Offense Belts 28 Hits, Pitching Staff Combines for 17 K's as Baseball Takes Series with WLU

WEIRTON, W.Va. – The Frostburg State Baseball team used an impressive performance on both sides of the ball to take their series with West Liberty by scores of 11-1 and 14-5 on Tuesday.
 
Sophomore Jackson Schalick got the ball rolling for Frostburg in the first inning, showing a short infield single to get on base.  West Liberty was able to cough up three straight outs from the Bobcats to end the top half of the inning with Schalick still on.  Senior Jacob McDonald got the nod from the bump for game one, getting two Hilltoppers to go down swinging in their first appearance.  FSU started their offensive run in their second at-bats, with senior Doyle McNew and junior Jake Holler drawing back-to-back walks to start.  Redshirt freshman CJ Carmichael, followed by junior Kade Abrisz, both put out singles, with the latter being credited with two-RBI.  With two on still, freshman Manny Hall sent one over the outfield fence to put Frostburg in control 5-0.
 
WLU picked up their first hit of the game in the bottom of the second, as a throwing error from FSU scored one run for the Hilltoppers for a 5-1 game.  Both teams saw a quiet outing at the plate in the third, with McNew swapping hits with West Liberty.  Schalick connected on a solo shot in the top half of the fourth, adding one more to Frostburg's advantage to sit the score at 6-1.  McDonald put one on for the Hilltoppers in the bottom of the inning but racked up another K to leave the Bobcats in front by five. 
 
McNew was awarded a base to start the fifth after being hit by a pitch.  Holler was then credited with an RBI off a triple, quickly coming in to score off a sacrifice fly from Carmichael to move the game to 8-1.  McDonald continued to keep WLU fairly quiet at the plate, giving up another hit but stranding the runner on base.  The Bobcats kept their offense going in the sixth, as senior Mikey Guy recorded an RBI double down the right field line, before scoring on an RBI single from McNew.  Abrisz picked up another RBI on his day, showing an infield single to score McNew for an 11-1 game. 
 
McDonald stranded two more for West Liberty in the bottom of the sixth, giving up no hits.  Sophomore Cole Carter and Hall each saw a single in FSU's last at-bats, but Frostburg was unable to add any more runs.  McDonald stood on the mound in the bottom of the inning to finish out the complete game, adding three more strikeouts to his total to conclude the 11-1 win for the Bobcats. 
 
Schalick was the first to reach base in game two once again for either team, roping a double down the left field line.  Guy was then walked to move Schalick over to second, as an RBI single from sophomore Ryan Bouma put the Bobcats on the board 1-0.  Senior Pat Bauer got the start for game two, recording two K's and giving up no hits in his first outing.  Neither team showed any spark at the plate in the second, with Bauer throwing a three-up three-down inning.
 
Hall and Guy started the third with a pair of singles for FSU, as McNew drew a walk to load the bases.  Bouma was hit by a pitch to walk in one run for Frostburg, as Holler recorded an RBI single to move the game to 3-0.  Carmichael saw another single to add to his day to bring in another run and load the bases once more for the Bobcats, as Schalick recorded the third grand slam of the series for FSU, sending a deep fly ball over the left field fence for an 8-0 Frostburg lead. 
 
Bauer set up a double-play in the bottom of the inning, as West Liberty got the home run back by launching one of their own over the fence for a 8-1 score.  The Bobcats calmed down on offense in the fourth, as the Hilltoppers pushed a trio of singles to add another run to their total, with Bauer adding two more K's to his list to get out of a bases loaded jam.  FSU loaded the bases right away to start the fifth, with Helser and Scott being hit by a pitch and Carmichael shooting a double to left center in between.  Schalick was given a sacrifice fly to bring one home for Frostburg, as Hall then drew a walk to load the bases back up with one out.  Guy and junior Kody Abrisz were each credited with two-RBI singles, as Holler followed with an RBI single of his own to increase the Bobcats advantage to 14-2 heading into the bottom half of the fifth.
 
Redshirt senior Nate Vermillion took over on the mound in the bottom of the inning, seeing three quick outs and leaving one on for WLU. Scott roped a double for FSU in the top half of the sixth, as Frostburg was able to load the bases once more but was unable to do anymore damage.  Freshman Kamden Sowers pitched for the Bobcats in the sixth, as the Hilltoppers were able to get a run before Sowers struck out the final batter of the inning.  FSU went 1-2-3 in their final plate appearance, as sophomore Cristian Bonilla and freshman Hunter Layhew closed out the game with a 14-5 final. 
 
Five Bobcats recorded four hits on the day in Schalick, Hall, Guy, Holler, and Carmichael, with Schalick leading the team with six RBI and Hall scoring a team-high four runs.  McDonald threw a complete game in game one for his third win of the season, going for four hits, one run, three walks, and seven strikeouts in the process.  Bauer received the win in game two, his sixth of the season, going four innings and giving up five hits, two runs, and three walks, while striking out six. 
 
With the sweep, Frostburg improves to 22-8 on the season, while West Liberty goes to 16-17.  The Bobcats have a quick turnaround, coming home to face Shepherd tomorrow, April 9 for a single nine-inning game scheduled for 3 PM.  For more information and updates, please visit frostburgsports.com.