WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Frostburg State baseball team battled back and forth only to sees its five-game winning streak come to an end in a 5-7 loss at the hands of the Washington & Jefferson Presidents.
Box Score
A trio of errors committed by the Bobcats (25-15) in the third inning led to three unearned runs, ultimately proving to be the difference in the ballgame.
The Bobcat offense delivered the first blow as senior J.K. Filauro belted his fourth and second lead-off home run of the season in the top half of the first.
Washington & Jefferson (23-11) quickly countered with two runs in the bottom half of the first on RBI singles from Ronny Peirish and Tyler Schultz.
Following a scoreless second inning, FSU strung together d on a couple more in the top of the third. Filauro wore a pitch from Presidents’ starter Nick Kolat to get the inning started. W&J recorded the next two outs before junior Dylan Shupe came up and smacked a single into right field, moving junior Kevin Kean over to third. Junior Rob Jennings then launched a double into the right center gap to score Kean and bring the game to an even 2-2. The Bobcats were not done though as senior Jon Keeler matched Jennings with a double of his own to left center, plating two runs to give Frostburg the 4-2 lead.
Senior pitcher Doug Politz could not catch a break as the Bobcats booted the ball three times in the bottom half of the third and the Presidents once again took the lead with three runs coming across as a result of the sloppy defense.
Frostburg threatened to even the score back up in the fourth and fifth innings with runners reaching second in each inning, but it could not capitalize on the opportunities.
The Presidents tacked on a run in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Peirish, giving the home team a still slim 6-4 lead.
FSU would see its final push come in the top of the seventh. Back-to-back singles from senior Matt Donaldson and Kean got the rally going. After Shupe fouled out to the first baseman, the two would runners would each advance a base on a balk from the opposing pitcher. The Bobcats then brought the game to within one on an RBI groundout from Jennings but that is as close as they would come for the remainder of the game.
The Presidents added one in the eighth and closed out the final two innings to complete the victory.
Politz gave the Bobcats a valiant effort from the mound but consequently suffered the loss as a result of subpar defensive play. The right-hander allowed five runs, only two of which were earned, scattered six hits, and struck out four in 3.2 innings of work. He was relieved by junior Kenny Georgius, who pitched the final 4.1 innings, allowing two runs on six hits while fanning two.
Filauro, Donaldson, Shupe, and Jennings each had two hits to pace the Bobcat lineup. Jennings finished with two RBI to go along with his two hits and Keeler contributed with two RBI of his own.
Kolat picked up the win on the mound for the Presidents. Leading the opposition’s offense, Schultz and Scott Liller finished with three hits apiece.
Prior to today’s contest, D3baseball.com released its second regional rankings of the season and for the first time in school history, Frostburg State found itself ranked in the South Region, coming in at #6. Other notable teams falling ahead of FSU in the South Region rankings were CAC-champion Salisbury, at #2, and 2014 CAC-member Christopher Newport, at #5.
D3baseball.com NCAA Regional Rankings
With one game remaining on the schedule, the Frostburg State baseball team has elected to cancel Sunday’s scheduled contest with Marietta College. Assuming that no further games will be scheduled, the Bobcats will end the season with an impressive 25-15 mark.
