Baseball Splits with Kutztown to Conclude Weekend Trip
CARY, NC – The Frostburg State Baseball team split their doubleheader with Kutztown on Sunday afternoon, taking the first game with a commanding 10-3 win, but falling in the last inning of the second game with a 3-2 final.
Frostburg got off to a quick 1-0 lead in their first at bat, as leadoff junior Randy Steen singled on a line drive, followed by singles from juniors Danny Estrada and Cy Probst. With bases loaded, freshman Ryan Bouma's patience earned him a walk, advancing Steen to home. FSU 's defense had a 5-4-3 double play and a groundout to turnover the inning, as senior Max Proctor took care of four batters in his first appearance on the mound. To kick off the second inning, in his first at bat of the day, senior Stafford Allison sent one out of the park for a solo homer and a 2-0 Bobcat lead.
With little to no action in the third inning, Proctor battled back from a couple walks, only giving up one hit in two Kutztown at-bats, along with seeing one strikeout. Kicking off the fourth, freshman Jackson Schalick singled to third, as Allison was walked, putting runners on first and second. With junior Christian Shertzer up to bat, he hit a hard ground ball, advancing both runners two bases, resulting in a score for Schalick and a 3-0 game. Steen then grounded out to first, allowing Allison to run through home plate to increase FSU's lead to 4-0. Schertzer was then able to round third to score off an RBI single from Estrada to bring the game to 5-0. The Golden Bears were able to sneak a run in the bottom half of the fourth, scoring a run off a Frostburg error for a 5-1 game.
In the top of the fifth, Allison and Schertzer both reached base after earning walks. With two runners on, Steen hit a single to left field, as Allison scored after taking two bases, to push the Bobcats lead back to four with a 6-2 game. Kutztown remained quiet in the bottom of the fifth, as freshman Evan Biddle came into pitch. For the next one and a half innings, both teams only saw three batters each. To break the ice in the bottom half of the seventh, after reaching on an error and landing on third after a double, KU tagged up getting their second score of the game to bring it to 6-2. Scoring their third run off a passed ball, Kutztown trailed by three going into the eighth with a score of 6-3.
Three quick outs by FSU on offense put them back in the field. In the bottom of the eighth, Allison catching a fly ball and freshman Jack Ray earning two K's from the mound sent the contest into the last inning. Frostburg's offense secured the lead in their last at bat, adding four runs, as senior Ethan Kiple recorded a leadoff single, advancing to third on a double from Probst, as both were sent home on a two RBI single to center field from Schalick. Shertzer put the icing on the cake for Frostburg offensively, ripping a two RBI double to left field to score Schalick and Bouma, who was walked. With now a 10-3 lead, graduate Ben Vok came into pitch the bottom of the ninth, earning two strikeouts to secure the 10-3 victory for the Bobcats in game one.
Both teams saw a slow start to game two, with each ripping a single in their first at-bats, both leaving runners on base. In the top of the third, senior Justin Jimenez was calm at bat earning a walk, as he successfully stole second, putting him in scoring position. With two outs, Kiple hit a hard ball to center field sending Jimenez through for a 1-0 FSU lead.
The game was in the bottom of the fourth when KU saw their first run, as Kiple, Schalick, and junior Mikey Guy each recorded a hit prior, but were stranded on base. The Golden Bears scored two runs in their at-bats in the fourth, knocking four hits for a 2-1 game heading into the fifth.
FSU continued to stay quiet on offense, as junior Nate Vermillion came into pitch in the fifth, recording three strikeouts to keep the score at 2-1. Neither team recorded a hit in the sixth, as Kiple came in to pitch seeing three batters for three outs. To lead off the seventh, Schalick sent a single into center field, advanced to second on a walk, stole third, and crossed home plate as Probst put the ball in play allowing Schalick to tie the game at 2-2. Everything went right in the Golden Bear's last at-bat, as Kutztown connected on two singles, setting a runner up to tag from third to take the game 3-2.
Schalick led the way on offense for the Bobcats recording a total of four hits, three runs, and two RBI on the day. Steen finished with three hits, two RBI, and one run, as Estrada, Kiple, Probst, and Shertzer all recorded two hits each. Proctor was credited with the win in game one, pitching four innings surrendering only one hit and one run with two strikeouts.
With the conclusion of today's doubleheader Frostburg's overall record stands at 3-4, as Kutztown also moves to 3-4. The Frostburg State Baseball team is back in Cary, NC next weekend, kicking off play with a single game against D'Youville on Friday, March 1 at 1 PM. For more information, please visit frostburgsports.com.
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