Baseball | 4/23/2019 2:32:00 PM

 
GAME COVERAGE
• LIVE STATS

RELATED LINKS
• Bloomsburg: Schedule • Roster • Statistics
• Slippery Rock: Schedule • Roster • Statistics

THE STORY
• The Bloomsburg University baseball team looks to continue staking its claim to a second consecutive NCAA Atlantic Regional tournament appearance when it travels to Slippery Rock University for a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday, April 24, at Kelly Automotive Park in Butler, Pennsylvania. The Huskies have won 15 of their last 18 games to improve to 25-9 overall and to remain fourth in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Atlantic Region rankings. The Rock have dropped six straight and are 12-21 overall on the season.

SERIES HISTORY
• Bloomsburg and Slippery Rock are tied in the all-time series with 14 victories apiece. Last season, the Huskies won all four meetings against The Rock including a pair of wins at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament. Bloomsburg won a doubleheader at Danny Litwhiler Field during the regular season by the scores of 12-5 and 8-4 before earning 13-7 and 5-4 wins in the conference tournament. The latter victory eliminated Slippery Rock from the postseason.

THE HUSKIES AT A GLANCE
• Bloomsburg enters the weekday twinbill as one of the hottest teams in the conference with 15 victories in its last 18 games. The Huskies have also done their best work away from home this season where they sport an 18-2 record in road games. Bloomsburg is coming off of 12-4 and 14-0 victories at Mansfield on Monday afternoon to complete a four-game sweep of the Mountaineers and to move into a tie for second place in the PSAC Eastern Division.

• The Huskies' 3.50 staff earned run average on the season is tops in the conference and 12th in all of Division II entering Wednesday's doubleheader. Bloomsburg is holding opponents to a .226 batting average - second only to Mercyhurst's .206 - and have allowed a league-low 103 walks on the season while striking out 277 batters in 252 innings of work. Junior Chad Cooperman (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury) leads the Huskies starters with a 2.28 ERA in 43.1 innings of work. He sports a 5-2 overall record and leads the squad with 52 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .176 batting average on the year. Senior Ashton Raines (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) is coming off of his first shutout of the season (second of his career) and is 5-1 with a 2.53 ERA in eight starts. He is just four strikeouts away from becoming the school's all-time leader in career punchouts. Sean Holden has the current record with 182 from 1997-99. Junior JJ Spehrley (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville Area) is 4-2 with a 3.96 ERA and sophomore Nick Stoner (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) is 4-2 with a 4.91 ERA. Stoner is second on the team with 47 strikeouts in just 40.1 innings. Freshman Jared Marshman (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) has seen action as the Huskies' midweek starter and enters with a 3-0 record and a 3.22 ERA while holding opponents to a .175 average. 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 nine appearances (12.2 innings) and is 3-0 with a pair of saves. Newmyer, meanwhile, has appeared in a team-high 13 games and is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA and a league-high six saves. He has struck out 33 batters in 20 innings.

• At the plate, the team batting average continues to climb as it ranks eighth in the conference with a .285 mark. The Huskies are tied for fourth in the conference with a .401 on-base percentage and rank sixth in the league with 53 stolen bases. Bloomsburg is excellent in manufacturing runs as it leads the PSAC in sacrifice flies (22) and second in sacrifice bunts (19). Junior Andrew Holmes (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Egg Harbor Township) is having a sensational season as he leads the team with a .337 batting average (29-of-86) with seven doubles, five home runs, and 25 runs batted in. He has walked a team-high 23 times and has a .500 on-base percentage while also leading in slugging percentage at .593. Junior Nate Krizan (Montoursville, Pa./Home School) is at .327 (34-of-104) with a team-high 34 hits and a team-high nine doubles. He has two home runs and 24 RBI on the season while tying for second on the team with 24 runs scored. Senior Ryan Shiffer (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South) had a huge series against Mansfield as he went 5-of-12 with his first three home runs of the season. He is up to .318 (27-of-85) with seven doubles, three home runs, and 16 RBI. Also hitting above .300 are sophomore Jared Burcin (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty), sophomore Jake Reed (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown), and redshirt freshman Carter Chasanov (Magnolia, Del./Polytech). Junior Cole Swiger (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin) and sophomore Kyle OFier (Pittston Township, Pa./Pittston Area) are tied for the team lead with seven home runs apiece while Swiger also leads in runs (27), total bases (60), and stolen bases (14). Eight different Huskies have hit at least one of the team's 30 home runs on the year.

SCOUTING SLIPPERY ROCK
• Slippery Rock enters on a six-game losing skid and is just 12-21 overall and 3-15 in the PSAC West this season. The Rock were swept over the weekend by Mercyhurst in a four-game set to fall to the basement in the Western Division.

• Hitting has not been an issue as Slippery Rock ranks ninth in the PSAC with a .283 team batting average while hitting 28 home runs on the season. Joe Campagna is among the leaders for PSAC West Player of the Year as he is hitting .391 (45-of-115) with seven home runs and 33 runs batted in. He also leads the team with 13 doubles, a .504 on-base percentage, and a .722 slugging percentage. He is fifth in the PSAC in batting average on the year. Frankie Jezioro is hitting .339 (41-of-121) with 11 doubles, six home runs, and 17 RBI. Jezioro is also tops on the team with seven of The Rock's 13 stolen bases. Colin Cain and Luke Trueman are also hitting above .300 on the season. Abraham Mow is also a power threat as he has belted five home runs and driven in 22.

• Slippery Rock has tried to piece a rotation together all season long as it has used 11 different starting pitchers on the season. It has resulted in a team ERA of 5.76 on the season which is tenth in the PSAC. Wyatt Daugherty has done a little of everything and has been very good. He is 3-4 with a 2.57 ERA in a team-high 12 appearances (four starts). He has both of Slippery Rock's complete games and has been a part of both shutouts while also leading the team with four saves. He has struck out a team-high 42 batters in 42 innings. The only regular starter for Slippery Rock has been Tanner Stanz who has made nine starts and is 2-4 with a 6.07 ERA. Out of the bullpen, Alex Worthington is 1-2 with a 2.57 ERA in 11 appearances. He has 19 strikeouts in 14 innings.

LOOKING AHEAD
• The Huskies return to conference action as they play the Bald Eagles of Lock Haven University in an important four-game series. The teams will open at Danny Litwhiler Field on Friday, April 26, for Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day and then will head to Lock Haven on Saturday, April 27, to conclude the series. Both doubleheaders are slated to begin at 1:00 p.m.