FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – On the brink of being swept by CAC foe Mary Washington and possibly losing the season from a mental standpoint, Frostburg State came out with a new sense of selflessness about it and with a couple of timely hits to go along with an outstanding pitching performance, the Bobcats were able to defeat the Eagles, 3-2.
Box Score
With the first two games of the series going to Mary Washington (14-8, 5-1 CAC), the Bobcats (12-8, 2-4 CAC) looked to Austin Poretz to keep the Eagle bats at bay and that is exactly what he did.
The junior starting pitcher came into the contest having only pitched two innings in the last month of the season due to a mild case of tendinitis. Now with a clean bill of health, Poretz looked sharp right out of the chute and continued to get better as the game progressed.
Mary Washington got two aboard in the bottom of the first with a pair of singles, but Poretz was able to keep the Eagles off of the scoreboard, helping himself out with a pick off at first base.
On the mound for the Eagles, Torey Mancari was matching Poretz pitch for pitch. The hard-throwing southpaw was perfect for the first five innings, not allowing a single Bobcat to reach base.
Frostburg State finally began to pick-up on Mancari’s tendencies in the sixth and junior Mike Virbickis ended the perfect game with a single to right field.
The Eagles got the lead off man aboard in the bottom half of the sixth but again Poretz picked the runner off of first base to subdue any potential threat.
After breaking up the perfect game in the sixth, the Bobcats were able to get a rally going in the top of the seventh. Junior Kevin Kean led off the inning with a single to right field. After Kean swiped second base, fellow classmate Rob Jennings stroked a ball up the middle to score Kean and break the scoreless tie. Hustling out of the box, Jennings made it to second on the play and his hustle paid off as junior Dylan Shupe lined a ball into right field, plating Jennings from second base.
The Bobcats were able to knock Mancari from the game in the eighth and they added an insurance run in the process when Jennings hit a sacrifice fly to score senior Garrett Price for a 3-0 advantage.
Poretz got into a jam in the bottom of the eighth and the Bobcats called upon senior Cody Ellsworth to come in and minimize the damage. An Eagle hit scored the first run of the game for the host team but Ellsworth got the final batter of the inning to fly out to center field to end the threat.
Mary Washington scored another in its final at-bat but the Bobcats were able keep the tying run at second base to hold on for the victory.
Deservingly so, Poretz picked up the win for the Bobcats, improving to 2-1 on the year. He threw 7.1 innings and allowed just one run on five hits while striking out five. Ellsworth was credited with the save for his first of the season.
Senior J.K. Filauro led the lineup with two hits on the day and Jennings and Shupe combined to drive in all three runs for the Bobcats.
Mancari suffered the loss for the Eagles despite a great pitching performance and at the plate, three separate players had two hits apiece to pace the Mary Washington lineup.
Frostburg State is currently scheduled to host its next game against Penn State-Fayette on Thursday but rumors of a scheduling change are swirling with the grimness of the upcoming week’s weather outlook. So stay tuned!
