BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg baseball team took the opening game of its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) doubleheader, 5-1, before dropping a weather-shortened nightcap at Danny Litwhiler Field on Sunday afternoon.
 
Grant Russo (Sugarloaf, Pa./Hazleton Area) led the Bloomsburg (10-6, 1-3 PSAC East) with four hits on the day and went 3-for-3 in game two. Jace Jarmon (Millsboro, Del./Sussex Central) went 3-for-6 on the day, including a solo home run in game one. On the day, eight different Huskies accounted for 17 hits for the maroon and gold.
 
Game One – Bloomsburg 5, Shepherd 1
 
After a scoreless first inning, Shepherd (15-9, 3-1) got on the board in the second with a lead-off home run from Ethan Jones.
 
Bloomsburg responded in the bottom of the frame as Anthony Trommer (Trevose, Pa./Neshaminy) singled up the middle. After Trommer moved to second on a wild pitch, the leftfielder was brought home on an RBI single to tie the game.
 
Starting pitcher Aiden Murphy (Mountain Top, Pa./Wyoming Seminary) and the Huskies held the Rams without a baserunner across the next two innings before Mike Miller (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) led off the bottom of the fourth by getting hit by a pitch. A sacrifice bunt from Trommer then moved Miller into scoring position. Justin Weaver (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) came up just short of a home run, blasting a double of the wall in right-centerfield while scoring Miller.
 
Bloomsburg extended its lead in the fifth after Russo started the inning with a double the dropped right on the third base line. Russo found his way to third on a sacrifice bunt before scoring on a wild pitch to advance the lead to 3-1.
 
Jarmon made it 4-1 for the Huskies in the bottom of the sixth as the shortstop launched a solo home run into the trees in left field. Later in the frame, Matt Freda (Lafayette, N.J./High Point Regional) drew a walk before stealing second to get into scoring position. Drew Balestrini (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) recorded his team-leading seventh double of the season to bring in the Huskies' fifth run of the contest.
 
Reliever Pete Modrovsky (Honesdale, Pa./Honesdale) escaped a bases-loaded jam as the maroon and gold held on for the 5-1 victory.
 
Murphy tabbed his fourth win of the season, allowing just one run and striking out ten in 6.1 innings pitched. The senior has allowed just one run in 26.1 innings this season and holds a PSAC-leading ERA of 0.34.
 
Game Two – Shepherd 9, Bloomsburg 5 (5 innings)
 
Shepherd opened the game two scoring early, using a walk and a hit by pitch to put baserunners on for Ryan Fluharty. Fluharty then drove in Bodie Pullen before Nik Rubendall loaded the bases with a single of his own. A wild pitch brought in the second run for Shepherd while leaving a pair in scoring position.
 
After a walk and a pitching change, the Rams' Colin Ahart extended the lead with a grand slam to make it 6-0.
 
The Huskies looked to close the gap in the bottom of the inning as three singles loaded the bases for Miller. The designated hitter brought in one run on a sacrifice fly.
 
Shepherd's bats stayed hot in the second as a lead-off single set up a two-run homer to make it 8-1. The Rams tacked on its ninth of the game later in the frame on an RBI-groundout.
 
Bloomsburg answered in the bottom of the second as bunt from Jarmon and a single to left from Joe Levis (Fort Washington, Pa./Upper Dublin) set the stage for an RBI-single from Russo to make it 9-2. Matt Freda (Lafayette, N.J./High Point Regional) was then hit by a pitch to load the bases before Drew Balestrini (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) was hit as well to bring in the Huskies' third run. Casey O'Brien (Moosic, Pa./Riverside) brought in another on a single to second base.
 
The maroon and gold scored once more in the fourth to make it 9-5 before the game was called due to weather after the fifth inning.
 
Landon Lorson (South Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport) got the start and the loss in game two while Matthew Marsten (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) pitched three innings of relief and struck out three.
 
Bloomsburg is back in action on Tuesday, March 24 as they travel to Pitt-Johnstown for a 3 p.m. contest.