Funk, Miller Drive Softball Offense to Sweep of West Virginia State

INSTITUTE, W. Va. – The Frostburg State Softball team kept their conference tournament hopes alive with a hard-fought sweep of West Virginia State by final scores of 10-9 and 5-4 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Game one began with a quick two-out rally in the top of the first for the Bobcats as junior Arden Miller laced a double against the wall in center and was brought home on a blooper into right off the bat of senior Samara Funk for a 1-0 lead. Junior Ally Myers worked out of a lead-off single with some help from classmate Olivia Stetler throwing the runner out at second trying to steal, followed by a fly out and pop up. Stetler would then reach on an infield single to start the second but three straight outs ended the frame. Myers kept the Yellow Jacket bats quiet by setting the side down in order, picking up her first strikeout along the way.
 
FSU added on to their advantage in the third, with junior Gracie Nelson poking a single to left and stealing second, with Funk again delivering with two outs on a double pulled just fair down the left field line for a 2-0 advantage. WVSU put back-to-back knocks on the board followed by a Frostburg error to load the bases, but a nice catch at second by freshman Zoey Marinello turned into a double play to end the threat without a run. The Bobcats had two quick outs to start the fourth, but senior Cristina Sommerkamp and Marinello kept the inning alive with a pair of singles through the left side. Nelson was able to leg out an infield hit to load the bases when senior Hanna Binek earned a full-count RBI walk, then Miller brought two runners in on a single up the middle to put the lead up to 5-0.
 
West Virginia State finally got themselves on the board in the bottom half, helped out by a lead-off double then being able to come up with a clutch two-out hit of their own to make things 5-1. After holding FSU quiet in the fifth, the Yellow Jackets roared back around in their at-bats with three doubles and a pair of infield hits leading to four total runs for a sudden 5-5 tie. Frostburg hit right back in the sixth as Nelson reached on an error and Binek was hit by a pitch, the former scoring off the bat of Miller in the next at-bat. Funk then stepped in and launched her third homer of the year out to left to go ahead 8-5.
 
The game turned into a back-and-forth affair in the bottom half, with WVSU ensuring there would be no comfort in the Bobcat dugout. Three singles and a wild pitch combined to pull within a run, then an RBI triple and a knock into center put two more on the board as the hosts regained a 9-8 advantage. Determined not to let the offensive performance go to waste, Myers led off the seventh with a double down the line, as freshman Ava Fair came in to pinch run. Sommerkamp brought her home as the next batter, going for two bases herself into left to tie things once again. Marinello provided a productive out by getting Sommerkamp to third on a groundout, then Nelson plated her shortstop with an infield hit to take a 10-9 lead. Having come on in relief to close out the sixth, freshman Izabella Donaldson ensured their would be no more back-and-forth action, as Funk made a grab on a liner at first to double up the first batter that had walked before a fly ball to right ended the game with Frostburg taking the one-run victory.
 
FSU started the second game in almost identical fashion to the first, as Miller walked with two outs in the first, moved up to second on a wild pitch and was brought home by Funk on an RBI single into the left-center gap. This time, however, the Yellow Jackets responded quickly, as a walk, single, error, and wild pitch combined to put two runs on the board for an early 2-1 advantage. The Bobcats put a pair of runners on in the second with Myers singling and Marinello walking, but each were left stranded, while West Virginia State went three up, three down in their trip to the plate.
 
Miller got Frostburg going again in the third with a one-out single as Funk continued her hot hitting with another RBI double into left. After she moved up to third on a WVSU error, freshman Bri Russo got the job done with a sac fly to right to put FSU ahead 3-2. Donaldson worked out of some trouble in the bottom half after allowing back-to-back singles with a groundout and fly out to Russo ending the inning. The Bobcats tacked on a couple insurance runs in the fourth, as Marinello drew another walk then was pinch-run for by sophomore Katie Healy. Nelson drove a ball into right-center to put both runners in scoring position, as each came home to score on a double down the line by Binek for a 5-2 advantage.
 
The Yellow Jackets pulled one back in their at-bats on a pair of singles, wild pitch, and sac fly, but Donaldson kept away from further damage with back-to-back grounders fielded cleanly by Sommerkamp. Donaldson was called upon again in the bottom of the fifth after a one-out double and wild pitch, but she was able to get the runner out at home on a bunt attempt then got a foul out to Funk to end the frame.
 
Frostburg threatened again in the sixth as Marinello and Nelson reached on a walk and single, respectively, with Miller adding another on two outs to load the bases. Funk thought she had another couple RBI on the board, however her sharp liner to third was caught to end the inning. FSU was unable to add any further runs after Donaldson worked a clean sixth, bringing WVSU up with their final chance in the bottom of the seventh. They were able to work a pair of singles and a walk to put the go-ahead run on base and forced Donaldson out of the game. Myers came in entrusted to earn the save, which she managed to do after reacting quickly to grab a comebacker before a routine grounder to Marinello gave the Bobcats the sweep with the 5-4 win.
 
Funk polished off her monster day with five total hits and six RBI, totaling three extra base hits in the process. Russo, Myers, Stetler, Nelson, and Miller all chipped in with multi-hit performances, the latter knocking three total RBI to tie Binek's total in the doubleheader.
 
With the wins, Frostburg concludes their regular season at 13-35, while WVSU finishes at 14-32. FSU now awaits their fate to see if they will qualify for the Mountain East Tournament, as the games between Wheeling and Point Park on Sunday will determine playoff seeding. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.