MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University baseball team scored five runs in the top of the eighth inning in game two as the Huskies earned a split at Millersville University on Friday afternoon to open a critical four-game weekend series against the Marauders. Bloomsburg took game two by a 9-5 final after dropping the opener 8-0. The Huskies moved to 13-9 overall and 13-9 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division. Millersville, meanwhile, moved to 17-9 overall and 14-7 in divisional play.

Entering the eighth inning of game two tied at 4-4, the Huskies exploded for five runs against a pair of Marauders relievers to take a 9-4 advantage. Senior Andrew Holmes (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Egg Harbor Township) led off the top of the eighth inning with a walk and then was pulled for freshman pinch-runner Brady Gibble (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson). However, the substitution didn't matter as redshirt sophomore Tyler Wiik (Fogelsville, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) sent a 2-1 offering from Christian Wingard over the left-field fence to give the Huskies a 6-4 advantage. It was Wiik's second career home run, with both coming in his last two games.

But Bloomsburg wasn't done in the eighth. Senior Cole Swiger (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin) followed with a four-pitch walk that ended the afternoon for Wingard. Jacob Paulison entered for the Marauders and promptly uncorked a pair of wild pitches to get Swiger to third with nobody out. After a walk to senior Gianni Sinatore (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall), redshirt junior Ben Newbert (Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Harriton) singled to bring home Swiger for the inning's third run. Redshirt junior Jake Reed (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) bunted Newbert and Sinatore to second and third, respectively, and redshirt sophomore Anthony Viggiano (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) plated both runners with a two-run single to center to give the Huskies a 9-4 lead.

The Marauders answered with a run in the bottom of the eighth against redshirt freshman Nate Baranski (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West), but the right-hander got out of the inning to preserve the game-two victory.

Millersville opened the scoring in game two with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning against redshirt sophomore right-hander Jared Marshman (Berwick, Pa./Berwick), who was making his first start of the season.

Bloomsburg responded with three runs in the top of the second to take a 3-2 advantage. Swiger reached on a one-out bunt single and then advanced to second on a single from Sinatore to put the Huskies in business. Newbert followed with a ground-rule double to right-center to plate Swiger and to get Bloomsburg on the scoreboard in the nightcap. Two batters later, Viggiano gave the Huskies their first lead of the contest with a two-run single that scored both Sinatore and Newbert for the 3-2 lead.

Millersville tied the game at 3-3 with a run on three hits in the bottom of the third. Sinatore, however, reclaimed the one-run lead for the Huskies when he belted a leadoff home run to left in the top of the fourth. It was Sinatore's fifth home run of the year, with all five coming in the last eleven games. Sinatore entered the season with one home run over his first two seasons with the Huskies.

The Marauders got the run back in the home half of the fourth inning against Marshman to tie the game at 4-4.

Redshirt freshman Logan Hile (Winfield, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) came on in relief to start the fifth inning and allowed only one walk over three scoreless innings of relief as he went pitch-for-pitch with Millersville reliever Aidan Welch. Both teams got shut down offensively until the Huskies broke the game open with five runs in the eighth.

Hile earned the victory to improve to 2-2 on the year. He struck out a pair of batters over his three shutout innings. Marshman allowed four runs on six hits, no walks, and three strikeouts in the no-decision for the Huskies. Baranski struck out the side in the eighth but did allow a run, a hit, and a walk.

Bloomsburg had eleven hits in game two, with Viggiano recording career-highs in hits (4) and RBI (4). Sinatore went 2-for-3 with three runs scored, while Newbert was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI.

Game one featured the right arm of Millersville starter Conor Cook as he allowed only a leadoff single to Newbert in the top of the third inning for a complete-game one-hitter. Cook walked three and struck out nine to improve to 2-0 on the year.

The opener was scoreless until the bottom of the third when the hosts scored four times in the inning to take a 4-0 lead against freshman starter Michael Standen (Drexel Hill, Pa./Monsignor Bonner). The Marauders added two in the fifth against redshirt freshman Brandon McGaw (Danville, Pa./Danville) and two more in the sixth against freshman Dylan Lubinski (Levittown, Pa./Pennsbury), who was making his first collegiate appearance.

Standen dropped to 1-2 on the year after allowing four runs on seven hits in three innings. He walked three and struck out one. Lubinski had a pair of strikeouts in his inning-and-a-third of relief.

The two teams will wrap up the four-game series on Saturday afternoon at Danny Litwhiler Field. The first pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for noon.