Bloomsburg Sweeps Lock Haven in Baseball

BLOOMSBURG—Sophomore Mike Akers (Muncy/Muncy) tossed a complete game to lead the Bloomsburg University baseball team to a 6-4 win and a sweep of its doubleheader with Lock Haven on Tuesday. The Huskies won game one by a 13-7 score.

Akers, a right-hander, won his first career game by going seven innings and allowing just four runs, two in the first and two in the sixth. He struckout five and walked just two to earn the victory.

Lock Haven jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first off Akers, but Bloomsburg came back and took a 4-2 lead in the home half of the first.

Ryan Wyland (Williamsport/Loyalsock Twp) singled to open the inning and went to third on a double by Larry Piccini (Jessup/Valley View),. Bloomsburg's Vinny James (Philadelphia/Bristol) then singled home Wyland with the first run. Joe Pesci (Levittown/Pennsbury), reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to second on an error with Piccini scoring. Pesci later scored on another error off the bat of Andy Bucher (Littlestown/Littlestown) with Bucher scoring on a sac fly by Jeremy Eck for a 4-2 lead.

Bloomsburg made it 6-2 with single runs in the second and third innings. James had an RBI single in the second, while Billy Manning (Nazareth/Nazareth) singled in a run in the third.

Lock Haven got two back, one off a home run from Aaron Neideigh in the sixth, but Akers, despite having the tying run at the plate in the seventh, got a strikeout of Kyle Elbin to end the game,

Wyland led the offense in game two going 3-4 with two runs scored, while James was 2-3 with two RBI.

In game one the Huskies exploded for nine runs over the first two innings to put the game out of reach. In the bottom of the first inning Ryan Wyland reached on an error and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Vinny James then doubled in Wyland with the first run. After a walk to Joe Pesci, Andy Bucher singled home James and Chris Husted (West Decatur/Philipsburg-Osceola) singled in Pesci for a 3-0 lead. Brian Tugend (Taylor/Riverside) then doubled in two runs for a five-run first inning.

After Lock Haven got a run back in the top of the second, the Huskies added four more runs in the second with James getting an RBI single and Pesci a two-run double in the inning. Pesci later scored on a balk for a 9-1 lead.

Bloomsburg scored four more times in the fifth with Pesci and Bucher having RBI singles and Husted a two-run double to give the Huskies a 13-5 lead.

Piccini , James, Pesci, Bucher and Husted all had two hits in the game with Pesci and Husted each driving in three runs. Jeff Withelder (Wallingford/Strath Haven) went the first four innings to get the win for Bloomsburg.

The Huskies, now 8-10, host Millersville on Friday at 1 p.m. at Litwhiler Field.