BLOOMSBURG, Pa.- Senior
Assaf Lowengart smashed three homeruns and the offense exploded to lead the Mansfield University baseball team to their first PSAC season sweep since 2015, as the bested the Bloomsburg Huskies 9-1 and 18-14.
Mounties improve to 18-18, 10-7 (PSAC East) on the season and the Huskies fall to 21-16-1, 10-7-1 (PSAC East).
In game one, senior Hunter Deprimo pitched a gem going all seven innings, striking out ten batters, and only surrendering a run.
The Mountaineers got on the board quickly in the first inning as Lowengart launched his first homerun of the day in the first inning. They soared ahead in the second inning plating six runs batting around the order, including two more Lowengart RBIs.
The Mounties would break through again in the fourth on a
Brady Mengel single that scored junior
Josh Farina. Mounties lead 8-1.
The final game one run came in the seventh as freshman
Ryan Verbonitz singled and scored sophomore
Zachary Shertzer to take the first game 9-1.
There was an offensive display in the second game. Bloomsburg scored first in inning one. The Mansfield bats sparked in the second inning for the second straight game. Senior
Brittain Shander got things started scoring Shertzer. Sophomore
Shay Gustafson scored junior Zack Spray on the next at-bat. Lowengart hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield, and Senior
Ben Osborne scored Shander to give the Mounties the 4-1 lead.
Bloomsburg retook that lead 5-4 with a four-run inning of their own, including a Kyle OFier homerun. They extended the lead to 7-4 heading into the fifth inning.
Mansfield would score at least a run in each of the final five innings.
The Mounties surged back ahead in the top of the fifth inning after Lowengart belted a long ball to left field, Spray singled in a run, and Senior
Cole Shomper shot a base hit up the middle scoring Shertzer to lead 8-7. It would be matched in the bottom of the inning leaving it 8-8.
The back-and-fourth continued in the sixth inning with the Mounties regaining the lead on a Shertzer RBI, before being bested by the Huskies scoring three runs on back-to-back homeruns to lead 11-9.
Mansfield would take the lead for good in the seventh starting with Lowengart scoring another of his six RBI's in game two, and Mengel plating two on a single up the middle.
The Mounties grabbed insurance runs in the eighth inning as Shomper and Gustofson added runs before Lowengart left the park for the third time on the day, to grow the lead to 17-11.
Mansfield scored one more run in the ninth and held off a Huskies comeback attempt to win 18-14.
Sophomore
Luke Payne got the victory finishing the last four innings, striking out five.
Mansfield returns to action on Monday, April 25 for a make-up game as they host Lock Haven for the final game of that series.