James, Tressler Power Huskies to Sweep of Mansfield

BLOOMSBURG- Vinnie James (Bristol/ Bristol) went 4-4 with two home runs and four RBI's in game one and Chris Tressler (Lewistown/ Lewistown) went 2-3 with three RBI's including a go-ahead, two-run single in game two to lead the Huskies to a sweep of Mansfield University on Friday. The Huskies won 13-2 in the first game and earned a 6-4 victory in game two. The two wins improve the Huskies record to 12-19 and 5-5 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Divison.

With the scored tied at 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth of game two, the Huskies loaded the bases with one out off Mansfield pitcher Ryan Wyland. Tressler stepped to the plate and delivered a two run single to centerfield to take a 6-4 lead. Casey Markey (York/ Dallastown) pitched a scoreless seventh after third baseman Paul Eckley (Port Matilda/ State College) made a diving stab to end the game. Markey tossed a complete game, allowing three earned runs on eight hits to improve his record to 3-3 on the year.

Andy Bucher (Littlestown/ Littlestown) was 2-3 with three runs scored and an RBI, while Eckley was 1-3 with two RBI's in game two.

In game one, the Huskies pounded out 13 hits and scored a run in every inning on way to a 13-2 rout. After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first, James put the Huskies ahead, 2-1, with a two-run home run in the bottom half of the inning. In the bottom of the second, Matt Robinson (York/ Red Lion) singled home Eckley to take a 3-1 lead. That would prove to be enough for Bloomsburg pitcher Dustin Johnson (Sunbury/ Shikellemy), who went the distance, surrendering just one earned run on seven hits while striking out five. Three of the seven hits off Johnson were infield singles.

In the third, the Huskies pushed three more runs across to increase their lead to 6-1. After back-to-back singles by James and Kevin Ward (Upper Darby/ Monsignor Bonner), Bucher sacrificed to move the runners up to second and third. With Eckley batting, James scored from third on a pass ball. Eckley then drove in Ward with an RBI single to make it 5-1. Robinson also added an RBI ground out later in the inning.

The Huskies put the game out of reach in the fourth, plating four more runs and batting around to make the score 10-1. James doubled home Preston Hitchcock (Laceyville/ Wyalusing Valley), who had doubled to lead off the inning, for the first run. One out later, with runners on second and third, Bucher singled to bring home Matt Allen (Lewistown/ Lewistown) and James. Bucher advanced to second on the play after an error by the left fielder. Eckley then followed with another RBI single for the final run of the inning.

In the fifth, James hit his second long ball of the game and fifth of the season on a long blast to centerfield. Bloomsburg added two more in the bottom of the sixth to make the final score 13-1.

Eckley was 3-3 with two RBI's, while Bucher was 2-3 with two runs and an RBI and Robinson was 1-4 with 3 RBI's. Bloomsburg will wrap up their series with the Mountaineers tomorrow when they visit Mansfield at 1 p.m.