Baseball Splits Regular Season Finale with Falcons on Senior Day

FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Baseball team concluded its regular season at home with a split against Fairmont State, topping game one 7-5 while dropping a weather-shortened game two 9-8.
 
Frostburg honored its 13-member senior class in between the contests, as graduates Ben Vok and Dan Morgano joined seniors Stafford Allison, Lucas Gulczynski, Will Grove, Max Proctor, Aidan Duda, Nick Trey, Justin Jimenez, Ethan Kiple, Jarek Bacon, Hayden Ford, and Randy Steen as they round out their respective Bobcat careers.
 
Proctor began game one on the mound and was able to get around a two-out error and stolen base with a fly-out to center. Kiple ripped a two-out double to left in the bottom half of the frame, but was left stranded to end the first scoreless. The Falcons broke the tie quickly in the second with a homer out to left, followed by a double, two errors, and an infield single that plated another pair of runs for a 3-0 lead.
 
The Bobcats were able to pull one back in their at-bats, with junior Danny Estrada drawing a lead-off walk and immediately getting around the bases to score on a double to right-center off the bat of freshman Ryan Bouma. Junior Christian Shertzer moved Bouma up a base on a fly out to right, but a strikeout and groundout ended the inning without further damage.
 
Fairmont got back up to a two-run lead in the third with another solo homer, but Frostburg didn't let them get too far away with another score in the bottom half. Freshman Jackson Schalick got a hit into left, followed by a Steen double to put a pair in scoring position with no outs. Junior Mikey Guy brought Schalick home on a sac fly to right, while Steen advanced to third on an error, but couldn't advance further as the score stood at 4-2 after three.
 
Inning four brought another pair of errors from the Bobcats that put a runner on third, but Proctor worked an inning-ending strikeout to keep the deficit at two. Frostburg kept clawing their way back, as Bouma smacked another double, moved to third on a sac bunt from Shertzer, and scored on a sac fly by freshman Logan Helser to pull within 4-3. Jimenez then got two bases of his own and moved to third on a passed ball, but a strikeout ended the frame with Fairmont still narrowly ahead.
 
After a Bobcat pitching change to start the fifth, two batters were hit by pitches, the Falcons got an infield single, and a batter was intentionally walked, all resulting in another Fairmont run as they went ahead 5-3. Morgano, the second pitcher of the frame, was able to limit the damage to the one run with a pair of strikeouts as the bases were loaded. Frostburg hit right back once again, as Guy raced around for a one-out triple, scoring on a passed ball to get back within one. Bouma then hustled down the line, reaching on an error that he was able to move to second on, being brought home on a pinch-hit RBI double from junior Cy Probst that tied the game at 5-5.
 
In the top of the sixth, Fairmont worked two singles and a walk to load the bases with one out, but junior Cael Huyer was able to come on in relief and get a huge inning-ending double play to take the tie into the bottom of the frame. After a foul out to first, Schalick and Steen ripped back-to-back hits, then Kiple flew out to center, but the ball was thrown away, allowing Schalick to come around and score. Steen, having gotten to second on the play, stole third and came around to score on a passed ball to put the Bobcats ahead 7-5.
 
Junior Nate Vermillion came in to close out the game, striking out each of the first two batters he saw before setting the side down in order with a fly out to center for the victory.
 
Schalick, Stten, Guy, and Bouma all enjoyed multi-hit games, also combining to score six runs. Morgano, Huyer, and Vermillion combined to throw the final 2.2 innings of shutout ball, with Huyer earning the win and Vermillion picking up his fifth save of the season.
 
The Falcons opened up game two with two singles, a walk, and a wild pitch all contributing to two runs for an early lead, with sophomore Joe Pippin able to get out of the inning with a pair of strikeouts. Some two-out magic in the bottom of the inning allowed the Bobcats to get a run back, as Kiple singled up the middle, Guy walked, and Estrada popped an RBI single into right.
 
Fairmont kept their bats hot in the second, with a walk, single, and fielder's choice RBI putting them up by a pair. With one swing of the bat, the visitors opened a five-run lead at 6-1 with a three-run homer. Neither team was able to get much going in their next at-bats, taking the game into the bottom of the third.
 
After two quick outs, Guy was able to draw a walk, followed by Estrada getting another knock into right, with Bouma brining both in on a double against the left field wall to pull within 6-3. Having come on to finish out the third, Huyer went back out for the fourth, allowing just one walk while keeping the Falcons off the board.
 
Leading off the bottom half, Trey just kept the ball fair with a double down the left field line, with Schalick following up on a single to put runners at the corners. Steen tied the game in the next at-bat, launching a homer out to left for a 6-6 contest. Guy kept the inning going with some small ball, singling the other way before stealing second and reaching third on a passed ball. Bouma picked up yet another RBI with a looper into left to give Frostburg a narrow 7-6 advantage.
 
Huyer continued to keep the Falcon bats quiet, setting each batter down in the fifth with a strikeout to maintain the one-run lead. Probst then earned a lead-off walk and was replaced on the basepaths by freshman Tiernan Daly, who got to second on a well-placed sac bunt from pinch-hitter Gulczynski. Daly then stole third and scored when Schalick sent a hit into left for an 8-6 Frostburg lead.
 
Fairmont battled back in the top of the sixth, leading off the frame with a single and walk to force Huyer out of the game. After a strikeout, back-to-back singles and walks gave the Falcons three straight runs to suddenly go ahead 9-8. Morgano was able to work a double play, fielding and throwing home, while Jimenez got the runner out at first to end the inning.
 
Frostburg failed to answer in the bottom half, bringing Fairmont to bat once again. A strikeout and line out gave the Bobcats the thought of a quick inning, but a single and walk put runners on before a lightning delay forced the teams off the field. After an hour of waiting for clearer skies, the conditions did not improve, ending the contest with Fairmont winning 9-8. '
 
Schalick, Guy, Bouma, and Estrada led the offense with two hits each and a combined four RBI, with Steen contributing three of his own on the homer.
 
With the split, Frostburg concludes the regular season 36-12, while Fairmont is now 18-27. Both teams will head to the MEC Tournament starting Thursday, May 9 at GoMart Ballpark in Charleston, WV, with matchups yet to be determined. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.