Baseball | 4/26/2019 1:30:00 PM

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

RELATED LINKS
• Bloomsburg: Schedule • Roster • Statistics
• Lock Haven: Schedule • Roster • Statistics

THE STORY
• The Bloomsburg University baseball team plays another crucial four-game weekend series on Saturday and Sunday when it squares off against Lock Haven. The Huskies, ranked third in the first NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional poll released on Wednesday, are tied for second place in the PSAC East with East Stroudsburg. The Bald Eagles are on the outside looking in but are just one game behind West Chester for the fourth and final playoff spot in the division.

SERIES HISTORY
• The Huskies lead the all-time series against the Bald Eagles, 108-73. Last season, the teams split four games with each squad sweeping a doubleheader on its home field. Lock Haven won 9-3 and 9-8 on April 20 before Bloomsburg bounced back with 6-5 and 15-8 victories the following day.

MILESTONE WATCH
• Senior Ashton Raines (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) has put together quite a career on the mound and is quickly climbing all-time leaderboards in several different categories. This season, Raines is 5-1 with a 2.53 ERA in eight starts and has struck out 36 batters in 46.1 innings. His 36 strikeouts this season have given him 179 for his career - four shy of breaking the school record of 182 set by Sean Holden from 1997-99. Raines now has 17 victories, which is tied for third in school history with Casey Cooperman (2011-14), and he also ranks fifth in appearances (49), and fourth in innings pitched (209).

• Meanwhile, head coach Mike Collins is just four wins shy of 300 for his career, and he would become only the second coach in program history to reach that milestone. Collins, who has a career record of 296-332 in his 14th season, trails only Haney's 314 career wins from 1991-2005. Collins does have the most conference victories in school history with 151.

THE HUSKIES AT A GLANCE
• The Huskies have climbed to seventh in the PSAC with a .290 team batting average, and they score just over seven runs per game which have been aided by their .407 on-base percentage (fourth in the PSAC). Junior Andrew Holmes (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Egg Harbor Township) is on a ridiculous tear right now and leads the team with a .355 batting average (33-of-93). He also leads the team in slugging percentage (.667), walks (26), and on-base percentage (.519) while tying for tops on the team in runs scored (29). He has career-highs in home runs (7) and RBI (29). Over his last 20 games, Holmes is batting .426 with all seven of his home runs.  Senior Ryan Shiffer (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South) is also ripping the ball as he is up to .330 on the year (31-of-94) with three home runs and 18 RBI. He is currently on a 12-game hitting streak where he is hitting .531 (17-of-32).  Junior Nate Krizan (Montoursville, Pa./Home School) is hitting .321 (35-of-109) and is tied for the team lead in doubles (9) and hits (35). He is batting a team-best .404 against league foes this season. Sophomores Jared Burcin (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty), Ben Newbert (Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Harriton), and Jake Reed (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) are also hitting above .300 on the year. Fellow sophomore Kyle OFier (Pittston Township, Pa./Pittston Area) leads the team with eight home runs while junior Cole Swiger (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin) is tops with 15 stolen bases and RBI (34).

• With the slight hiccup at Slippery Rock on Wednesday, the Huskies' pitching staff dropped from first to third in the PSAC in team ERA at 3.95. The Huskies are limiting opponents to a .233 batting average - second only to Mercyhurst's .207 mark. Bloomsburg pitchers have also struck out 293 batters in 266.1 innings of work. Among starters, junior Chad Cooperman (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury) leads the Huskies with a 2.42 ERA and is 5-3 on the year. He leads the team with 52 strikeouts in 44.2 innings and is holding opponents to a .181 average. The aforementioned Raines serves as the team's opener on the weekend and is second among starters in ERA at 2.53. Junior JJ Spehrley (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville Area) is 4-2 and has a 3.96 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 38.2 innings. Sophomore Nick Stoner (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) should also start and is 4-2 with a 4.91 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 40.1 innings. Out of the bullpen, seniors Trey Hinkle (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) and Zach Newmyer (New Cumberland, Pa./Red Land) have been sensational. Hinkle is 4-0 with two saves and has not allowed an earned run in 14.2 innings while striking out 16. Newmyer, meanwhile, is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA and a PSAC-leading six saves. He has 33 strikeouts in 20 innings of work.

SCOUTING LOCK HAVEN
• Lock Haven has been consistent this season as it enters the weekend with an 18-18-1 overall record and an 11-9 mark in the PSAC East. The Bald Eagles are 6-6 at home, 8-8 on the road, and 4-4-1 at neutral sites. Lock Haven is coming off of an 0-2 doubleheader against Seton Hill on Tuesday as it fell by the scores of 6-2 and 8-6.

• The Bald Eagles are 12th in the PSAC in team batting average at .273. Liam McArthur is having a terrific year at the dish as he is hitting .419 (52-of-124) which ranks him second in the conference behind only West Chester's Jared Melone (.441). McArthur leads the team in runs (35), hits (52), doubles (9), RBI (25), slugging percentage (.508), and on-base percentage (.526). His plate discipline is ridiculous - he has walked 27 times while only striking out in seven at-bats on the year. Jimmy Webb is the only other regular above .300 as he is batting .305 (40-of-131) with two home runs and 18 RBI. Demetrius Haskins, Max Joseph, and Isaac Porter have each hit a team-high three home runs.

• On the mound, Lock Haven is eighth in the league with a 4.83 staff ERA. Its starting rotation - Jesse Slinger, Avery Eddy, Scott Leitholf, and Ross Mintzer. Slinger has the best ERA at 3.25 but is just 2-4 on the year. He leads the team with five complete games and three shutouts. Eddy is 3-2 with a 3.93 ERA while Leitholf is 4-2 with a 4.01 ERA. Leitholf leads the team with 49 strikeouts in 51.2 innings. Mintzer sports a 5.09 ERA with a 4-3 record. Dillon Good has three saves but is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA.

LOOKING AHEAD
• Bloomsburg will wrap up the regular season next week as it heads to Le Moyne for a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday before playing a crucial four-game weekend series against West Chester which should have enormous postseason implications. The teams will open in West Chester on Friday before finishing off the year on Saturday at Danny Litwhiler Field.