GAME 1 HTML BOX SCORE | GAME 2 HTML BOX SCORE

MANSFIELD, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University baseball team hit six home runs on Monday afternoon as it completed a four-game sweep of Mansfield University by winning a pair of lopsided contests. The Huskies took game one by a 12-4 final and then posted a 14-0 victory in game two to improve to 25-9 overall and 14-6 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division. The Mountaineers dropped to 5-29 overall and 2-18 in league play.

With the wins, Bloomsburg moved into a tie for second place in the PSAC East with East Stroudsburg with identical 14-6 league records.

In game one, it was Mansfield that struck first as Brady Mengel hit a two-out solo home run in the bottom of the first inning off of Bloomsburg junior starter JJ Spehrley (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville Area) to give the hosts a 1-0 advantage.

Bloomsburg answered back with a pair of runs in the top of the second to take a 2-1 advantage against Mansfield starter Bryce Zaparzynski. Junior Cole Swiger (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin) led off with a walk and then scored on a run-scoring double from senior Ryan Shiffer (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South). Two batters later, sophomore Kyle OFier (Pittston Township, Pa./Pittston Area) doubled down the right field line to bring home Shiffer to give the Huskies their first lead of the day.

The Huskies extended the lead to 4-1 in the top of the third on a two-run home run from sophomore Ben Newbert (Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Harriton) - his second round-tripper of the season. The blast also brought home sophomore Jared Burcin (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) who reached on a one-out single.

Mansfield got a run back in the home half of the third with an unearned run before the Huskies tacked on three more runs in the top of the fourth to extend the margin to 7-2. Junior Nate Krizan (Montoursville, Pa./Home School) led off the inning with a single and scored on a two-run home run from redshirt freshman Carter Chasanov (Magnolia, Del./Polytech) - his second long ball of the year. Sophomore Jake Reed (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) started another rally with a one-out walk and advanced to second on a single from junior Andrew Holmes (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Egg Harbor Township), ending the afternoon for Zaparzynski. Mansfield called for Sean Heery out of the bullpen who promptly gave up a run-scoring single to Burcin for the Huskies third run of the inning.

Four more runners crossed the plate in the top of the fifth as Bloomsburg ballooned the lead to 11-2. Shiffer led off with a solo home run to right center field for his second round-tripper of the season. Krizan followed with a double and then advanced to third on a single by Chasanov. OFier then laced a double to left to drive home Krizan for a 9-2 lead. Back-to-back walks to Reed and Holmes brought home the third run of the inning as Chasanov scored and then Burcin lifted a sacrifice fly to center to bring home OFier for the final tally of the frame.

Mansfield scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to cut the deficit to 11-4 before Bloomsburg finished off the scoring in the top of the seventh on an RBI double by Burcin.

Spehrley improved to 4-2 on the season as he pitched four innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out three. Redshirt junior James Reardon IV (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) pitched an inning and then faced two batters in the two-run Mansfield sixth before being lifted. He allowed two runs without allowing a hit, walked two, and struck out one. Freshman Anthony Donato (Madison Township, Pa./North Pocono) pitched the final two innings and gave up one hit in a scoreless outing. He walked one and struck out two.

Zaparzynski dropped to 1-4 on the year for Mansfield as he was tagged for seven runs on seven hits in three and one-third innings.

Bloomsburg had 13 hits in the opener with Burcin going 3-for-4 with three RBI. Shiffer, Chasanov, and OFier had two hits and two runs batted in apiece while Krizan also had a pair of hits in the victory.

Game two saw the Huskies pick up right where they left off as Shiffer belted a three-run home run in the top of the first inning against Mansfield starter Billy Gregory to give Bloomsburg junior starter Chad Cooperman (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury) all of the offense he would need. The rally was set up when Swiger was hit by a pitch and then Newbert drew a four-pitch walk. The home run by Shiffer was his third of the year and third in as many games.

Holmes got into the act in the top of the second when he drilled a three-run home run to center, that also brought home Reed and OFier, to push the lead to 6-0. It was Holmes' fifth home run of the season giving him a new career-high in that category.

Things settled down until the top of the fifth when Newbert led off the inning with his third home run of the season to extend the Huskies' lead to 7-0. OFier added a second run in the frame when he lifted a sacrifice fly to center that brought home Krizan for an 8-0 margin. Krizan reached on a one-out walk, advanced to second on a single by Chasanov, and then moved to third when freshman Tyler Wiik (Fogelsville, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) walked to load the bases.

In the sixth, Holmes led off with a double and later scored on a wild pitch for a 9-0 advantage. Bloomsburg did more damage in the seventh as OFier started the scoring with an RBI single for a 10-0 lead. Senior Colton Hooker (Warrington, Pa./Upper Moreland) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for the next Huskies' run and Reed followed by scoring when freshman Anthony Viggiano (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) reached on a fielder's choice. Redshirt sophomore Christian Ciotti (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township) added a two-run single, scoring both Hooker and Viggiano, for the final runs of the afternoon.

Cooperman was brilliant and needed only 63 pitches to get through five scoreless innings. He improved to 5-2 on the season after allowing only two hits and a walk while striking out seven in his outing. Senior Jeremy Zezza (Exeter, Pa./Wyoming Area) pitched a scoreless sixth and senior Zach Newmyer (New Cumberland, Pa./Red Land) pitched a scoreless seventh with a pair of strikeouts.

Gregory took the loss for Mansfield as he fell to 1-5 on the season. He allowed six runs on just two hits in one and one-third innings. He walked three, hit a batter, and struck out one.

The Huskies had eight hits in game two while also taking advantage of ten walks and four hit batters. Holmes led the way by going 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a home run, and three RBI. Shiffer added three RBI with his first-inning home run while OFier chipped in with a pair of runs driven in.

Bloomsburg will return to action on Wednesday, April 26, with a non-conference doubleheader at Slippery Rock University. First pitch of game one has been pushed back and will now begin at 5:00 p.m.