FROSTBURG, Md. - On paper, the Frostburg State softball team's doubleheader with Stevenson on Monday afternoon didn't mean much. After all, the team had already locked up the No. 3 seed in the Capital Athletic Conference Championship Tournament with no chance of moving either up or down regardless of the outcomes of Monday afternoon's games.

Game 1
Game 2

In game one, the Bobcats played like a team in standings gridlock in falling 2-1 to the Mustangs while only mustering two hits. But in game two, and specifically the sixth inning, Frostburg gained about as much momentum as possible heading into its CAC tournament game with York (Pa.) tomorrow. The Bobcats scored nine runs on three gigantic hits in that sixth inning en route to a 12-4 victory.

Frostburg (13-15, 7-5) entered the bottom of the sixth trailing, 4-3. With the game tied at two after four, the teams traded runs in the fifth. Frostburg's came on a Victoria Krichbaum (Olney, Md./Sherwood) home run. That good will was erased quickly when two Bobcat errors allowed the Mustangs to retake their one-run lead.

The Bobcats turned on the merry-go-round in their half, though. After singles by Tifnie Karopchinsky (Baltimore, Md./North County) and Jenna Delaney (Frostburg, Md./Mountain Ridge), sophomore Megan Foy (Poolesville, Md./Poolesville) reached on a fielder's choice that didn't net an out. With the bases loaded, senior Jacki Lynch (Glen Burnie, Md./North County) was summoned as a pinch hitter. Her double into the left-center field gap vaulted the Bobcats ahead, 6-4. If only the offense stopped there.

With runners on second and third, Krichbaum came back up and hit another one out of the yard to make it 9-4. Her two runs and four RBIs give her three and 13 on the year, respectively. With the cats now completely out of the cage, the inning continued. Freshman Caitlin Lovend (Laurel, Md./Reservoir) complimented her 2-for-3 day with a walk, and sophomore Shari Beavers (Cumberland, Md./Fort Hill/UMBC) singled. After a pitching change, Karopchinsky hit her first home run as a Bobcat to invoke the mercy rule and give FSU the 12-4 victory.

The Bobcats pounded 15 hits, including seven in the last inning. Karopchinsky and Delaney led the way by each going 3-for-3. Junior Lauren Scrivener (Curtis Bay, Md./Eastern Tech) earned the win, allowing just five hits and a single earned run in six innings.

Senior centerfielder Brooke Tapman (Pocomoke, Md./Pocomoke) provided the only offense for Frostburg in game one's 2-1 defeat. She had the team's only two hits, and knocked in the lone run with her solo home run in the fourth. Junior pitcher Megan Magee (Egg Harbor City, N.J./Holy Spirit) took the tough-luck loss. She went the full seven innings, allowing just six hits and two runs, though neither were earned.

The Bobcats will hope to carry the momentum of their massive sixth inning into the CAC Championship Tournament tomorrow afternoon when they host York (Pa.) at 4:00 p.m.