BLOOMSBURG – The No. 7/9th-ranked East Stroudsburg University baseball dropped their first PSAC East series of the season as Bloomsburg took down the Warriors, 8-1 and 4-3, in a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Danny Litwhiler Field.
Losing consecutive games for the first time this season, the Warriors moved to 30-7 overall and 11-4 in the conference while the Huskies improved to 18-13 on the year and 10-8 in the PSAC East.
Notables
- Offensively the Warriors were limited to one run on six hits in the opener as Matt Ervolina went 2-for-2 with a RBI, while Mike Kelly finished 2-for-3 with a pair of singles
- In game two of the doubleheader, Victor Cruz finished 3-for-4 with a double, one RBI, one run scored and one stolen base
- Also recording a hit for ESU was Ben Piripavel (one walk, one steal), Ervolina (two stolen bases), Logan Stirr (one run), Cameron Hubbard (one walk, one RBI) and Jeremy Piatkiewicz
- Brent Francisco (7-3) was handed the loss in game two of the series after allowing six runs on nine hits over 3.0 innings to go along with four strikeouts
- Tom Reisinger (4-1) suffered his first loss of the year in the series finale, pitching 6.0 innings and yielding two runs on a pair of hits while punching out four
- Bloomsburg, who leads the PSAC in batting average at .319, finished the afternoon with a trio of home runs and four extra base hits
- The Warriors registered six additional stolen bases in the twin bill to increase their single-season school record number to 148
- In this week's polls, ESU moved up two spots to No. 9 in the College Baseball Division Top 30 and claimed the top spot in the NCBWA Atlantic Region Poll, receiving all 11 first-place votes. The Warriors climbed to No. 9 in the NCBWA Top 25 and were ranked as high as No. 4 in the Perfect Game Top 25.
How it Happened – Bloomsburg 8, ESU 1 (Game One)
The Huskies put together a two out rally in the bottom of the first inning, taking a 2-0 lead using three hits. After a leadoff single from Eli Riley and a base hit from Wyatt Metzgar, Carter Chasanov delivered a bases clearing double to right center field.
Bloomsburg exploded for four runs on six hits in the bottom of the second inning to extend their edge to 6-0 as four different Huskies recorded a RBI.
The Huskies added on an insurance run to make the score 7-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning as Metzgar crossed home plate following a leadoff double on a sacrifice fly from Dansby Keenan.
On the first pitch in the home half of the sixth inning, Joshua LaBarbera belted a solo home run to left field to put Bloomsburg ahead 8-0.
In their final at-bats, ESU got on the board with two outs as Ervolina delivered a RBI double to plate
Parker Frey, making the final score 8-1.
How it Happened – Bloomsburg 4, ESU 3 (Game Two)
The Warriors struck first in the top of the fourth inning, using a trio of hits and a Bloomsburg error to take a 1-0 lead. With one out Cruz singled through the left side, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error before scoring on an infield single by Hubbard.
Bloomsburg answered in the fifth inning when Brian Ernst delivered a two-run home run to left field to give the Huskies a 2-1 lead.
The home runs continued for Bloomsburg in the bottom of the seventh inning as Keenan poked a two-run blast over the center field fence to put the Huskies up 4-1.
ESU answered in the top of the eighth inning scoring two runs on a pair of hits to trim their deficit to 4-3. With one out,
Jack Rothenhausler walked and Stirr singled through the left side before Cruz delivered a RBI double to make the score 4-2. After a four-pitch walk to Hubbard loaded the bases,
Tim Haverstick lofted a sacrifice fly to get the Warriors within one.
Up Next
The Warriors hit the road on Friday to begin a three-game set against West Chester with a 9-inning game starting at 2 p.m. from Serpico Stadium
