Bullpen Shuts Down Cardinals as Baseball Keeps MEC Tournament Hopes Alive

CHARLESTON, W. Va. – The Frostburg State Baseball team kept their MEC Tournament hopes alive with a narrow 8-7 victory over Wheeling on Thursday night.
 
FSU couldn't have asked for a better start, as freshman Jackson Schalick began the game with a drive into left-center for his first career home run. Junior Danny Estrada followed up with a chopped infield single then stole second, eventually coming home on an RBI single to center off the bat of junior Mikey Guy for a 2-0 advantage.
 
On the mound, junior Jacob McDonald got the start and worked a couple quick outs, but WU managed a single up the middle, followed by a Bobcat error, a walk, and three straight hits to plate four runs and flip the contest 4-2. In the top of the second, junior Cy Probst was hit by a pitch with one out, then a strikeout allowed Frostburg to generate some of their own late-frame magic, as junior Ben Wieman smacked a shot onto the underside of the scoreboard in left-center to tie the game at 4-4.
 
Rebounding from his four-run first inning, McDonald got his second strikeout to start the bottom half, then danced around a single with another K and a groundout to second to keep things tied and bring FSU back to the plate. Senior Ethan Kiple started the third with a lead-off walk, then made it to third as a tailor-made double play ball off the bat of Guy was booted at short, though the latter was thrown out trying to advance to second. Freshman Ryan Bouma was then hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners, as senior Randy Steen hit a grounder to third that Wheeling tried to turn a double play on, but the Bobcat center fielder was too quick, beating out the throw as Kiple came in to score on the fielder's choice for a 5-4 advantage.
 
In the bottom of the third, McDonald got around a lead-off single with a pair of fly-outs to Steen either side of his fourth strikeout of the day. After a scoreless Bobcat fourth, WU found some consistent offense for the first time since the opening frame, as a lead-off single, steal, groundout, and intentional walk all led to runners at the corners with one out. A single into right tied the game at five apiece and forced Frostburg into a pitching change. Another steal of second put two runners in scoring position, as both came in to score on a two-RBI single into left, giving the Cardinals a 7-5 lead.
 
FSU pulled one back in the fifth, as Kiple launched a 3-2 pitch into left to get within a run. Having closed out the fourth, graduate Daniel Morgano was brilliant in the fifth, tossing three straight strikeouts to bring Frostburg back up to bat. With two outs, freshman Logan Helser was able to work a full-count walk, then back-to-back knocks from Wieman and Schalick brought him home to tie the game back up at 7-7.
 
Coming on as the second reliever out of the pen, junior Nate Vermillion quickly sat the Cardinals down in order with a pair of K's either side of a pop-up to Guy at third. A grounder to short started the top of the seventh, then Guy drew a walk and Bouma singled into left to put a pair on, but a strikeout threatened to end the frame. Probst came up clutch, shooting the ball through the gap between short and third to score Guy from second and give the Bobcats the lead back 8-7. A passed ball allowed Bouma and Probst to get into scoring position, but WU got a swinging strike in a full count to keep the deficit at just one headed to the bottom half.
 
Before Vermillion could come on for his second inning of work, some rain came in and delayed proceedings, but despite the conditions he stayed dominant, striking out the first two hitters of the frame before an easy groundout to short kept the Wheeling bats cool. Neither team could get much going in the eighth, as Vermillion once again sat the side down in order with a pop up, grounder, and fly out to right. In the top of the ninth, Bouma reached first on an error with two outs but would be the only runner as a groundout took the game into the final half inning. Looking to close things out, Kiple stepped on the mound, entrusted to get the final three outs and keep FSU in the Tournament. The first batter he saw hit a sharp groundball right back at him, which he was able to field cleanly and flip to first for the first out. After getting into a full count on the second batter, the Bobcat closer reared back and fired a fastball that was swung through for out number two. WU kept their hopes alive with a single into center and a stolen base, but the next hitter grounded to Guy, who ranged to his left and fired to Helser to seal the 8-7 victory.
 
Shalick and WIeman both enjoyed multi-hit games, while also each driving in a pair of RBI. Kiple, Guy, Steen, and Probst provided the rest of the offense, combining for four hits and four ribbies. Picking up from McDonald's start, Morgano, Vermillion, and Kiple combined to throw the final 5.2 innings without allowing a run, as the Cardinals managed just two hits while striking out eight times off the trio.
 
With the win, Frostburg improves to 37-13 on the year, while Wheeling ends their campaign at 25-26. FSU now advances to the Friday, May 10 nightcap at 7 p.m., where they await the results of the match-up between West Virginia State and Fairmont State. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.