BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg baseball team beat Fairmont State in both games of a doubleheader Saturday at the Bloomsburg Area High School.
The Huskies (3-5, 0-0 PSAC) topped the Falcons (1-8, 0-0 MEC) by a score of 6-1 in the first game, then Bloomsburg held on for a tight 9-7 in Game 2 despite a late comeback effort by Fairmont State.
Junior outfielder
Wyatt Metzger (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) led the way for the Huskies with a great day at the plate, hitting a home run in both contests and finishing the day going a combined 4-for-8 with five runs batted in and three runs scored in addition to his two homers.
Metzger's first home run on the day was a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning of the first game to give Bloomsburg an early 2-0 lead.
Anthony Viggiano (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) doubled the team's lead with a two-run single in the second inning, then he had another RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to put the Huskies up 5-0. A sacrifice fly by
Brandon Ernst (Limerick, Pa./Spring Ford) in the fourth gave Bloomsburg a comfortable 6-0 lead after four innings of play.
The six-run lead was enough for starting pitcher
Jared Marshman (Berwick, Pa./Berwick), who earned the victory after throwing a complete game and finishing with 11 strikeouts while allowing four hits. The lone run he surrendered came in the fifth and was unearned.
Viggiano went 3-for-4 with three RBI's, a double, and one run scored.
Brady Ebbert (Etters, Pa./Red Land) also had a two-hit game, going 2-for-3 with a walk and run scored.
Carter Chasanov (Magnolia, Del./Polytech) scored twice and was one of five players to record one hit.
Brandon Ernst (Limerick, Pa./Spring Ford) had a double and
Bryce Porter (Lincoln University, Pa./Perkiomen),
Brady Gibble (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) and
Alex Ruiz (Lancaster, Pa./McCaskey) all singled.
The second game was scoreless for the first two innings before Fairmont State scored the first runs of the contest in the top of the third. In the bottom half of the inning, however, Bloomsburg tied things up when
Ryan Flury (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) had an RBI single that scored
Eli Riley (Harrisburg, Pa./Mercersburg Academy).
Fairmont State regained its lead in the top of the fourth after a Noah Armstrong RBI single, but Bloomsburg would respond again in the bottom half, and this time the Huskies scored two runs to regain a lead that it would hang onto for the remainder of the game.
In the bottom of the fourth, Metzger and
Jonathan LaBarbera (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) had back-to-back singles, then after a fly out that advanced Metzger to third, Gibble was able to reach first safely during a bunt attempt that scored Metzger from third. Riley then knocked in LaBarbera on a single that gave Bloomsburg a 3-2 lead.
Leading by one, Bloomsburg's offense then exploded for a six-run inning in the fifth to go up 9-2. The Huskies scored two runs on a Viggiano single, then Metzger hit a three-run HR. Riley gave the team its sixth run of the inning on a single through the right side of the infield that scored Gibble.
The Falcons did make it interesting, however. After scoring one run in the sixth, Fairmont State was able to piece together a two-out rally in the top of the seventh that eventually led to the go-ahead run reaching first base after the Falcons loaded the bases. Freshman pitcher
Josh Marquard (York, Pa./Central York) was able to get out of the jam by getting Hudson Smith to ground out to end the ballgame.
Marquard picked up the save for the Huskies and
Nate Baranski (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) picked up his first win of the early season after tossing 6.2 innings and striking out four hitters.
Metzger again led the way at the plate for Bloomsburg in Game 2 with a HR, three RBI's and two runs scored. Viggiano had two RBI's and scored once while also walking. Riley was a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBI's, one run scored, and a stolen base. Flury was 2-for-3 and knocked in two runs and scored once.
The series will continue with the two teams meeting on Sunday at 12:00 PM for a single nine-inning game. The game will be played at Bloomsburg Area High School.
