HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. – On a day plagued by mental mistakes and defensive errors, the Bobcats were able to rally to an improbable 10-9 victory over Rutgers-Newark, capped with a two-out walk-off hit by freshman Ryan McGuigan.
Box Score
Frostburg State (4-3) got off to a shaky start in the top half of the first in its opening game of the weekend tournament at Hampden-Sydney College, allowing four runs after the first two Scarlet Raiders (2-3) were retired to begin the game. McGuigan led off the home half of the game with a double but the Bobcats were unable to capitalize and combat the opposition’s first blow.
Rutgers-Newark added another run in the second to increase its lead to 5-0 before the Bobcat lineup was able to put a dent in the lead. After a pair of singles to start off the inning, junior Matt Donaldson singled home a run to erase the goose egg from the home half of the board. Another one would cross the plate in the segment to cut the deficit to three.
After the two ball clubs traded lone runs over the fourth and fifth innings, Frostburg was able to cut the lead to one in the bottom of the seventh when junior Danny Morris lined a two-out fastball over the centerfielder’s head for a two-run double.
The back and forth battling continued as the Scarlet Raiders responded with two runs of their own in the following inning. With the score now 8-5 and just six outs remaining, the probability of a Bobcats comeback was looking less and less likely.
A pair of groundouts to start the eighth had Frostburg State with just four outs remaining, but the lineup was not ready to give up. McGuigan got aboard with a single and after a hit batsman, Kevin Kean singled him home. In his first game of the season in the cleanup spot, junior Rob Jennings took full advantage of the opportunity as he doubled home Garrett Price and Kean to even up the score.
Unfortunately, the momentum was short-lived as the defense gave the lead right back in the top half of the ninth, committing two of the five errors that the Bobcats had on the day.
Trailing 9-8, the Bobcats were able to get runners to second and third with McGuigan coming back up to the plate. With two men out, the freshman shortstop drove a ball into right to score the tying and game-winning runs.
Junior pitcher Kenny Georgius picked up the win for Frostburg State after coming in to get the final two outs in the ninth. The Bobcats also got excellent relief from AJ Rosenthal, who pitched 4.1 innings and gave up just one earned run.
McGuigan finished the day 4-for-6 at the plate with three RBI to pace the lineup as Jennings contributed with three RBI of his own and Price with three big runs scored.
Junior shortstop Kevin Olah led the way for the Scarlet Raiders, going 4-for-5 at the plate.
The Frostburg State baseball team hopes to carry its momentum into tomorrow when it faces Franklin and Marshall at 3:00 pm in Hampden-Sydney, Va.
