BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg University baseball team closed out its 2022 regular season with a 9-5 victory over Lock Haven on Senior Day Sunday at Danny Litwhiler Field in Bloomsburg.
 
After falling behind 2-0 after the top of the first inning, the Huskies quickly responded at the plate like they have all season long – by scoring runs off the long ball. Thanks to three home runs in the first two innings, the Huskies regained control of the game and took a 5-2 lead through two innings of play. Bloomsburg then added one run in the third and two more in the fifth to score eight unanswered runs and jump out to a commanding 8-2 lead. 
 
Lock Haven made things interesting in the top of the sixth as they brought home three runs to make it an 8-5 ballgame. The Bald Eagles even had the bases loaded with the go-ahead run at the plate with two outs, but freshman pitcher Scott Gilbert (Scranton, Pa./Abington Heights) worked out of the jam by drawing a ground out to end the inning on a fielder's choice at second base.
 
The Huskies then added another run in the eighth inning on a Jared Burcin (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) RBI single, and Jared Marshman (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) closed out the game for Bloomsburg on the mound by striking out the first two hitters and drawing a groundout for a 1-2-3 inning to end the game at 9-5. 
 
Marshman, Gilbert and Kelly Holdren (Millville, Pa./Millville Area) combined to throw 3.2 scoreless innings for Bloomsburg while striking out a total of six hitters. Matt Vernieri (Barnegat, N.J./Barnegat) was the first relief pitcher used by the Huskies and he led the team with 3.1 innings pitched. Vernieri recorded four strikeouts and allowed just one earned run. Michael Standen (Drexel Hill, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) started the game, going two innings and striking out one hitter. 
 
At the plate, Kyle OFier (Pittston Township, Pa./Pittston Area), Carter Chasanov (Magnolia, Del./Polytech) and Ben Newbert (Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Harriton) got the Huskies started with their three home runs in the first two innings. Anthony Viggiano (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) also homered in the fifth and his two-run blast raised Bloomsburg's season total to 79 home runs, which ranks second in the conference behind Mercyhurst's 84 home runs.
 
OFier finishes his career as the program's all-time leader in career home runs with 47 and his solo homer in the first inning gives him a total of 171 career RBI, which is also a program record, and 165 runs scored, which is the second-most in program history. Newbert finishes second all-time in career home runs with 45 and second all-time in career RBI with 168. He ends the year with 22 home runs, which is a single-season record, and 59 RBI, which is the second-most hit by a Husky in one season. OFier's 19 home runs this year rank second all-time for a single season. 
 
Burcin was 2-for-4 with an RBI as he recorded his 100^th and 101^st career hits during Sunday's contest. Bryce Porter (Lincoln University, Pa./Perkiomen) had a team-high three hits for Bloomsburg and was 3-for-4 with one walk and one run scored. Newbert and Viggiano finished the game 2-for-5 with two RBI. Jake Reed (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) had a single to bring the team's total hits to 12 on the day and the shortstop finished with one walk, one run scored and one RBI.  
 
The win closes out the fifth straight winning season for the Huskies, who ended the year with an overall record of 25-19-1 and conference record of 14-9-1. The team finishes fifth overall in the PSAC East as the Huskies needed Shepherd (17-21-1, 10-13-1 PSAC East) to beat East Stroudsburg (34-15, 15-9 PSAC East) on Sunday to swap spots with the Warriors in the conference standings in order to claim the fourth and final spot representing the East in the PSAC Tournament. East Stroudsburg beat the Rams 6-1 to remain fourth in the standings. 
 
SENIOR SENDOFF
Prior to Sunday's contest between the Huskies and Bald Eagles, Bloomsburg honored six departing players as part of its Senior Day celebration. 
 
The senior class featured five key returning starters who were instrumental players for the Huskies during their 2019 and 2021 PSAC Championship runs in Burcin, Chasanov, OFier, Newbert and Reed. Holdren, who tossed one scoreless inning in relief on Sunday, was the sixth player honored as a first-year member of the program who is a graduate student from Elizabethtown College. 
 
The fifth-year members of the program close out their career with an overall record of 124-64-1 to go along with their two conference championships.