Baseball | 5/13/2021 3:08:00 PM

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – Following its 5-2 victory at West Chester University in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Quarterfinals on Wednesday afternoon, the Bloomsburg University baseball team will head to top-seeded Millersville University for a best-of-three semifinal series against the Marauders. The teams will play two games at Millersville's Cooper Park on Sunday, May 16, beginning at noon with the third game – if necessary – scheduled for Monday, May 17.

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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HOW THEY GOT HERE
Bloomsburg was the only road team – east or west – to earn a victory in the quarterfinal round on Wednesday as it rode the right arm of redshirt sophomore Jared Marshman (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) to a 5-2 victory at second-seeded West Chester.
 
Marshman improved to 4-1 on the season after going eight-plus innings and allowing two runs on eight hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out seven in the longest outing of his collegiate career. Marshman tossed eight scoreless innings before allowing a double and a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to end his bid for a complete-game shutout. The right-hander exited following the home run, giving way to senior JJ Spehrley (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville Area), who retired the three batters he faced to nail down the first save of his collegiate career.

Bloomsburg scored a run in the third and then broke the game open with four runs in the seventh to give Marshman all of the offense he would need. Redshirt juniors Kyle OFier (Pittston Township, Pa./Pittston Area) and Jared Burcin (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) combined for five of the Huskies' eight hits while adding three RBI in the victory.

Millersville, meanwhile, got seven efficient innings from Jeff Taylor and three hits and three RBI from Nick Mancuso as the Marauders knocked off fourth-seeded Shepherd University, 11-4, in the quarterfinals. Miller allowed a solo home run in the first but did not allow a baserunner over his next five innings before running into trouble in the seventh. The left-hander improved to 9-1 on the year after going seven innings and allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out ten.
 
Mancuso led a balanced offense with three hits and three RBI while four others added two hits in a 13-hit attack against five Shepherd pitchers. Millersville led 6-4 heading to the bottom of the seventh when the hosts scored five times over their last two at-bats.
 
SEASON SERIES
Millersville and Bloomsburg played its four-game series on April 23 and 24 with the Marauders taking three-out-of-four from the Huskies. The teams split on day one in Millersville with the hosts winning 8-0 in game one before Bloomsburg earned a 9-5 victory in game two. The Marauders took both games at Danny Litwhiler Field the following day – 9-1 and 16-8.

SCOUTING BLOOMSBURG (19-14, 18-14 PSAC East)
Bloomsburg averages roughly 6.5 runs per game and comes into the semifinal series hitting .298 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) had his eight-game hitting streak snapped on Wednesday but still leads Bloomsburg with a .366 batting average (41-of-112) on the season. 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 (31) and hits (41) while ranking second in doubles (8) and total bases (67). Redshirt junior Jared Burcin (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) went 3-for-5 on Wednesday to lift his average to .338 on the season (23-of-68). It was his sixth multiple-hit effort of the year and he has now reached base in eight straight contests. He also leads the Huskies with a .458 on-base percentage. Redshirt sophomore Anthony Viggiano (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) is hitting .333 average (37-of-111) with two home runs and 17 runs batted in. The Huskies' third baseman has reached base, at least once, in 12 straight games. Redshirt junior Kyle OFier (Pittston Township, Pa./Pittston Area) is tied with Viggiano at .333 (37-of-111) after going 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI in the quarterfinal. OFier is tied for the team high in home runs (8) and leads the team in RBI (37). Senior Gianni Sinatore (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) is tied with OFier in home runs with eight and bats .289 on the year with a modest five-game hitting streak. Senior Cole Swiger (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin) enters hitting .281 with six home runs and 26 RBI. He has brought his average up 75 points over the past nine games and has four home runs and 14 RBI over the same stretch. Also of note, redshirt junior Jake Reed (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) has reached base in 22 consecutive games entering the semifinals. Rounding out the expected starting lineup will be senior Andrew Holmes (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Egg Harbor Township) and redshirt junior Ben Newbert (Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Harriton).

On the mound, the Huskies have battled through numerous injuries and currently, rank 12th in the conference with a team earned run average of 7.41. Based on the shape of the current rotation, expect to see freshman Michael Standen (Drexel Hill, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) and either senior Ed Herbener (Drums, Pa./MMI Preparatory School) or JJ Spehrley (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville Area) on Sunday. Standen 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. Spehrley earned his first career save on Wednesday and is 2-1 with a 7.71 ERA. He has struck out 35 batters in 32.2 innings. Herbener is coming off of the first complete game of his collegiate career against Shippensburg on May 7 and is 1-2 on the year with 28 strikeouts in 20.2 innings.

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 MILLERSVILLE (27-11, 23-8 PSAC East)
Millersville enters the series on a five-game winning streak and has outscored its opponents, 49-11, during the stretch. The Marauders are 17-5 at home this season. As a team, Millersville is second in the PSAC in hitting at .332 and it ranks third in the conference in team earned run average at 4.57.

Eight of Millersville's regular starters are hitting .273 or better with Bren Taylor leading the team by batting at a .432 clip (57-of-132). Taylor has 12 doubles, four triples, and three home runs, while ranking second on the team with 35 RBI. He also leads the Marauders in slugging (.652) and on-base (.534) percentages. Tyler Wright is hitting .387 on the year while Luke Trainer bats .362 with a team-best 47 RBI. Cole Friese is the main home run threat as he leads the team with nine round-trippers while batting .359 on the season.

The pitching staff has also been solid for the Marauders all season long with Conor Cook and Paul Wilson expected to start on Sunday. Cook is 4-0 with a 2.76 ERA in seven appearances (four starts) while Wilson is 5-1 with a 3.94 ERA. Cook has allowed only 20 hits in 29.1 innings while punching out 39 batters. Wilson has given up 27 hits in 32 innings with 45 strikeouts. Out of the bullpen, Wyatt Tyson, Aidan Welch, and Christian Wingard are the main arms. Tyson has appeared in 13 games and has a 3.24 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 16.2 innings. Welch has appeared in 12 games while Wingard leads the team in appearances (14) and saves (4) while striking out 36 batters in 23 innings of work.

UP NEXT
The winner of the Bloomsburg-Millersville semifinal series will take on the winner of the Western Division's semifinal series between top-seeded Seton Hill and second-seeded Mercyhurst in a best-of-three series for the conference championship. The west champion will host the series which is scheduled to take place on Friday, May 21, and Saturday, May 22. Start times are scheduled for noon throughout the postseason.