Bouma, Holler Deliver Grand Slams to Carry Baseball to Game Two Victory Over Hilltoppers

WEIRTON, W.Va. – The Frostburg State Baseball team split their opening day with West Liberty on Monday, falling in game one 8-1 before using late offense in game two to pick up the 13-3 victory. 
 
Frostburg looked to take advantage of sophomore Jackson Schalick drawing a walk to leadoff the game, but a double play ended the first offensive outing for the Bobcats.  Sophomore Jack Ray got the start on the mound for FSU, tossing a three-up three-down inning while recording two strikeouts. Redshirt junior Ben Wieman was also walked in the second, getting one on again for the Bobcats, but another quick out send the game into the bottom of the inning.  West Liberty got their bats going in their offensive look in the second, securing two straight hits to start, while a sacrifice fly gave them a 1-0 lead heading into the third.
 
FSU saw a 1-2-3 go-around at the plate to start off the inning, while the Hilltoppers scored two more runs off a hit and an error for a 3-0 ballgame.  Freshman Manny Hall was finally able to break the ice at the plate for the Bobcats, belting a triple down the right field line to open up action in the fourth. With senior Mikey Guy next up to bat, he sent a fly ball to deep center, bringing in Hall off the sacrifice fly to put Frostburg on the board.  Ray picked up two more K's in the bottom half of the inning, leaving one on for WLU.
 
Junior Joe Pippin took over in the bump in the bottom of the fifth, as Frostburg remained silent at the plate earlier in the inning.  West Liberty worked quick for a leadoff single, knocking three hits and one run to move the score to 4-1.  Another slow offensive outing for the Bobcats quickly pushed the game into the bottom of the sixth, where graduate Dan Morgano took over on the mound, as the Hilltoppers quickly collected a hit and another run.  Junior Cameron King and senior Ryan Adams combined to throw in the inning as well, as WLU kept their momentum going, picking up four more hits and three runs to sit on top 8-1.  Senior Doyle McNew roped a double in FSU's last appearance at the plate, but the Bobcats were unable to do anymore damage dropping the first contest 8-1.
 
Frostburg remained quiet offensively to begin the second game, going 1-2-3 at the plate in the first.  Freshman Zach Dodson looked to pitch game two, as West Liberty kept their same energy, belting a leadoff homer for an immediate 1-0 lead.  Dodson gave up more hit in his first outing, but left two on to push the game to the second.  Both squads saw a three-up three-down situation in the second, before WLU put two on in the bottom of the third, but Dodson was able to strand both to end the inning. 
 
Hall saw another triple in game two in the top half of the fourth, coming home to score on an RBI single from sophomore Ryan Bouma to tie the game at 1-1.  The Hilltoppers shot another one over the outfield fence to lead off the bottom of the inning for a 2-1 lead.  Frostburg came alive to begin the fifth, with sophomore Logan Helser and redshirt CJ Carmichael seeing back-to-back singles to start.  Sophomore Brian Scott was then hit by a pitch to load the bases for FSU, as with three on Bouma slammed one over the fence to clear the bases and add four runs to the Bobcats' total for a 5-2 contest. 
 
West Liberty was able to knock another bomb in return in their at-bats of the fifth to bring the score to 5-3, as sophomore Bryce Hendricks took the bump to record the last out of the inning.  Frostburg kept their momentum going in their offensive looks in the sixth, as junior Jake Holler started the inning with a double to left.  Wieman then took a base after being hit by a pitch, as Helser recorded another single to load the bases once again.  Carmichael then drew a walk to score one run for the Bobcats, as Scott then put the ball in play, reaching base off an error from the Hilltoppers that let two runs come in for a 8-3 game.  Schalick was then credited with a double to add another tally before Hall was walked to load the bases once more.  Now with two outs, Holler sent another grand slam over the fence for FSU to push the score to 13-3. 
 
Hendricks threw a perfect inning in the bottom of the sixth, as Frostburg's bats calmed down in their last look for another 1-2-3 outing.  Sophomore Evan Biddle came in to throw the bottom of the seventh, putting two on for WLU to start, but was able to find his groove to record three straight outs for the 13-3 victory. 
 
Hall, Bouma, Holler, and Helser all saw a pair of hits on the day, while Bouma led in RBI with five with Holler right behind him with four.  Hall scored four runs across the two games, while Schalick, Holler, and Scott all scored twice.  Dodson took the win in game two for his fifth of the season, going 4.2 innings and giving up five hits, three runs, and two walks.
 
With the split, Frostburg moves to 20-8 on the season, while West Liberty goes to 16-15.  Both teams are back in action tomorrow, April 8 for day two of their four-game series with the first pitch set again for 11 AM in Weirton, WV.   For more information and updates, please visit frostburgsports.com.