BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg University baseball team improves to 11-6 overall and 3-1 in conference play after topping Shepherd by a final tally of 9-5 at home on Friday.
The Huskies kept up their hot hitting streak as they recorded 13 hits in the nine-inning game.
Brandon Ernst (Limerick, Pa./Spring Ford) paced Bloomsburg's offensive output as he homered and went 3-5 with two runs scored. Jonathon Labarbera and
Brady Gibble (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) also hit home runs and had two-hit games. Labarbera was a perfect 2-2 with two runs scored and a walk. Givvle was 2-3 with a walk and also scored twice.
Jared Burcin (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) also had two hits while
Kyle OFier (Pittston Township, Pa./Pittston Area) and
Ben Newbert (Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Harriton) had RBI doubles.
The team's 13 hits give the Huskies a total of 42 hits in their last three games. The squad also now has 38 runs during that span.
On the mound,
Jared Marshman (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) had a strong performance and went 5.2 innings and allowed just two earned runs while sitting down six hitters on strikes. Marshman recorded the win and is now 4-1 on the year.
Nate Baranski (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) entered the game in the top of the sixth and was lights out while recording the save. The redshirt sophomore did not allow a hit or run and struck out four hitters in 3.1 innings.
Bloomsburg jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead after an RBI double by OFier in the bottom of the first inning. The Huskies then added two more in the second when Viggiano scored from third base as a play at second base was misplayed during a steal attempt by Gibble. Gibble advanced to third on the play and then scored on a single that was hit by
Wyatt Metzger (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) to give Bloomsburg a 3-0 lead.
Shepherd struck back in the top of fourth and was able to tie things up with a three-run inning. The Rams got two runners on board with two outs as a hitter reached on an error, then Joey Schwartz hit a three-run homer to left field. Bloomsburg was able to regain the lead in the bottom-half when Gibble hit a home run over the left-field fence.
The Huskies chipped on two more in the fifth when Viggiano had an RBI single and Metzger was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. The Rams managed to get out of the inning by getting a strikeout and groundout. Shepherd then cut into the lead by putting a pair of runs on the board in the top of the sixth to make it a 6-5 game, but Bloomsburg negated the runs by scoring two of their own in the bottom-half of the inning. A home run Ernst was followed up by a homer by Labarbera two at-bats later to put the Huskies up 8-5. Bloomsburg then added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth when Newbert doubled down the left-field line.
In the ninth, Baranski closed out the game by sitting down three straight hitters after walking his first batter. Two of the three outs were strikeouts.
Bloomsburg will return to action on Saturday with a doubleheader at Shepherd. The first game will begin at 12:00 PM.
