GREENSBURG, Pa. – After a 54-year drought between league titles, the Bloomsburg University baseball team captured its second consecutive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship with a 6-2 victory at sixth-ranked Seton Hill University on Saturday afternoon in game three of the best-of-three series. The Huskies improved to 23-16 overall while the Griffins dropped to 35-6 on the year.

For the second straight game, the Huskies got a complete-game performance on the mound as redshirt sophomore Jared Marshman (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) went the distance on Saturday to improve to 5-2 on the season. The right-hander allowed two runs on five hits, did not walk a batter, and struck out a career-high nine to propel the Huskies to their second straight league title.

Bloomsburg won its first PSAC Championship since 1965, when it claimed the title in 2019. After the championship was not conducted last year due to the COVID pandemic, the Huskies limped into this year's tournament as the number-three seed from the Eastern Division. Bloomsburg was saddled with several injuries – especially on the mound – throughout the year, but got sensational pitching performances throughout the tournament to hoist the trophy again.

The Huskies opened their tournament by being the only lower-seed to win in the quarterfinals as Marshman pitched a gem to earn a 5-2 victory at West Chester. Bloomsburg then upset top-seeded Millersville two games to one in the semifinals, with freshman Michael Standen's (Drexel Hill, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) heroics in game three sending the Huskies to the championship series.

Bloomsburg faced a daunting task as Seton Hill, ranked sixth in the country, entered the weekend with just four losses on the year and an unblemished 22-0 mark on its home turf. After a 7-5 loss in game one on Friday, the Huskies turned to the freshman Standen, who threw a complete-game gem in game two to force Saturday's game three. Marshman then provided the clincher with Bloomsburg's second consecutive complete-game performance on the mound.

The Huskies used the long ball on Saturday as the visitors hit five home runs – with all six runs scoring on long balls – to give Marshman all of the offense he would need.

Seton Hill got its first baserunners in the bottom of the third as the Griffins put runners at first and second with one out after a pair of singles – including a comebacker that drilled Marshman in the shoulder. But, the right-hander stayed in and registered the final two outs to get out of the inning.

Bloomsburg broke through in the top of the fourth against Seton Hill starter, Jon McCollough, when senior Gianni Sinatore (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) laced a line-drive solo home run - just high enough to clear the left-field fence - to get the Huskies on the scoreboard. It was Sinatore's ninth round-tripper of the season, tying him with redshirt junior Kyle OFier (Pittston Township, Pa./Pittston Area) for the team lead.

The Griffins, however, solved Marshman in the fourth as the hosts plated a pair of runs on two hits to take a 2-1 advantage. Vincenzo Rauso provided the big blow for the hosts after lacing a two-run double to the left-center gap with one out in the inning.

Bloomsburg went back to the long ball in the top of the fifth against McCollough, scoring three times to take a 4-2 lead. Redshirt junior Jake Reed (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) extended his streak to 28 consecutive games of reaching base at least once as he started a one-out rally with an infield single. Redshirt sophomore Anthony Viggiano (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven), who drove in a career-high six runs in game two of the series on Friday, then launched a two-run home run to center to give the Huskies their one-run lead back at 3-2. One pitch later, redshirt junior Carter Chasanov (Magnolia, Del./Polytech) hammered a solo home run to left – his eighth round-tripper of the year – to extend the Bloomsburg lead to 4-2. The blast from Chasanov ended McCollough's afternoon as Kevin Vaupel came on to close out the inning.

The home run from Viggiano was his fourth of the year and second of the series. Both of his home runs – the grand slam on Friday and the shot on Saturday – gave Bloomsburg the lead and, eventually, proved to be the game-winning blasts.

Marshman wiggled out of trouble in the bottom of the fifth as the Griffins got runners to second and third with two outs before the right-hander got PSAC West Athlete of the Year, Tommy Pellis, to bounce to Reed at short to end the inning.

The Huskies hit their fourth home run of the contest in the top of the sixth as redshirt junior Ben Newbert (Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Harriton) led off the frame with a solo home run to left off of Vaupel for his fifth blast of the season to give the Huskies a 5-2 lead. Newbert went deep again with one out in the top of the eighth to provide Marshman an extra insurance run as the Huskies grabbed a 6-2 advantage. It was Newbert's second round-tripper of the afternoon – his first career game with multiple home runs.

Marshman, however, didn't need the insurance as he retired the last 13 Seton Hill batters in the contest and finished off the series in style with a strikeout of Tyler Peterson for the final out – his ninth of the game, which established a new career-high for the right-hander. He had eight strikeouts in a game twice, including earlier this season against Lock Haven.

Bloomsburg finished the day with five home runs against four Seton Hill pitchers and ended the three-game series with seven home runs against the Griffins. Seton Hill pitchers had allowed only 20 home runs through its first 38 games of the season.

Bloomsburg had nine hits, with Newbert finishing 3-for-4 with his two solo home runs. Viggiano added two hits in five trips to aid the offense. Seton Hill had five hits – one each from five different players.

Standen, meanwhile, was named the PSAC Tournament Most Valuable Player on Saturday after tossing a complete-game gem in game two to force game three against the Griffins. Standen allowed two runs on five hits, did not walk a batter, and struck out a career-high 11. He retired 22 of the last 24 batters he faced to continue the Huskies' title run.
 

Not only do the Huskies hoist the championship trophy for the second straight time, but they will move on to the NCAA Division II tournament for the third straight time as they receive the league's automatic bid. The NCAA will host its selection show on Sunday night, May 23. Postseason teams invited to the Atlantic Regional will be revealed on NCAA.com beginning at 10:00 p.m., with the regional being hosted by the University of Charleston in West Virginia.