McDonald, Dodson Show Strong Outings as Baseball Splits Final Day of Series with Tigers

NUTTER FORT, W.Va. – The Frostburg State Baseball team split the final day of their series with Salem (WV) on Sunday, taking game one 5-2 before falling in game two 1-0.
 
Frostburg went the minimum in their first at-bats of the day, sending out senior Jacob McDonald, who got the start on the bump defensively.  Salem was able to get on base after a bunt single, but the junior Kade Abrisz to sophomore Ryna Bouma connection was able to catch the runner stealing, leaving the game scoreless after one.  Junior Jake Holler started the second with a double, advancing to third on a wild pitch.  Senior Doyle McNew was given the first RBI of the day with a single that scored Holler for a 1-0 FSU lead.  McDonald went 1-2-3 from the mound to close out the inning, earning himself his first K of the day. 
 
The third showed a three-up three-down go-around for both squads at the plate, as Holler reached base in the fourth after being hit by a pitch, setting himself up to steal second.  Holler moved to third after another wild pitch from the Tigers, allowing him to trot home off an RBI single from redshirt junior Ben Wieman.  SU was able to rally in their offensive half of the inning, getting a run to cut the score to 2-1, as McDonald struck out the final batter of the fourth to leave the bases loaded and keep Frostburg on top. 
 
Sophomore Brian Scott was credited with a single to leadoff the fifth, as well as freshman Manny Hall, who reached base after a bunt, but both were left stranded.  McDonald walked a batter in the bottom half of the inning, but ended the fifth with another K to move the game into the sixth.  The Bobcats were quiet in their next plate appearance, as sophomore Bryce Hendricks took over on the mound in the bottom half of the inning, where he went 1-2-3 with a strikeout in his first outing. 
 
Scott and Hall again recorded back-to-back singles in the seventh, with redshirt freshman CJ Carmichael knocking the third consecutive single in the inning to load the bases for FSU.  All runners moved up a base after a balk from SU, allowing Scott to be sent home for a 3-1 contest.  Senior Mikey Guy then collected a two-RBI double to knock in both Hall and Carmichael for a 5-1 game heading into Salem's final at-bats.  The Tigers roped out two singles before adding one run to their total, as Hendricks stranded two on for SU to leave the final score at 5-2 in game one. 
 
Carmichael collected the first hit of game two with a single, but two Bobcats were left on in the first inning.  Freshman Zach Dodson got the nod to throw game two for FSU, leaving one on base for Salem in his first outing, after the Tigers knocked two hits to get on the board first at 1-0.  Abrisz led off the second with his first hit of the day with Frostburg working to load the bases after an error by SU and a walk, but FSU was unable to get anything out of the situation.  Dodson found his groove in the bottom half of the second, going 1-2-3 from the bump and earning a strikeout.  Both teams remained quiet in their plate appearances of the third, both going three-up three-down.  The Tigers stole a double off Dodson in the start of the fourth, but the righty collected two straight outs to leave the game at 1-0 after four. 
 
Carmichael drew a walk in the fifth, but the Bobcats left him on base.  Dodson continued his strong outing, again facing the minimum of SU, getting a Tiger to go down swinging to end the inning.  Wieman was able to send out a single to kick off things in the sixth, as Dodson threw another perfect inning to give Frostburg one last chance to get on the board.  Scott started FSU off with a single, as Bouma took his place on first after a fielder's choice.  Redshirt sophomore Tiernan Daly pinch ran for Bouma, advancing to third off another single from Carmichael.  After Carmichael stole second to put both runners in scoring position for the Bobcats, Frostburg was unable to get any runs in with one out left, dropping the contest 1-0. 
 
Scott and Carmichael led Frostburg with three hits apiece, each scoring a run as well, while Guy, Hall, and Wieman all had a pair of knocks.  McDonald earned his fifth win of the year in game one, going five innings and giving up just three hits and one run while striking out five, while Hendricks picked up his fourth win of the season throwing the last two innings.  Dodson threw the first complete game of his career in game two, going all six innings and giving up just three hits and one run as well, while also earning four K's. 
 
With the split, Frostburg moves to 31-13 on the season, while Salem goes to 21-22.  The Bobcats return home for another non-conference nine inning single game on Tuesday, April 29 when the team hosts Shippensburg at 3 PM.  For more information and updates, please visit frostburgsports.com.