NCAA Baseball Regional Tournament First Round Preview: #7 Frostburg State vs #2 East Stroudsburg

EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – The Frostburg State Baseball team captured the seventh seed in the Atlantic Region of the NCAA Division Tournament, traveling to face second-seeded East Stroudsburg in the first round of regional competition on Thursday. 
 
How They Got Here
Frostburg enters the tournament with a 37-14 overall record, having fallen short in the Mountain East Conference Tournament in their quest for a conference championship, after winning the conference North Division in the regular season for the third consecutive year. 
 
East Stroudsburg sits as PSAC runner ups, falling just short of a conference title, dropping the championship to West Chester, who holds the number one seed in the region.  ESU sports a 41-12 overall record, winning their first-ever PSAC East regular season title. 
 
The Matchup
Both teams have met once previously before, with the Warriors holding the 1-0 advantage in the all-time series.  The two teams faced off in a neutral site game in Cary, N.C. early in the 2020 season, with East Stroudsburg taking the 22-7 victory.
 
The Players
The Bobcats have strong suits all over the field, starting with MEC Player of the Year, senior Ethan Kiple, who leads both Frostburg and the MEC in runs (56), while batting .380 for 65 hits and 17 doubles, and continuing to lead the team in home runs (16) and RBI (57).  Frostburg also sports the MEC Freshman of the Year and All-MEC Honorable Mention, Ryan Bouma, who put up excellent numbers in his first collegiate season, showing a .361 batting average for 57 hits and four home runs, while leading the team and the conference with 18 doubles.  Bouma has also scored 34 runs, knocked 48 RBI, and drew 31 walks.  Throughout their offensive lineup, FSU had four players receive All-MEC honors, with juniors Cy Probst (.333 batting average, 33 hits, eight doubles, 14 runs, 16 RBI), Danny Estrada (.348 batting average, 56 hits, six doubles, five home runs, 50 runs, 39 RBI), and Randy Steen (.373 batting average, a team-high 66 hits, 11 doubles, three triples, five home runs, 41 runs, 42 RBI) being named to the All-MEC First Team, while junior Mikey Guy (a team-high .389 batting average, 65 hits, 13 doubles, seven home runs, 50 runs, 42 RBI) was named to the All-MEC Second Team. 

From the mound, junior Patrick Bauer earned a spot on the All-MEC First Team with a team-best and conference-best ERA of 1.79, for the second best in all of Division II.  Bauer holds a 6-2 record with 50.1 innings pitched, while leading the team in strikeouts with 51 and leading both Frostburg and the MEC in opposing batting average with .188.  Senior Max Proctor (All-MEC Second Team) and junior Jacob McDonald (All-MEC Honorable Mention) round out the honors for starting Bobcat pitchers with the former posting a 3.79 ERA and a 6-1 record, throwing 59.1 innings, capturing a complete game shutout and 44 strikeouts on the season, while the latter tossed 60 innings with a 4.35 ERA, striking out 48 with a record of 8-1 for most wins on the team, and tying for the most wins in the conference.  Kiple, a relief pitcher as well, earned All-MEC Second team honors from the bump with 14 appearances for 18 innings pitched, picking up a win, five saves, and 20 strikeouts.
 
ESU is led by PSAC Eastern Division Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-PSAC honoree Brent Francisco, who holds a solid 1.97 ERA for fifth best in Division II, along with an 11-1 record, five complete games, three shutouts, and 74 strikeouts in 82.1 innings pitched, holding a .178 opposing batting average as well.  Also leading the Warriors from the bump are All-PSAC First Team selection, Caden Parker, and All-PSAC Second Team honoree, Ryan Dewees, as the former has seen 18 appearances and 20.2 innings as a relief pitcher, sporting a 2.61 ERA, one win, 10 saves, and 20 strikeouts, while the latter, as a starting pitcher, put up a 3.09 ERA with an undefeated 7-0 record for two complete games, two shutouts, and 39 strikeouts in 58.1 innings pitched. 
 
Offensively, All-PSAC First Team selection Shanley Wall leads the team in batting average (.409), hits (74), and runs (50), while also putting up solid numbers in doubles (16) and RBI (39).  Jack Rothenhausler was another Warrior to earn All-PSAC First Team honors, batting .349 on the season for 60 hits, 46 runs, and a team-high 17 doubles and 49 RBI, while Cameron Hubbard brought it home for East Stroudsburg with a spot on the All-PSAC Second Team, showing a .343 batting average, 47 hits, 35 runs, six doubles, and 23 RBI.    
 
The Rest of the Field
The top seven teams in the region received bids to the Tournament, which will feature two pods hosted by two schools. West Chester, the region's one seed, will host the first pod with four seed Charleston (WV) and five seed Indiana (Pa.). Two seed East Stroudsburg will host the second pod, which includes Frostburg, three seed Millersville, and six seed Seton Hill (Pa.).  Each pod will feature a double elimination bracket, as the winners of each pod will play each other in the Super Regional. 
 
2024 NCAA Division II Baseball Regional Championship
Thursday, May 16
#2 East Stroudsburg vs #7 Frostburg State – 11 a.m.
#3 Millersville vs #6 Seton Hill – 2 p.m.

Friday, May 17
Loser of ESU/FSU vs Loser of MU/SHU - 11 a.m.
Winner of ESU/FSU vs Winner of MU/SHU - 2 p.m.