MEC Baseball Preview: #1N Frostburg State vs #3S West Virginia State

CHARLESTON. W.Va. – The Frostburg State Baseball team is set to face West Virginia State in the opening round of the Mountain East Conference Tournament on Wednesday evening.
 
How They Got Here
As the No. 1 seed in the North Division, Frostburg sports a 36-12 overall record with a 24-4 record in conference play.  The Bobcats opened MEC competition with a sweep over Concord, before splitting with Glenville State the following day.  FSU took down the defending conference champions of Charleston (WV), sweeping the Golden Eagles, before splitting with WVSU the same weekend.  FSU had an eight-game win streak during the middle of the season, sweeping three straight league rivals, as Frostburg's two other losses in conference play came against Wheeling and Fairmont State, with the Bobcats' regular season finale being cut short due to the weather, causing them to lose just 9-8 to the Falcons to conclude their regular season. 
 
West Virginia State sits with an overall record of 28-18 and an MEC record of 20-10, holding the No. 3 seed in the South Division.  The Yellow Jackets started league play with a split against West Liberty, before winning their next two series against Wheeling and Fairmont.  WVSU dropped one game to both Frostburg and West Virginia Wesleyan, before dropping back-to-back games in their four-game series with both Glenville and Concord.  The Yellow Jackets capped off their regular season with a four-game sweep of Davis & Elkins, before taking one game out of four over the defending champs of UC.
 
The Matchup
FSU holds the all-time advantage in the history of the two teams with a 6-3 record.  As mentioned, the two teams split their regular season meetings with Frostburg taking the first game 4-3 and WVSU taking the second game 6-2, as the two teams have split their two-game series in 2021, 2022, and 2024, with the Bobcats picking up the sweep in 2023.  Both teams met in the first round of the conference tournament last year, with FSU picking up the 4-0 shutout win.
 
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 both doubles (17) and runs (54), while batting .389 for 63 hits and continuing to lead the team in home runs (16) and RBI (56).  Frostburg also sports the MEC Freshman of the Year Ryan Bouma, who put up excellent numbers in his first collegiate season, showing a .370 batting average for 54 hits and four home runs, while tying Kiple's lead on the team and in the conference with 17 doubles.  Bouma also scored 34 runs, knocked 47 RBI, and drew 31 walks.  Throughout their offensive lineup, FSU had four players receive All-MEC honors, with juniors Cy Probst (.319 batting average, 29 hits, seven doubles, 13 runs, 14 RBI), Danny Estrada (.353 batting average, 53 hits, six doubles, five home runs, 47 runs, 39 RBI), and Randy Steen (.394 batting average, team-high and conference-high 65 hits, 11 doubles, three triples, five home runs, 41 runs, 41 RBI) were all named to the All-MEC First Team, while junior Mikey Guy (team-high .401 batting average, 63 hits, 13 doubles, seven home runs, 48 runs, 41 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 1.49, for the second best in all of Division II.  Bauer holds a 6-1 record with 48.1 innings pitched, while leading the team in strikeouts with 51 and leading both Frostburg and the MEC in opposing batting average with .171.  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 3.98 ERA and a 6-1 record as well, throwing 54.1 innings, capturing a complete game shutout and 41 strikeouts during the regular season, while the latter tossed 56.2 innings with a 4.13 ERA, striking out 44 with a record of 8-1 for most wins on the team and in the conference.  Kiple, a relief pitcher as well, earned All-MEC Second team honors from the bump with 12 appearances for 15.1 innings pitched, picking up a win, four saves, and 16 strikeouts.
 
Defensively, West Virginia State is led by MEC Pitcher of the Year, Chris Morris, who sits with a 7-2 record and three complete games on the season, going for second-best in the conference in ERA (2.61), opposing batting average (.194), and strikeouts (76).  The Yellow Jackets are led offensively by All-MEC First Team honorees Mike Huber and Kyle Waters, with the former batting .386 off 56 hits, while going for 14 doubles, 16 home runs, and 54 RBI, as the former put up a .363 batting average during the regular season, ripping a team-high 61 hits and scoring a team-high 46 runs.  Morris was also awarded All-MEC Second Team honors for his offensive action, holding a .278 batting average, 42 hits, 10 doubles, 13 home runs, 37 runs, and 39 RBI, while joining him on the All-MEC Second team was Nathan Paulsen, who sits with a .311 batting average off a solid 50 hits, eight doubles, and nine home runs, scoring 34 runs and bringing in 33 RBI as well.  To round out the offense for WVSU, Ryan Kay was selected as All-MEC Honorable Mention, showing a .333 batting average with 55 hits, 10 doubles, 31 RBI, and 33 runs scored. 
 
The Rest of the Field
To conclude the first round of the tournament, the South Division champs of Charleston hold the top seed in their division, playing the third seed in the north which was awarded to Wheeling, as the No. 2 seeds of each division in Fairmont State and Glenville State will face off as well.
 
2024 MEC Baseball Championship Seedings
NORTH: #1 Frostburg State, #2 Fairmont State, #3 Wheeling
SOUTH: #1 Charleston, #2 Glenville State, #3 West Virginia State
 
Wednesday, May 8 – FIRST ROUND
#1S Charleston vs #3N Wheeling – 3:30 p.m.
#1N Frostburg State vs #3S West Virginia State – 7:00 p.m.
 
Thursday, May 9 – FIRST ROUND
#2N Fairmont State vs #2S Glenville State – 3:30 p.m.
 
Thursday, May 9 – ELIMINATION ROUND
Loser of UC/WHL vs Loser of Frostburg/WVSU – 7:00 p.m.