FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – Austin Poretz surrendered only two runs (one earned) in eight innings pitched to help lead the Frostburg State baseball team to an 8-2 victory over conference foe Mary Washington, Tuesday.
Box Score
The Bobcats (8-2, 1-2 CAC) picked up their first conference win due in large part to Poretz turning in his best start of the young season. He improved to 2-0 after holding the Eagles (11-3) to just six hits and recording six strikeouts.
The FSU offense provided more than enough for Poretz, as it collected 14 hits and eight different players picked up at least one hit on the day. Frostburg got all the runs they would need in the first three innings as they touched home five times.
Senior Kevin Kean got the Bobcats on the board with one out in the first with a single to center field that brought home junior Ricky Castro. With two outs, junior Ricky Brady doubled FSU's advantage with an RBI single that plated Kean.
Frostburg staged a two-out rally in the second to tack on two more runs. Junior Zach Weiss singled to center and then Castro and Kean earned back-to-back walks to load the bases for senior Dylan Shupe. Shupe came through with a single to left field that scored Weiss and Castro. In the third, senior Brandon Remalia picked up an RBI groundout to give the Bobcats a 5-0 lead.
The Eagles scored their only earned run off Poretz in the bottom half of the third when freshman Brian Burns hit a two-out RBI single to right field. Poretz did not let it faze him as he recorded four of his next five outs via the strikeout, including striking out the side in the fourth.
UMW did pull within three in the fifth with an unearned run. Sophomore James Sink led off the inning with an infield single to third, and then advanced to second on a passed ball. After a strikeout, junior Kevin Stein picked up an RBI on a groundout to second.
Poretz did not face any more trouble in the next three innings, and Frostburg put the game away with two runs in the seventh and another in the ninth. Remalia picked up his second RBI of the game in the seventh with an infield single to short, which brought home junior Kam Stewart. Weiss then drove Remalia home with a single to center. FSU picked up its final insurance run in the ninth when sophomore Conner Cooper plated Brady with a single to center.
Sophomore Nick Huff came in to pitch in the bottom of the ninth for the Bobcats and picked up right where Portetz left off. He picked up one strikeout in the inning and did not allow a hit.
For Frostburg, Weiss, Shupe, Brady and Stewart each picked up multiple hits on the day, including three for Weiss and Brady. Shupe and Remalia each had two RBIs for the Bobcats.
Freshman Nick McIntyre fell to 1-1 for the Eagles, as he lasted only 1.1 innings and surrendered four runs, four hits, and four walks. On offense, Sink was the only UMW player with a multi-hit effort, as he went 2-for-4 on the day.
Frostburg will get back to the diamond on Saturday when it travels to take on St. Mary's (Md.) for a doubleheader which begins at noon.
