One for the books
BLOOMSBURG — Kyle OFier is no stranger to coming up with big hits in his time at Bloomsburg University.
On Tuesday, he added perhaps his biggest, turning on the first pitch he saw in the seventh inning for a solo home run to right-center field. It proved to be not only the game-winning run but the jumpstart the Huskies’ offense needed in an 11-3 rout of Adelphi.
The blast was the record-breaking 38th of his career, surpassing Matt Karchner for most in BU history.
OFier admitted he had been pressing in his first three at-bats — two ending in strikeouts — with the idea of hitting the milestone at home on his mind all afternoon.
“The first couple of ABs were a little stressful not going to lie because I was hoping for it,” he said. “I hit that ball and the emotions started to come and I got the chills going around the basepaths. It was very, very exciting and it meant a lot to me seeing these guys happy for me, giving me hugs and telling me how proud they are for me. It means a lot to me to accomplish that here.”
The Huskies proceeded to show just how dangerous they can be as a unit, showing they will patiently wait for their pitch. Ben Newbert and Brandon Ernst worked back-to-back walks, forcing the Panthers to make a pitching change to Kevin Glasser.
The move didn’t slow BU down any as it got consecutive RBI singles from Carter Chasanov and Bryce Porter. The pair scored two hitters later as Jonathan Labarbera stretched the lead to 9-3 with a three-run home run to right-center.
Jake Reed, the No. 9 hitter worked the Huskies’ third walk of the frame, forcing another pitching change. The Panthers turned to Jacob Dannenberg, who in turn, saw his second pitch thrown get turned into a deep home run to right by Brady Gibble. The round-tripper was Gibble’s second of the game — turning on the first pitch he saw in the fifth to break a two-all tie.
All told, the Huskies sent 11 men to the plate, scoring eight.
The combination of patience and power is nothing new to the Huskies — it’s their signature.
“Our offense is feast or famine in that we hit the ball in the air,” BU coach Mike Collins said. “We lead the [PSAC] in home runs, so we rely heavily on the long ball. When that happens, the guys see that we are capable of scoring runs in bunches. When we’re down, we’re never really out because a guy can hit it out and start a big inning. We score in chunks and that’s the nature of our offense.
“They were making some mistakes at the plate and when you make mistakes down the middle of the plate, our hitters generally don’t miss them. We got some really good pitches to hit and guys didn’t miss them.”
Fans sitting in the parking lot beyond right field were treated to a handful of souvenirs as the teams combined to hit five home runs — all right of center — with the Huskies accounting for four of them.
Three of the long balls either tied the game or broke a tie. Adelphi’s Matt Alifano drove one to right-center to notch the game at three in the sixth.
The game looked like it could be in favor of either team as the Panthers struck first. Kyle Olson hit his second double of the contest to lead off the third and came around to score on a Jack Ryan single to left.
The lead didn’t last long with the Huskies scoring two in the home half. Reed doubled to start the frame, scoring on an infield error. Chase Cavanov later drove in Newbert with a double of his own that just missed being a home run to left by mere inches, hitting off the top of the fence.
Johnny Catuosco accounted for the Panthers’ last RBI, a double to right-center that drove in Michael Draskin. It tied the game at two in the fifth.
Zoning in
Despite giving the Panthers every possible chance to remain competitive, BU’s pitching staff got the job done when it needed to the most.
The Panthers collected 13 hits, three walks and had two hit batters — both in the ninth. They weren’t retired in order once in the game, but the Huskies’ young pitchers, including Millville grad Kelly Holdren, got out of the jams.
“These mid-week nonconference games are opportunities for some of the younger guys to step in and hopefully grow into some roles,” Collins said. “... We’re hoping that throughout the season they can build some confidence and we can get some reliability out of them. Those guys are extremely talented and have a lot of movement on their stuff. They just have to get out there and do it.
“... As we go through the season and into the postseason, we need pitching depth, and that confidence will be good for them.”
The Panthers stranded 14 baserunners with eight in scoring position. Twice they ended the inning with the bases loaded. Six of those innings ended in a strikeout as BU recorded 14. Starting pitcher Brandon Walters accounted for six of those in four innings pitched.
Freshman Duke Stafursky got his first collegiate win, pitching two innings of relief for the Huskies.
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