dropped 12 consecutive games and are 5-25 overall and 2-14 in the PSAC Eastern Division. Last weekend, Mansfield was swept by division-leading Millersville and was outscored 46-6 in the process.

• Mansfield is last in the conference in hitting with just a .205 team batting average on the year and averaging just under three runs per game offensively. The Mountaineers' leading hitter is Brittain Shander who is at just .258 on the season (23-of-89). He is also tops on the team in hits (23), runs scored (12), and on-base percentage (.396). Brady Mengel is next with a .227 average (22-of-97) and has hit two of the team's three home runs on the season. He leads the squad with a .351 slugging percentage. Eric Senior leads the Mountaineers with 15 runs batted in while Josh Kulina is tops with five stolen bases.

• On the mound, the Mountaineers are 14th in the PSAC with a 6.74 team earned run average. They do, however, allow a league-high .325 batting average to their opponents and they have allowed 29 home runs on the season - second-most only to IUP's 32. Evan McAndrew is the team's ace as he is 3-4 with a 3.79 ERA in seven starts. He is limiting opponents to a .243 average and has struck out 47 batters in 38 innings. Hunter DePrimo and Bryce Zaparzynski are also having solid seasons. DePrimo is 0-2 with a team-best 2.00 ERA in 18 innings. He has struck out 26 batters on the year. Zaparzynski has appeared in eight games (four starts) and is 1-3 with a 3.66 ERA.

LOOKING AHEAD
• Following the series ender at Mansfield on Saturday, the Huskies will head to Slippery Rock for a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday, April 24, before returning to divisional action next Friday and Saturday, April 26 and 27, against Lock Haven. The teams will start at Danny Litwhiler Field on Friday before heading to Lock Haven to close the series on Saturday.