SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – A late rally by Shepherd gave the Rams a 14-12 win over the Bloomsburg baseball team on Thursday.
The Huskies (7-10, 2-5 PSAC East) got out to an early lead and carried the advantage for much of the contest, but the Rams (14-7, 4-2 PSAC East) scored a total of 12 runs in the sixth and seventh innings to come away with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division victory.
Carter Chasanov (Magnolia, Del./Polytech) paced Bloomsburg's offense with four runs batted in, two hits and one run scored to go along with a triple. Jonathan LaBarbera (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) also had a day, going 3-for-6 with a home run, double, three RBI's and two runs scored.
Brandon Ernst (Limerick, Pa./Spring Ford) homered and was 2-for-5 with two RBI's and two runs scored, and Anthony Viggiano (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) doubled and scored twice.
Bloomsburg took the first lead of the game when Chasanov knocked in Viggiano from third on a sacrifice fly in the top of the second inning. LaBarbera then had an RBI double to spark a Bloomsburg rally in the top of the third as the Huskies would score six runs in the frame to jump out to a 7-0 lead.
The six-run rally started with LaBarbera's double, then he was able to steal home for the next run of the game. With runners at the corners, Brady Gibble (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) stole second base safely, and LaBarbera took off for home when the throw got away from Shepherd's second baseman. The Huskies got their next two runs on a two-run triple by Chasanov, then Dansby Keenan (Cleveland Heights, Oh./Benedictine) had an RBI single up the middle that allowed Chasanov to score.
Chasanov recorded another RBI in the top of the fourth to extend Bloomsburg's lead to 8-0, but Shepherd began its comeback in the bottom half of the inning by scoring its first two runs of the game to cut the deficit to six.
The Rams then scored five more runs in the sixth to make it an 8-7 game. Bloomsburg was able to add an insurance run in the top of the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Eli Riley (Harrisburg, Pa./Mercersburg Academy), but Shepherd took its first lead of the game after scoring seven in the bottom of the seventh inning.
A solo home run by Ernst in the top of the eighth brought the game back to 14-10 and the Huskies would score two more in the ninth on a two-run homer by LaBarbera to make it 14-12, but a strikeout ended the ballgame.
On the mound, Shepherd's Brayden Stottlemeyer picked up his first win of the season after throwing two scoreless innings. For Bloomsburg, Matt Vernieri (Barnegat, N.J./Barnegat) was given his first loss of the season. Scott Gilbert (Scranton, Pa./Abington Heights) started the contest and strikeout seven hitters in 5.2 strong innings on the mound.
Bloomsburg and Shepherd will continue their three-game series with a doubleheader in Bloomsburg on Friday. The doubleheader is scheduled to start at 12:00 PM at Danny Litwhiler Field.
