BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg baseball team swept No. 9 East Stroudsburg in a home Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division doubleheader Sunday afternoon at Danny Litwhiler Field.
The Huskies (18-13, 10-8 PSAC East) ran away with an 8-1 win in the first game, then Bloomsburg held off the Warriors (30-7, 11-4 PSAC East) for a 4-3 victory in game two.
In the first game, right-handed pitcher
Nate Baranski (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) was dealing as he was able to hold the Warriors to just one run on six hits. Baranski pitched all seven innings for the Huskies and had four strikeouts. ESU's lone run of the game came in the final inning.
Offensively, Bloomsburg started off hot as
Carter Chasanov (Magnolia, Del./Polytech) knocked in the first two runs of the game in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run double. Bloomsburg then scored four runs in the bottom of the third to take control of the game with a 6-0 lead.
Bloomsburg's big rally in the third inning got going when
Anthony Viggiano (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) had an RBI double to right center with nobody out. Chasanov knocked in the second run of the inning with an infield single, then
Brandon Ernst (Limerick, Pa./Spring Ford) had an RBI single to center field.
Jonathan LaBarbera (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) had another infield single to score the fourth run of the inning and put Bloomsburg up by six runs.
In the fifth inning,
Dansby Keenan (Cleveland Heights, Oh./Benedictine) added an insurance run on a sacrifice fly. LaBarbera then hit a solo home run in the sixth to make it an 8-0 contest.
ESU scored one run with an RBI double in the top of the seventh and was able to load the bases with two outs, but Baranski retired the final hitter of the game with a ground out to third base.
Riley, who leads the conference in batting average (.461 avg.), led the way with a 4-for-4 game to go along with two runs scored. Chasanov was 2-for-3 with three runs batted in, a double and one run scored. Metzger was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored, and LaBarbera was the fourth Husky to have a multi-hit game by going 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBI's and one run scored.
In the second game, East Stroudsburg was able to gain the game's first lead when they scored in the top of the fourth on an infield single to the short stop. Bloomsburg was able to take the lead in the fifth after one swing, however, as a two-run home run by Ernst put the Huskies up 2-1.
After a scoreless sixth inning, Keenan had another two-run home run for the Huskies. Keenan's blast to dead center field put Bloomsburg on top 4-1 heading into the eighth.
In the eighth, ESU was able to get runners on first and second with one out, then a double to right field by Victor Cruz scored a run and put two runners into scoring position. The Warriors then scored their second run of the inning on a sacrifice fly, by a fly out to left field ended the inning with Bloomsburg still up 4-3.
Brady Ebbert (Etters, Pa./Red Land) had a lead-off double in the bottom of the eighth, but he was left stranded as two ground outs and a strikeout ended the inning.
Reilef pitcher
Michael Standen (Drexel Hill, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) then closed the door on ESU in the top of the ninth, drawing three straight ground outs to the middle infield to pick up his first save of the year.
Scott Gilbert (Scranton, Pa./Abington Heights) earned the win on the mound for Bloomsburg. The left-handed pitcher started the contest and threw six innings while picking up five strikeouts and giving up just one run on five hits. Standen had two strikeouts and gave up two runs on three hits in three innings.
For East Stroudsburg, Tommy Reisinger had a great outing on the mound, striking out four hitters through six innings and giving up just two hits and two runs – both of which came on Ernst's two-run homer in the fifth. Reisinger, however, would pick up his first loss of the year.
Bloomsburg's four runs came on two long balls, and the team would finish with four hits from four different players. Riley beat out an infield single to lead off the bottom of the first inning as he went 1-for-3. The two home runs by Ernst and Keenan and double by Ebbert in the eighth would be the team's only other three hits.
The Huskies will have a couple days to rest as they will be off until Friday, which is when they head to Chestnut Hill for a non-conference game. The contest, which is a make-up game from March 15, is scheduled to begin at 6:00 PM.
