HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. – On the final day of the Floyd B. Wilcox Memorial Tournament, Frostburg State held nothing back as it pounded out 18 hits to back up a solid pitching performance for an 11-3 victory over host Hampden-Sydney.
Box Score
With a long awaited day of sunshine finally at their backs, the visiting Bobcats (6-3) set the tone in their first at-bat. Senior Garrett Price took his customary pitch in the elbow to get things started and junior Kevin Kean followed up by driving a ball into the left field corner, scoring Price from first for a quick 1-0 advantage.
Senior starting pitcher Cody Ellsworth did a great job of keeping the Tigers (7-7-1) from retaliating in the bottom half of the first, something Bobcat pitchers had difficulty doing in the beginning of the season.
The combo of Price and Kean would strike again in the top of the third as the Bobcat catcher doubled down the left field line to lead off the inning. Without skipping a beat, Kean stroked a ball down the opposite line to plate Price and give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead.
Hampden-Sydney threatened to put a crooked number on the scoreboard in the bottom half of the segment when the first three batters of the inning reached base, but Ellsworth minimized the damage as he got the Bobcats back in the dugout after allowing just one run on an RBI fielder’s choice by Hunter Lewis.
With the score now 2-1, the Tigers were as close to the lead as they were going to get all day. Frostburg State scored one in the fourth and then added three more in the fifth, thanks in part to back-to-back doubles by Rob Jennings and Danny Morris. The Bobcats also got a little brotherly love from Jon Keeler and Zach Keeler as the two recorded RBI groundouts in successive at-bats.
The Bobcat lineup batted around in the sixth and brought home five more runs, all but sealing the deal for Frostburg State.
The Bobcats recorded double-digit hits in each of the three games and finished their weekend sweep with an impressive 28 runs scored.
All nine starters recorded a hit for the Bobcats. Jennings paced the lineup, going 4-for-5 with 3 RBI and Kean and the Keelers added 2 RBI apiece.
Ellsworth picked up the win on the mound, bringing his record to 1-1. The Bobcat southpaw pitched 7.0 strong innings, allowing just two runs (one earned) on five hits and striking out five.
On the other side, Teddy West took the loss for the Tigers and three different batters recorded two hits apiece to pace the opposing lineup.
The Frostburg State baseball team will have a couple of days off before it travels to Washington College on Thursday for its first midweek game of the season. Game time is scheduled for 2:00 pm in Chestertown, Md.
