BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg men's baseball team split its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opening doubleheader with Shippensburg, dropping game one before taking down the Raiders, 7-6, in the nightcap.
 
Drew Balestrini (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) and Greg Cristino (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield Memorial) each posted three hits on the day for Bloomsburg (9-10, 1-1 PSAC East). Balestrini notched a pair of home runs in the first game.
 
Overall, the Huskies tallied 15 runs on the day from eight different batters.
 
Game One – Shippensburg 17, Bloomsburg 5
 
Shippensburg (14-7, 1-1) surged ahead early, bringing 10 runs across the plate through the first three innings.
 
After Raider's starting pitcher Jaxon Dalena recorded the first 10 putouts off the game with strikeouts, Ebbert put an end to the no-hitter bid with a solo home run to right field in the third. Balestrini notched the second homer of the day in the fourth, making it 10-3 on his solo shot to right centerfield.
 
Shippensburg extended its lead in the fifth with seven more runs. A sacrifice fly from Ben Jones (Fallschurch, Va./George C. Marshall) scored Ebbert in the bottom of the frame to make it 17-4.
 
The bottom of the sixth saw Balestrini put on out to right center again for his second home run of the day.
 
Riley Powers (Vidalia, Ga./Vidalia) was tacked with the loss for game one, while the Huskies' pitching staff totaled three strikeouts in the game.
 
Dalena picked up the win for Shippensburg with 10 strikeouts in four innings. Eric Bohenek earned the save with three innings pitched.
 
Game Two – Bloomsburg 7, Shippensburg 6
 
Bloomsburg turned the momentum around in game two as Corey Daniels (Forest City, Pa./Forest City) drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the first. A pair of stolen bases from the centerfield put him in scoring position as Cristino singled through the left side to give the maroon and gold an early 1-0 lead.
 
Later in the frame, Balestrini singled to right field before making it to third on an error from the right fielder, scoring two runners in the process.
 
The Raiders posted three runs in the second inning to close the gap.
 
Bloomsburg scored two runs in the second with a fielder's choice from Cristino and a sacrifice fly from Josh Wilson (Clinton, Md./Bishop McNamara).
 
Shippensburg continued to apply the pressure, scoring twice in the fifth to make it a 6-5 game.
 
Ebbert brought second baseman Judah Miller (Halifax, Pa./Halifax) home in the sixth on a sacrifice fly.
 
One last late surge from the visitors proved to not be enough as Bloomsburg held on for its first conference win of the season.
 
Daniel Koppisch (Philadelphia, Pa./Central) picked up his first win of the year, striking out two while allowing three hits and three runs. Nolan Walker (North Wales, Pa./North Wales) earned the save with a one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning pitched.
 
Bloomsburg heads on the road for the second half of the series against Shippensburg on Saturday, March 22. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.