Baseball Completes Weekend Sweep of Falcons, Secures North Division Title

FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Baseball team swept Notre Dame (Ohio) in a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon by scores of 11-1 and 11-3.

On a beautiful sunny afternoon, senior Max Proctor started on the mound for the Bobcats in game one, giving up a hit and leaving one stranded in the first. NDC gave up a hit to senior Ethan Kiple, but he was left on at first as well. Proctor saw three-up three-down catching one swinging, bringing the Bobcats back to the plate. With his first at bat, junior Danny Estrada knocked a single then stole second. A fly out by freshman Ryan Bouma allowed Estrada to tag up to third, then senior Aidan Duda hit a single to left, bringing Estrada home 1-0. Another hit for FSU put senior Lucas Gulczynski at first and Duda at second. With two outs and two on, freshman Jackson Schalick punched through a single, scoring Duda. Again with two on and two out, junior Randy Steen powered one out of the park, continuing the two-out rally and giving FSU a 5-0 edge. A double from Kiple and junior Mikey Guy taking one to the shoulder put another couple on, but neither could advance, taking things into the third.

NDC got their first run 5-1 on a passed ball after getting to third off a double and a hit by pitch. Answering back, Bouma got a double and Gulczynski reached on an error to put runners on the corners. With two outs, another error, this time by NDC's catcher, gave Bouma room to run home 6-1. Proctor delt two strikeouts and worked a groundout to first base for Kiple to put FSU back at bat. Guy then got on with a stand-up double, staying there as Estrada was hit with the ball. A single up the middle by Bouma past the Falcon shortstop scored Guy and moved Estrada to second. Bouma and Estrada simultaneously stole their next base, as an RBI groundout from Duda gave Estrada a chance to score 8-1.

With two outs, one being a strikeout, the Falcons reached base off an error. On a wild play, the runner took second on a passed ball, then advanced to third on a missed throw by FSU, but was called out at home as Schalick threw the ball home to Proctor for the tagout. Junior Christian Shertzer reached on an error to begin the bottom of the fifth, as he was followed by walks to Kiple, Guy, and Estrada, the latter being with the bases loaded for an RBI and a 9-1 lead. 

A pitching change brought freshman Bryce Hendricks to the mound, as he faced the minimum, dealing a pop out and catching two swinging. FSU, with their last at-bats of the game, put up two more runs, beginning when Duda was hit by a pitch. Freshman Cole Carter subbed in at first to run for Duda, then Shertzer reached on an error which allowed Carter to move to third off the throw. Senior Nick Trey knocked a pinch hit single to bring home Carter, followed by a single from freshman Logan Helser, who brought in Shertzer 11-1. To close the game, freshman Bryce Snyder was sent to the hill, facing three and giving up no hits, no runs and leaving none on.

Proctor earned the win moving, his overall record to 6-1. Kiple went 2-of-3 from the plate, while Steen led in RBI with three, followed by Duda with two.

Sophomore Joe Pippin got the nod in game two, only giving up a hit in his first inning. An out by the leadoff batter put Steen in the box, in which he took a ball to the leg then stole second. Kiple, patient in the box, walked. Another steal by Steen put runners on the corners. Guy was walked, loading the bases before a grand slam to left field by Estrada gave FSU a quick 4-0 leg up. Three more getting hit by the ball stranded those three, as two more outs were recorded. 

With one out, a single to left and homer to left field put NDC on the board, now just down two 4-2. Pippin answered by recording two strikeouts to get three outs. A triple to right field from Steen saw him crossing the plate after Estrada hit into a fielder's choice. At the top of the third, Pippin walked one and struck a batter out looking. A double play to follow put FSU back on offense, where senior Justin Jimenez ran through first then took second off a passed ball. Steen knocked in a double, resulting with a score by Jimenez and a 6-2 FSU lead.

NDC made contact with the bat in the top of the fourth, earning another run on three hits. FSU scored their final runs in the bottom of the inning, as singles by Guy, Estrada and Bouma gave Guy the seventh walk across home 7-3. Estrada got the eight, scoring off a passed ball, along with moving Bouma to third. Helser batted a double, earning an RBI as Bouma scored 9-3. Shertzer singled, seeing him at first and Helser staying at second, as Steen doubled, bringing both home 11-3.

Freshman Evan Biddle pitched the fifth, only giving up two hits while recording a strikeout. Junior Todd Murphy took the mound in the sixth, giving up no hits and stranding one. Freshman Ethan Grieb closed game two by recording two strikeouts and no hits.

Pippin got the game two win, moving his overall record to 4-1. Estrada led FSU with five RBI, while Steen went a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate, also recording three RBI.

With the conclusion of today's doubleheader, FSU moves to an overall record of 32-11 while NDC falls to an overall record of 10-35. The Bobcats secured the North Division title with the sweep, as they hold a six-game lead over second-place Fairmont with four games left to play. For more information visit frostburgsports.com.