BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - Redshirt senior Gianni Sinatore (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) laced a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh in game one, and redshirt junior righthander Nick Stoner (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) was dominant on the mound in game two as the Bloomsburg University baseball team swept a doubleheader from visiting Shepherd University on Saturday afternoon at Danny Litwhiler Field. The Huskies took game one by a 10-9 final and then blanked the Rams, 5-0, in the nightcap to take three-out-of-four from Shepherd in the opening weekend of the 2021 season.

The games were the first home games for the Huskies in nearly two years as Bloomsburg last played at Danny Litwhiler Field on May 4, 2019, against West Chester.

The afternoon started inauspiciously for the Huskies as Shepherd jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings in game one against redshirt senior righthander JJ Spehrley (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville Area). However, Spehrley settled down after that point, and the offense went to work against Shepherd starter Nick Trabacchi.

Redshirt sophomore Anthony Viggiano (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) belted a solo home run to right-center field to lead off the home half of the third inning to pull the Huskies to within a pair of runs. The blast was the first of Viggiano's collegiate career.

The Huskies then jumped on Trabacchi in the bottom of the fourth as they sent ten batters to the plate and produced six runs to take a 7-3 advantage. Trabacchi, who had allowed only a run on two hits with six strikeouts entering the fourth, could not get through the second time through the Huskies' lineup. Redshirt junior Kyle OFier (Pittston Township, Pa./Pittston Area) started the rally with an infield single and promptly took second on a wild pitch. After a single from graduate student Cole Swiger (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin) put runners on the corners, freshman Wyatt Metzger (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) plated the first run of the inning with an RBI single to cut the Shepherd lead to 3-2. Sinatore followed by reaching on a throwing error which allowed Swiger to scamper home for the tying run. After a pair of strikeouts by Trabacchi, graduate student Andrew Holmes (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Egg Harbor Township) gave the Huskies the lead with an RBI single to right that scored Metzger to give Bloomsburg a 4-3 advantage. Redshirt junior Carter Chasanov (Magnolia, Del./Polytech) followed with the big blow of the inning - a three-run blast to right-center field - to extend the Huskies' lead to 7-3. It was Chasanov's first round-tripper of the season and third of his career.

Shepherd battled back in the top of the sixth against redshirt sophomore righthander Jared Marshman (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) as Caleb Walls hit a two-run homer to right-center to cut the Rams' deficit to 7-5. But, the Huskies got both runs back in the bottom of the sixth as Chasanov scored when redshirt junior Jared Burcin (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) reached on a two-out error, and then Burcin scored on a run-scoring single from OFier to extend the lead to 9-5.

Those runs would prove to be huge as Shepherd scored four in the top of the seventh to knot the game at 9-9, with the final two runs scoring on a two-out error.

But, Metzger led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk and then was pinch-run for by freshman Brady Gibble (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) who promptly stole second base. Sinatore then laced a single under the glove of Shepherd's third baseman to bring home Gibble for the game-winning run.

Spehrley allowed three runs on five hits in the first two innings but allowed only one hit over his next three frames to earn the no-decision. All told, the righthander gave up three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out six. Marshman came on in relief and allowed five runs (four earned) on three hits and two walks in 1.2 innings of work. The righthander struck out three. Redshirt freshman Nate Baranski (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) came on with two outs in the seventh looking for his second save in as many days but gave up a hit and was on the mound when the tying runs scored on the fielding error. He did, however, earn the win - the second of his collegiate career - as he was the beneficiary of Bloomsburg's heroics in the bottom of the seventh.

Trabacchi allowed seven runs (three earned) on seven hits in 3.2 innings while walking two and striking out eight. Eric O'Brien suffered the loss in relief as he allowed three runs (one earned) on one hit in 2.1 innings. He walked three and struck out five.

OFier had three of Bloomsburg's nine hits in the opener as he went 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Chasanov was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, a stolen base, two runs scored, and the big three-run homer in the six-run fourth inning. Walls led Shepherd with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate in game one. He scored twice, walked, was hit by a pitch, stole a base, and drove in three in the losing effort.

Game two was all about Stoner, who was sharp in his first outing of the season.

The righthander picked up where he left off last season as he was 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 20 innings before the pandemic shut down the remainder of the campaign. On Saturday, Stoner went six scoreless innings and allowed three hits while walking four and striking out ten. He threw 103 pitches and recorded 15 of his 18 outs via groundout or strikeout. His third career double-digit strikeout performance was three shy of his personal best of 13 he registered last season in a victory over Virginia State.

Stoner got all of the offense he would need when the Huskies plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the third to take a 2-0 lead. Holmes started the rally with a one-out single and then advanced to third on a double by Chasanov. After a four-pitch walk to OFier, Metzger drew a bases-loaded free pass to plate the game's first run. Chasanov would later score when Burcin reached on a two-out fielding error.

Bloomsburg added two runs in the bottom of the fifth. OFier and Swiger laced back-to-back doubles for the first run of the inning, and then Burcin followed, two batters later, with a run-scoring single. In the bottom of the sixth, the Huskies added an insurance run thanks to two consecutive errors that pushed the advantage to 5-0.

Sophomore Brandon Walters (York, Pa./Central York) came on in relief of Stoner in the seventh for his first inning of work in a Bloomsburg uniform. He allowed one hit and one walk while striking out a pair.

Stoner earned his first win of the season and has now won four straight decisions dating back to 2019. Over his final three innings of work, he struck out seven, including five consecutive batters in the fourth and fifth innings. Tanner Dixon was saddled with the Shepherd loss after allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits in 2.2 innings. He walked three and struck out three.

Bloomsburg had nine more hits in game two, with Burcin the only player with multiple hits in the nightcap. He finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.

The Huskies will return to action with home-and-home doubleheaders next Friday and Saturday, March 19 and March 20. Bloomsburg will head to Kutztown on Friday, and then the two teams will conclude the weekend series on Saturday at Danny Litwhiler Field. Both doubleheaders begin at noon.