Baseball Drops First Day of Series with Point Park

FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Baseball team dropped their first day of play with Point Park on Friday by final scores of 8-2 and 11-1 at home. 
 
Sophomore Jack Ray got the opening start for Frostburg in the MEC North Division matchup as Point Park stole a single off their first at-bat, with Ray capturing three consecutive outs, including two K's, to leave the Pioneer stranded.  PPU showed a 1-2-3 inning for the Bobcats at the plate, quickly moving the game into the second.  Point Park's full offense came to life in their second appearance at the plate, putting together four hits for five runs.  FSU coughed up an error to keep the top of the inning going, as sophomore Jackson Schalick threw to senior Mikey Guy to tag a runner out at third to leave the score at 5-0 heading into the bottom of the second. 
 
The Bobcats got one run back as senior Doyle McNew was given a base after being hit by a pitch, moving to second off a single from junior Jake Holler.  Redshirt CJ Carmichael walked to load the bases, as both runners advanced a base after a passed ball, allowing McNew to come in and score.  Ray got out of another jam to start the third after FSU saw another error, leaving the bases loaded to keep the game 5-1.  Guy roped a double to right to get things moving for Frostburg in the bottom of the inning, as an RBI double from sophomore Ryan Bouma brought in the former for a 5-2 contest. 
 
Again, Ray pitched out of a bases loaded situation in the top of the fourth, as PPU put up two more hits but were unable to add any runs.  Carmichael and sophomore Brian Scott both reached base in the bottom of the inning, but the Bobcats were unable to get anything out of it.  Freshman Hunter Layhew took over on the mound to begin the fifth, giving one up hit but leaving the Pioneer stranded.  FSU saw another three-up three-down outing at the plate to finish out the inning, before Point Park added another run to their total off two hits for a 6-2 game. 
 
Frostburg remained silent in their at-bats of the sixth, as senior Cael Huyer and graduate Dan Morgano combined from the bump in the top of the seventh, as the Pioneers increased their lead to 8-2.  The Bobcats showed the minimum in their final offensive look of game one, leaving the score at 8-2. 
 
Junior Joe Pippin earned the start in game two, but PPU looked to continue their momentum into the second game of the doubleheader, sending a two-run bomb over the fence in their first plate appearance for a quick 2-0 lead after the first.  FSU went 1-2-3 in their first offensive outing in game two, as Pippin calmed down the Pioneers in the second, throwing a three-up three-down inning.  Frostburg continued to stay quiet on offense, as Point Park collected a trio of hits in the third to move in front 4-0.  Scott knotted the first hit of game two for the Bobcats in the bottom of the inning, but FSU left the bases loaded to push the game into the fourth. 
 
Pippin saw the minimum once again from the bump, as well did Frostburg from the plate.  PPU took one more run off Pippin in the fifth, as sophomore Ben Berger was set up to come into pitch.  Point Park continued to make quick work, tallying two more runs, causing Frostburg to bring in senior Ryan Adams to the mound for the final out as the score read 8-0.  Scott sent out another single in the bottom of the fifth but again was left on base. 
 
Freshman Kamden Sowers made his way to the bump to start the sixth, as the Pioneers worked for one more run before redshirt freshman Cody Sharman came in to record the final out.  The Bobcats continued to struggle at the plate as the score remained 9-0 heading into the final stretch.  Redshirt sophomore Liam Bowen was given the go-ahead to throw in the seventh, as Point Park continued to take advantage of the pitching changes, adding two more runs to their total for an 11-0 game, as graduate Cameron King got the final two outs for Frostburg on the mound.  Senior Cy Probst led off the bottom of the seventh with a single to center, moving to third after redshirt junior Ben Wieman reached on a PPU error.  Junior Kody Abrisz then knocked an infield single to bring in Probst from third, allowing the final score to read 11-1. 
 
Guy, Bouma, and Scott all recorded a pair of hits on the day, while four others saw one.  Ray finished with four strikeouts in his outing, while Pippin threw for three and Layhew saw a pair. 
 
With the losses, Frostburg goes to 27-10 on the season, while Point Park moves to 27-11.  The Bobcats are back in action tomorrow, April 19 at 1 PM for the final day of their conference series with the Pioneers, as the team will participate in Youth Baseball Day starting at 12:30 PM.  For more information and updates, please visit frostburgsports.com.