Baseball Maintains Early Lead to Defeat Raiders on the Road
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Frostburg State Baseball team defeated the Shippensburg Raiders in a midweek nine-inning game by a score of 6-2.
A walk by lead-off hitter freshman Jackson Schalick sent him to first, as the next two batters saw two quick outs, bringing up junior Danny Estrada, who knocked a single up the middle for Frostburg's first hit of the day. With runners on first and second, freshman Ryan Bouma blasted the ball over the left field fence putting FSU up 3-0. A third out put the Bobcats in the field and freshman Jack Ray on the mound, going three up, three down to go into the second.
The Raiders dealt three outs to FSU's next three batters, allowing them to get their second offensive chance. Shippensburg recorded a hit in the bottom of the inning, but left one stranded. Junior Mikey Guy and Estrada both drove the ball up the middle, earning singles in the top half of the third, but three outs deserted the two. SU, with two outs, had bases loaded after three hits, but three were left on, keeping Frostburg on top 3-0. In the top of the fourth, a pair of ground outs combined with a fly out placed the Bobcats back in the field. Ray, still standing tall on the mound, forced the Raiders into back-to-back ground outs and caught a batter swinging for another three up, three down inning.
Being patient at the plate to start the fifth, Schalick earned another walk and stole second on a wild pitch, but was deserted as the next three flied out. With Frostburg being solid on defense, Ray hit Shippensburg with another three quick outs to move into the sixth. Bouma reached first due to a walk and would get stuck, as three straight outs would put the Raiders back on offense. A solo homer by SU put them on the board 3-1, allowing junior Cael Huyer to come in and relieve Ray. Huyer recorded a strikeout and left two on base to push the game into the seventh.
Junior Cy Probst knocked a single up the middle, with freshman Tiernan Daly pinch running, to kick off the inning. A single by junior Christian Shertzer placed runners on the corners, as Schalick took a pitch to the side to load the bases. With no outs on the board, junior Randy Steen singled through the left side, bringing in both Daly and Shertzer for a 5-1 game. In the bottom of the inning, Huyer picked up an out, setting up junior Nate Vermillion to come in from the bullpen, giving up no hits and abandoning one to move the game to the eighth.
Senior Justin Jimenez being awarded a walk left him high and dry in the top of the eighth, as two singles and a walk by the Raiders filled each base in their at-bats. On a sacrifice fly, an out was recorded as well as a run, bringing the game to 5-2. With two outs, graduate Daniel Morgano was brought in to finish out the inning, cooking up the third out. Back at the top of the line up to start the ninth, the first two batters for the Bobcats recorded outs, as Guy then earned a walk and proceeded to steal second. Estrada, taking the ball to the arm, strolled to first, as Bouma, with his second hit of the day, hit a hard single to bring in Guy for a 6-2 FSU edge, heading into the bottom of the ninth. Morgano, still on the hill to close the game, gave up a hit, but Frostburg's defense would leave the runner deserted after catching three fly balls, allowing FSU to take the nine-inning game 6-2.
Ray earned the win, moving his overall pitching record to 3-1, throwing 77 pitches, earning two strikeouts, and only giving up five hits. Estrada and Bouma went 2-for-4 from the plate, with Bouma hitting a three-run homer and earning four total RBI on the day, while Steen followed with two RBI.
With the conclusion of today's game, Frostburg moves to an overall record of 33-11, while Shippensburg falls to an overall record of 26-19. FSU is back in action on Thursday, May 2 as they play Fairmont State in a conference doubleheader in Morgantown, WV at Mylan Park starting at 4 PM. For more information, visit frostburgsports.com.
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