Baseball | 5/11/2021 8:31:00 AM
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University baseball team will begin its quest for a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) title defense on Wednesday afternoon as the third-seeded Huskies will travel to West Chester University to battle the second-seeded Golden Rams in the quarterfinal round. The single-elimination, nine-inning contest will be played at the Maple Zone Sports Complex in Aston, Pennsylvania, beginning at noon.
It marks the third consecutive season that the Huskies will battle for a conference title. They enter this year's tournament as the defending PSAC champion after winning their first conference championship in 54 years back in 2019. The 2020 postseason was not conducted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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SEASON SERIES
The Huskies and the Golden Rams met in a four-game series back on March 26 and 27, with West Chester winning three of the four meetings against Bloomsburg. The Golden Rams took both games in West Chester by the scores of 11-8 and 17-3 on day one before the teams played to a split at Danny Litwhiler Field to close out the series. West Chester won game one, 7-2, before Bloomsburg responded with a 20-9 victory in the nightcap. The 20 runs marked the most scored by the team in one game since defeating Philadelphia University, 21-0, on April 6, 2016, in the first game of a doubleheader.
SCOUTING BLOOMSBURG (18-14, 18-14 PSAC East)
Bloomsburg went 5-7 against the other three teams from the east in this year's postseason tournament. The Huskies took three-of-four against Shepherd to open the season but dropped three-of-four against West Chester and Millersville. Bloomsburg averages just over 6.5 runs per game and comes into the tournament hitting .301 as a team - the fifth-highest mark in the conference this season. The Huskies are also fifth in the conference in home runs with 46.
Redshirt junior
Carter Chasanov (Magnolia, Del./Polytech) is on an eight-game hitting streak and leads Bloomsburg with a .383 batting average (41-of-107) on the season, good for tenth in the league. The centerfielder has six home runs and 22 RBI while leading the team with eight stolen bases. He also leads the Huskies in runs scored (30) and hits (41) while tying for the team-high in doubles (8) and total bases (67). Redshirt sophomore
Anthony Viggiano (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) is second on the team with a .336 average (36-of-107) with two home runs and 17 runs batted in. The Huskies' third baseman has reached base, at least once, in 11 straight games. Redshirt junior
Kyle OFier (Pittston Township, Pa./Pittston Area) is batting .330 with a team-high-tying eight home runs and a team-leading 35 RBI. Redshirt juniors
Ben Newbert (Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Harriton) and
Jared Burcin (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) are also hitting above .300 on the year, batting .329 and .317, respectively. Senior
Gianni Sinatore (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) is tied with OFier in home runs with eight and bats .291 on the year with a modest four-game hitting streak. However, senior
Cole Swiger (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin) may be the hottest of the bunch as he enters with a .283 batting average (26-of-92) with six home runs and 26 RBI. He has brought his average up 77 points over the past two weekends and has four home runs and 14 RBI in his last eight games. Also of note, redshirt junior
Jake Reed (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) has reached base in 21 consecutive games entering Wednesday's game.
On the mound, the Huskies have battled through numerous injuries and currently, rank 13th in the conference with a team earned run average of 7.64. Opponents are hitting .291 off of the staff, and Huskies' pitchers have walked 154 batters in 214.1 innings of work. Bloomsburg could go in multiple different directions for Wednesday's starting assignment, but arguably the best pitcher on the staff lately has been redshirt sophomore,
Jared Marshman (Berwick, Pa./Berwick). The right-hander is 3-1 with a 6.75 ERA but has allowed only three earned runs in his last two starts - a complete-game win over Lock Haven on May 1 and a six-inning gem against Shippensburg on May 6. In 30.2 innings, Marshman has struck out 33 batters. Freshman
Michael Standen (Drexel Hill, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) leads the Huskies in ERA at 3.91 and boasts a 2-2 record on the season. He has struck out 28 in 25.1 innings but has issued 17 walks. Other starting options for the Huskies include seniors
JJ Spehrley (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville Area) and
Ed Herbener (Drums, Pa./MMI Preparatory School).
Out of the bullpen, redshirt freshman
Logan Hile (Winfield, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) has turned into the workhorse. He has pitched in a team-high 11 games and is 2-3 with one save and a 7.27 ERA. He has struck out 20 in 17.1 innings. Redshirt freshman
Nate Baranski (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) has appeared in 10 contests and sports a 3-1 record. Other relief options include sophomore
Brandon Walters (York, Pa./Central York), redshirt freshmen
Alex Cornell (Drexel Hill, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) and
Brandon McGaw (Danville, Pa./Danville), and freshmen
Nick Heubel (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West),
Dylan Lubinski (Levittown, Pa./Pennsbury), and
Matt Vernieri (Barnegat, N.J./Barnegat).
SCOUTING WEST CHESTER (20-10, 20-10 PSAC East)
West Chester went 6-6 against the other three teams from the division in this year's postseason tournament. The Golden Rams went 3-1 against the Huskies, 2-2 against Shepherd, and 1-3 against Millersville on the season. West Chester comes in with the best offense in the conference, posting a league-best .348 team batting average on the year while ranking third in home runs with 50. The Golden Rams also hold the top spot in both on-base percentage (.456) and slugging percentage (.606).
Eight of the team's nine regular starters have a batting average of .307 or better, and five of the reserves who have appeared in at least seven games are hitting at least .300 on the season. Justin Horn leads the Golden Rams with a .400 batting average (36-of-90). He has five home runs and 35 RBI while posting a team-high .549 on-base percentage. Mike Ferrara is hitting .397 (25-of-63) with team-highs in home runs (9), RBI (36), and slugging percentage (.937). Luke Cantwell leads the team in doubles (11) while posting a .385 average, and Zack Wright sports a .370 average with a team-best four triples.
Like Bloomsburg, the Golden Rams' pitching numbers aren't nearly as good on paper as they rank 11th in the PSAC with a 6.71 team ERA. Opponents are hitting .262, and West Chester pitchers have walked 126 batters in 202 innings. Braeden Fausnaught has the best numbers among the starters as he is 4-1 with a 3.64 earned run average. In 42 innings of work, he has allowed 32 hits and 22 walks with 48 strikeouts. In his last start of the year, he went the distance while striking out a season-high 10 in a win over Lock Haven.
Fausnaught's worst start of the season came against the Huskies when he went four innings and allowed five runs on six hits, five walks, and five strikeouts on March 26.
West Chester has four others who have made at least four starts on the year, with numerous options coming out of the bullpen.
UP NEXT
The winner of the Bloomsburg-West Chester quarterfinal contest will take on the winner of the Millersville-Shepherd game in a best-of-three semifinal series on Sunday, May 16, and Monday, May 17. Start times are scheduled for noon throughout the postseason.
