BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – An early offensive flurry lifted the Bloomsburg baseball team to a 16-5 victory over IUP in a non-conference contest at Danny Litwhiler Field on Thursday afternoon. The win moves Bloomsburg to 6-6 on the year while the Crimson Hawks see their record drop to 2-10.
 
Greg Cristino (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield Memorial) fell a triple short of the cycle, going 3-for-5 with six RBIs and three runs. Cristino's six RBIs is the most in a single game for the Huskies since Ben Newbert tallied seven in a game against Kutztown in 2022.
 
Jacob Refier posted three hits in the game as well, notching a pair of RBIs and one run. Corey Daniels (Forest City, Pa./Forest City) went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, three runs and a home run. Drew Balestrini (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) recorded two hits and three RBIs in the contest as well.
 
IUP got on the board first, as Camden Rhude sent a solo home run to left centerfield for the game's opening score.
 
Daniels responded immediately in the bottom of the first, tying the game with a home run of his own as the leadoff batter. Later in the frame, Reifer brought Ebbert across home plate on a sacrifice fly to give the maroon and gold the lead. A single through the right side with the bases loaded from Balestrini gave Bloomsburg a 3-1 advantage.
 
The Huskies' offense exploded in the second inning with nine runs. With Daniels on third base early in the frame, Cristino sent the ball straight towards the first baseman who looked to get the ball back home to make the play at the plate. The ensuing throw was too high for the catcher, allowing Daniels to tally his second run in as many innings.
 
An RBI-single from Reifer scored Cristino to make it 5-1 before a bases-loaded double from Balestrini brought in a pair of runs. A sacrifice-fly from Jeremy Cawley (Duryea, Pa./Pittston Area) brought home Mike Miller (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) to make it 8-1. Balestrini capitalized on a wild pitch to score the Huskies' ninth run before Daniels posted the tenth run of the game with a single in his third at-bat of the contest. Cristino put Bloomsburg ahead 12-1 with a two RBI-double in the tail end of the second.
 
After the Crimson Hawks' first-inning home run Bloomsburg held IUP to just one hit until top of the seventh. IUP put a pair of runs on the board with a two-run homer to left center field to make it 12-3. Davin Landers posted two RBIs before getting thrown out trying to turn his hit into a double.
 
Cristino returned to the batter's box for his fifth at-bat in the seventh inning, crushing a two-run home run over the centerfield wall to put Bloomsburg up 14-5.
 
The Huskies tacked on an additional two runs in the eighth with a sacrifice-fly from Daniels and an RBI-single from Cristino.
 
Scott Gilbert (Scranton, Pa./Abington Heights) picked up his first win of the season, striking out three batters and allowing no hits in 1.2 innings pitched. Pete Modrovsky (Honesdale, Pa./Honesdale) pitched 1.1 innings and give up zero hits while striking out two batters. Overall, the Huskies bullpen combined for twelve strikeouts and just seven hits.
 
The win is Bloomsburg's first home victory over IUP since April 24, 2013.
 
The Huskies return to action on Friday, March 14 for a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Pitt-Johnstown at Danny Litwhiler Field.