Schalick, Guy 's Bombs, Hall's Go-Ahead Single Spark Baseball's Late Rally to Take Down WVSU in Opening Game of MEC Tournament

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The Frostburg State Baseball team got revenge over West Virginia State on Thursday morning in the First Round of the MEC Tournament, using a late offensive surge to storm back for the 9-6 victory.
 
MEC Pitcher of the Year senior Patrick Bauer got the start to kick off the conference tournament for Frostburg, giving up up two hits in his first outing but left both on to set up the Bobcats first at-bats.  Sophomore Jackson Schalick drew a leadoff walk to reach base for FSU, but Frostburg only showed three batters in their first look of offense.  The righty showed what he does best in the top of the second, settling in for a 1-2-3 inning and his first strikeout of the day.  Sophomore Ryan Bouma and senior Doyle McNew were both walked to put two on for FSU in the bottom of the inning, but both were left stranded to move the game into the third scoreless.
 
WVSU found their groove in the top of the third, belting four hits for four runs, including two homers.  Frostburg looked to rally down 4-0 in the inning, drawing two walks and Bouma being hit by a pitch to load the bases, but one more out ended the inning.  Bauer picked up another K in the fourth, leaving one Yellow Jacket on in the outing.  Junior Kade Abrisz was walked in the bottom of the fourth, as sophomore Brian Scott was hit by a pitch to put a pair of Bobcats on with two outs.  Schalick then stepped up to the plate, ripping one over the left center field fence for a three-run bomb to put the score at 4-3 after four. 
 
Both teams saw a quick outing at the plate in the fifth, with Bauer dealing three quick outs and West Virginia State changing pitchers for a 1-2-3 go-around as well.  Bauer recorded one more K in the sixth before his day ended, as Scott knotted just the second hit of the game for FSU in the bottom of the inning as the score remained 4-3.  Junior Joe Pippin took over on the bump for Frostburg to begin things in the seventh, as the Yellow Jackets drew three walks to add another run to their lead for a 5-3 game.  Pippin recorded a strikeout in the inning, getting out of a bases loaded jam to keep the Bobcats' deficit at two.  Senior Mikey Guy reached second after a single and the ball was bobbled around by the center fielder, as Bouma and redshirt junior Ben Wieman followed behind him to load the bases, as the latter knocked a single as well.  With one out, McNew collected an RBI single, followed by both Abrisz and freshman Manny Hall doing the same, allowing Frostburg to take a 6-5 lead with the latter being credited with the go-ahead knock.  With the bases still loaded, Scott sent out a deep fly ball to center, allowing another run to trot home on the sacrifice fly to put the game at 7-5 in favor of FSU.
 
West Virginia State drew a walk to start the eighth, setting up redshirt senior Nate Vermillion to come in and throw.  The righty struck out the first batter he faced, as the Yellow Jackets connected on an RBI single to get within one for a 7-6 game.  Redshirt freshman CJ Carmichael was walked first thing in the bottom of the inning, putting one on for a two-run bomb to right center from Guy to increase Frostburg's edge to 9-6. Vermillion stayed on the mound to close out the top of the ninth, forcing three straight groundouts to shortstop to help the Bobcats secure the 9-6 comeback victory to kick off the tournament. 
 
Guy and McNew led Frostburg's offense, both with a pair of hits, as the former was credited with two runs and two RBI while the latter saw one of each.  Five other Bobcats recorded a hit in the game, as Schalick collected a team-high three RBI.  Bauer knotted four K's in six innings, while Pippin was given the win to move his overall record to 8-2 and Vermillion picked up his eighth save of the year. 
 
With the win, Frostburg improves to 35-15 on the season, while West Virginia State falls to 27-22.  The Bobcats next face Charleston tomorrow, May 9 at 3:30 PM, while the Yellow Jackets have the first game on Friday as they will face elimination in their contest with Point Park.  For more information and updates, please visit frostburgsports.com or Tournament Central.