Binek's Walk-Off, Donaldson's Pitching Help Softball to Home Split with Pioneers

FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Softball team earned a split with Point Park at home on Sunday afternoon, winning game one 3-2 in walk-off fashion before falling 8-3 in game two.
 
Freshman Izabella Donaldson took the circle to start the first contest, working a quick 1-2-3 inning, with FSU also going down quietly in the bottom half. PPU got on the board in the next half inning with a lead-off walk, sac bunt, and double plating the opening run, but back-to-back groundouts limited the damage. After two quick outs in the bottom half, it seemed Frostburg again would go without scoring, however a two-out walk from senior Hanna Binek led to an RBI triple off the bat of freshman Zoey Marinello as the Bobcats evened things at 1-1.
 
The Pioneers used some small ball to regain the lead in the third, with the first batter walking followed by a sac bunt and advancing on a grounder before coming in to score on a passed ball. FSU came right back in their at-bats, as junior Arden Miller poked a single into right and moved up on a sac bunt before being brought home on a double into the gap in left-center from senior Samara Funk for a 2-2 tie.
 
Donaldson worked out of a lead-off single in the fourth, fielding a sharp liner herself to get the final out, while Frostburg threatened in the bottom after Binek led off with a single before being thrown out at home two batters later. Point Park failed to get a runner on in the fifth, while the Bobcats put runners on first and second with one out but couldn't take advantage. Both sides went down in order in the sixth, as the seventh also went by quietly, with the only baserunner being a Funk single.
 
As the game headed into extras, each team had an error during the eighth inning, but neither runner was able to score. PPU looked to break the stalemate in the ninth after a one-out single and walk, but junior Gracie Nelson made a great play in center, catching a fly ball and tossing a rocket to third to get the runner in a run-down, leading to the final out still tied. Senior Cristina Sommerkamp started the bottom of the ninth with a walk followed by a Miller single, but a pop-up, strikeout, and fly out kept the contest going.
 
With a runner now starting on second base to begin the tenth, Donaldson fielded a sac bunt to get an out with the runner going to third, then got a grounder to Binek that kept her put and a fly out ended the frame without a score. Freshman Sage Haller was the player tasked with starting on second for the Bobcats, as she moved up on a fantastic bunt single from Nelson, while Binek lofted a ball deep into left that was good enough for a sac fly to bring Haller home on a walk-off 3-2 win.
 
Game two began much different than the first, as the Pioneers hit a pair of singles and a double in the top of the first to get their first run across, while a two-run homer put them ahead 3-0 immediately. Frostburg pulled one back in the bottom half, as Nelson again reached on a bunt single, stole second and came home on a Funk RBI single. Base hits from junior Ally Myers and Marinello put two on with just one out, but a strikeout and pop up ended any threat of a run scoring.
 
FSU loaded the bases in the bottom of the third, with Nelson again singling, freshman Bri Russo following suit, and Myers drawing a walk, but a called strike three again prevented a runner coming across the plate. Point Park broke the game open in the fourth, being patient at the plate with four walks, two singles, and a passed ball combining for three more runs and a 6-1 lead before Donaldson came on in relief to get the final out. Marinello led off the bottom half with a double but got left on base following three consecutive outs.
 
Donaldson kept the Pioneer bats quiet for the next two innings, bringing Frostbug back up to the plate in the bottom of the sixth. Myers lined a knock the other way to lead off, with Marinello then adding one of her own and junior Ashlynn Routzahn walking to load the bases. Miller laced a ball into left that scored a run, then Nelson lofted a sac fly to plate Marinello, but an out on the basepaths trying to move to third on the play ended the frame with PPU still leading 6-3.
 
Point Park found their offense again in the seventh, starting the inning with a double, single, and steal, as an RBI groundout and wild pitch put up two more runs for an 8-3 lead. Down to their final three outs, all the Bobcats could manage in their last chance with a Russo single up the middle, as the Pioneers came away with the five-run victory.
 
Marinello racked up four hits across the two games, with Nelson, Miller, Russo, and Funk all tallying three apiece offensively. In a combined pitching performance, Donaldson tossed 13.1 innings, allowing just three earned runs on six hits while striking out five.
 
With the split, Frostburg moves to 8-16 on the year, while Point Park is now 8-12. The Bobcats remain at home to face Fairmont State on Wednesday, March 26 at 2 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.