SHEPHERDSTOWN, W. Va. – The Bloomsburg baseball team dropped both legs of its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opening doubleheader to Shepherd on Saturday afternoon.
 
Drew Balestrini (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) and Dylan Hirsh (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) led Bloomsburg (9-5, 0-2 PSAC East) with each tallying four hits and a home run. Grant Russo (Sugarloaf, Pa./Hazleton Area) went 2-for-4 in the first game while Matt Freda (Lafayette, N.J./High Point Regional) and Mike Miller (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) each notched two hits in the nightcap.
 
Game One – Shepherd 6, Bloomsburg 5
 
The Huskies grabbed hold of the momentum early in the first contest with Russo lining a triple down the right field line. Balestrini put Bloomsburg on the board in the subsequent at bat, launching a two-run home run over the left field wall. The bottom of the frame saw Brandon Wozniak (Nanticoke, Pa./Nanticoke Area) make quick worth of Shepherd (14-8, 2-0) striking out two of the three batters faced.
 
Miller and Freda made earned free trips to first base early in the inning as Miller opened the frame with a walk and Freda was hit by a pitch. A bunt single from Russo with two outs loaded the bases before a drawn walk from Balestrini brought in a third run for the Huskies. Hirsh followed it up by getting hit by a pitch to extend the lead to 4-0.
 
After two scoreless innings, the Rams got on the board on an RBI-groundout from Evan Rosario. The bottom of the fifth saw the inning lead off with a walk before a double, triple and single tied the contest at 4-4. The Rams took their first lead of the day in the sixth on a sacrifice fly.
 
Hirsh knotted the game at 5-5 in the top of the seventh as the freshman blasted a lead-off home run over the left-centerfield wall.
 
Shepherd quickly loaded the bases with a single, a double and a walk before the Huskies managed an out. Colin Ahart gave the Rams the 6-5 victory, walking it off with a sacrifice fly to centerfield.
 
Hirsh finished the contest going 2-for-3 from the plate with a pair of RBIs while Russo went 2-for-4. Balestrini led the Huskies with three RBIs in the contest.
 
Wozniak started the contest for Bloomsburg, going 4.1 innings with four strikeouts. Bryce Dansh tallied two strikeouts while pitching 1.2 innings. Trevor Lugara (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) allowed the winning run in the seventh and was tacked with the loss.
 
Game Two – Shepherd 9, Bloomsburg 8
 
The Huskies got on the board first yet again in the nightcap as a sacrifice-fly from Hirsh scored Russo.
 
Shepherd took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning on two hits and two errors.
 
Miller opened the top of the second with a four-pitch walk. After back-to-back flyouts and a single from Freda, Jace Jarmon (Millsboro, Del./Sussex Central) sent a two-RBI double to right-centerfield to regain the Bloomsburg lead. Jarmon was immediately brought home as Russo singled up the middle.
 
Shepherd knotted the score with a two-run home run in the bottom of the second from Bodie Pullen.
 
The Huskies took the lead in the third as three-straight base hits to start the inning allowed Hirsh to make it 5-4. After pitching change, Anthony Trommer (Trevose, Pa./Neshaminy) recorded the fourth single of the innings, scoring Casey O'Brien (Moosic, Pa./Riverside).
 
The Rams pulled withing one on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third before the maroon and gold regained a two-run advantage on a sacrifice fly of its own. Shepherd made its 7-6 in the fifth on a triple to left field. Bloomsburg capitalized on an error in the sixth as Balestrini scored to make it 8-6.
 
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, Shepherd scored on a fielder's choice before the inning ended on a tag at home plate.
 
Shepherd walked off the game in the bottom of the seventh, scoring two on fielding error.
 
Andrew Armstrong (Levittown, Pa./Harry S. Truman) got the start for Bloomsburg, striking out four and allowing six hits in 2.1 innings of work. Pete Modrovsky (Honesdale, Pa./Honesdale) tossed two innings of work and allowed three hits while posting a pair of strikeouts. Xander Velez (Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin) was pinned with the loss after allowing three hits and one earned run while striking out three.
 
The Huskies return to Bloomsburg for the series finale on Sunday, March 22 as they host Shepherd for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.