CROZET, Va. – After a great performance by the Frostburg State baseball team in the first game of their weekend series, the Bobcats made evident the ups and downs commonly associated with an early baseball season, dropping the final two games to Old Westbury, 5-2 and 12-7.
 
Box Scores
Game 1
Game 2
 
Old Westbury (2-1) threw the first punch in Game 1 when John Angelino drove a pitch over the centerfield fence to give the Panthers a 1-0 advantage in the top of the second. Frostburg (3-3) quickly countered with a run of its own when junior Matt Donaldson singled a runner home to even things up in the bottom half of the inning.
 
It wasn’t until the bottom of the fifth that the Bobcats were able to break the 1-1 tie when
Garrett Price hit a sacrifice fly to left field. Unfortunately, the Frostburg lead was short lived as the Panthers tacked on four runs in their following at-bat. The opposing pitchers were able to keep the Bobcat bats at bay for the final two innings to secure the 5-2 victory.
 
Despite leaving with the lead, starting pitcher Cody Ellsworth was credited with the loss in the first game. Donaldson, Kevin Kean, and Jon Keeler led the lineup with two hits apiece.
 
Contrary to the start of Game 1, the Bobcats jumped on top first in Game 2 with a leadoff home run to right center by Kean. But again the Panthers bounced back with a big inning in the top of the second, sparked by two home runs of their own.
 
Frostburg State was able to get the leadoff man on base in six of the seven innings but was unable to capitalize in key situations in the latter innings, stranding a total of 11 base runners.
 
In a bright spot for the Bobcat offense, Kean reached base in all five of his plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with three RBI and two stolen bases. Rob Jennings also added three hits and three RBI and Keeler contributed another two hits.
 
Leading the way for the visiting Panthers were Peter Romeo, who went a perfect 3-for-3 in Game 2, and Jeremy Delgado, who had five RBI, one of which came on a second inning grand slam. Stephen Chapter picked up the win on the mound for Old Westbury.
 
The Frostburg State baseball team will try to bounce back next weekend when they travel to Hampden, Va. to play Rutgers-Newark in the first game of a three game stint hosted by Hampden-Sydney College. The first pitch is scheduled for 11:00 am on Friday.