Bauer's Gem, Comeback Win in Game Two Combine for Baseball's Day One Sweep of Fairmont on Senior Day

FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Baseball team swept their final home series of 2025, taking both contests over Fairmont State on Friday by scores of 6-1 and 8-6 on Senior Day. 
 
In between games, Frostburg recognized their 13 graduating seniors for their outstanding Bobcat careers, celebrating Christian Shertzer, Cy Probst, Ryan Adams, Todd Murphy, Jacob McDonald, Ben Wieman, Ethan Grieb, Cael Huyer, Cameron King, Nate Vermillion, Mikey Guy, Patrick Bauer, and Doyle McNew, along with graduate students Dan Morgano and Randy Steen. 
 
Starting off senior day strong, Bauer got the start on the mound in game one, fanning the first two batters he saw and leaving one on for Fairmont after a walk.  Frostburg looked to start their offense right away, loading the bases after taking advantage of a fielder's choice followed by a  walk and junior Jake Holler being hit by a pitch.  The Bobcats were unable to get anything out of the opening situation, moving the game into the second with no score.  The Falcons connected on their first two hits of the game off Bauer, but with runners on the corners, the righty got out of the jam with a pair of outs, including another K.  Junior Kade Abrisz sent out the first hit of the game for Frostburg with a single into center, as sophomore Brian Scott followed with a base-hit knock as well to put two on for the Bobcats, but again the game remained scoreless. 
 
Bauer struck out two more batters in the top of the third, leaving two more Falcons on base.  The Bobcats were finally able to crack the code in the bottom of the inning, as McNew reached on another fielder's choice and moved to second off a double to right from Holler.  With one out, sophomore Ryan Bouma connected on a two-RBI single to left, scoring both runners for a 2-0 Bobcat lead.  Bauer continued to deal in the start of the fourth, leaving another runner on for Fairmont while also striking out another as well.  Frostburg continued to add to their score in the bottom of the inning with Scott getting on board after a leadoff walk and sophomore Jackson Schalick recording a single.  Redshirt freshman CJ Carmichael then did his job, laying down a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance both runners, as both came home to score after a two-RBI single to left from Guy.  Holler then singled to left, putting two more on for the Bobcats as McNew reached first after yet another fielder's choice.  Bouma then sent a deep fly ball to center field, as Fairmont was unable to make the catch, allowing both runners to score for a 6-0 game. 
 
The Falcons went 1-2-3 at the plate in their appearance in the fifth, with Bauer adding two more strikeouts to his total.  Abrisz and Scott both tallied singles in the bottom of the inning, as Frostburg was unable to do any more damage.  Bauer again saw another pair of K's in the top of the sixth to round out his final go-around on the bump, as the Bobcats saw a quick outing at the plate to move the game into Fairmont's last at-bats.  Sophomore Bryce Hendricks took over on the mound to stat the seventh, getting two quick outs before the Falcons were able to steal a run.  Vermillion came in to get the final out of the game, ending the final score at 6-1. 
 
McDonald prepped to throw game two, as Fairmont started early in the contest with a two-run homer to center field to quickly jump ahead 2-0.  McDonald recorded two strikeouts in the inning, as the Bobcats showed the minimum in their first looks at offense.  The Falcons continued to rally, putting out three more hits to add three more runs to increase their advantage to 5-0 in the second.  Frostburg came alive in their second chance at the plate, as Holler and Bouma collected back-to-back singles, both scoring on a two-RBI knock from Abrisz to set the score at 5-2. 
 
The starter settled down for the Bobcats in the top half of the third, giving up just one hit and recording a K while leaving the runner on.  Guy and McNew reached base for Frostburg in the bottom of the inning after a walk and a single, but both were left stranded.  McDonald kept his groove in the fourth, giving up just a bunt single, yet seeing another K to end the inning scoreless.  The Bobcats added one more run to their total in their offensive look of the fourth, as Carmichael drew a bases loaded walk to trot in Abrisz for a 5-3 game after four. 
 
Fairmont cracked two hits in the start of the fifth, as McDonald took back-to-back K's to get out of a bases loaded jam to keep the score at 5-3.  Frostburg took that momentum into their at-bats of the inning, as McNew sent a solo shot over the right field fence to start the rally and get the Bobcats within one.  Holler then showed an infield single, moving to third after a double to left from Bouma.  Hall then connected on a deep fly ball that slid by Fairmont's diving effort, allowing him to pick up a two-RBI triple that gave Frostburg their first lead of the game at 6-5.  Abrisz continued his perfect game at the plate, sending a single to left to score Hall for a 7-5 Bobcat lead. 
 
Vermillion came in again to throw in game two, recording all three outs of the sixth, as the Falcons stole one run back to bring the game to 7-6.  McNew led off the bottom of the inning with a single to right, setting up Shertzer to come in and pinch run.  Holler laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Shertzer to second, allowing the latter to come around and score off another RBI single from Bouma to give Frostburg an insurance run.  Vermillion tossed a perfect seventh inning, causing three groundouts from Fairmont to seal the 8-6 comeback victory for Frostburg. 
 
Abrisz led Frostburg offensively with five total hits, including a perfect 3-for-3 outing in game two where he collected three RBI and scored a run.  Bouma and Holler were next with four hits each, combining for six runs while the former had three RBI.  Bauer threw six solid innings in game one, giving up three hits, one walk, and zero runs, while striking out 10 for is ninth win of the season.  McDonald was given the win in game two, going five innings and striking out seven for his sixth win of the year.  Vermillion picked up two saves on the day to put him at a total of seven on the season so far, giving up just one hit in 2.1 innings. 
 
With the win, Frostburg improves to 34-13 on the season, while Fairmont drops to 22-24.  The Bobcats continue their series with the Falcons tomorrow, May 3 in Morgantown, WV with the first pitch set for 1 PM in their regular season finale.  For more information and updates, please visit forstburgsports.com.