HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. – The Frostburg State baseball team suffered its third loss of the season on Thursday, as it fell just short in a 14-13 loss to Hampden-Sydney.
Box Score
The Bobcats (10-3) trailed the Tigers (16-5) for the majority of the contest, but nearly evened the game up in the bottom of the ninth. Trailing 14-11 heading into its final at-bat, FSU picked up an RBI single from senior Brandon Remalia and an RBI double from junior Zach Weiss with two outs to pull the team within one. However, the rally came up just short as Tigers pitcher Billy Nixon closed the door with a strikeout of junior Ricky Castro that stranded Weiss at second.
The game was an offensive affair with the two teams combining for 27 runs and 29 hits.
Hampden-Sydney started swinging the bats early with two runs in the first and three in the second. Frostburg got a single run in the second off senior Dylan Shupe's first home run of the season. The four-run lead for the Tigers was the largest either team would hold.
In the fourth, sophomore Zach Keeler picked up an RBI on a fielder's choice and the Bobcats scored two additional unearned runs to pull within one at 5-4. The Tigers pushed two runs across the plate in the fifth to extend their lead to three, but it was the sixth inning where each team exploded for six runs.
FSU briefly grabbed its only lead of the game in the sixth when it plated six two-out runs. The big blows in the inning came from the bats of Weiss and Keeler. Weiss tripled to bring in two runs and tie the game, while Shupe picked up two RBIs with a double that gave the Bobcats a 10-7 advantage. Keeler and Castro each recorded RBI singles in the inning.
It looked like Frostburg had gained the momentum, but it wasn't so as Hampden-Sydney responded with six runs of its own. The Tigers quickly picked up three runs to tie the game at 10 before any outs had been recorded. John Lloyd then batted in the go-ahead run with an RBI groundout and Hampden-Sydney plated two more runs in the inning with RBI doubles to push the lead to 13-10.
The two teams traded single runs in the seventh and eighth before the Bobcats' rally fell short in the ninth.
Sophomore Kyle McCormack (0-1) picked up the loss for Frostburg after allowing four hits and six runs in the sixth inning. Offensively, eight Bobcats picked up at least one hit, while five recorded multi-hit games. Junior Kam Stewart led the offense with a 4-for-5 day at the plate with four runs scored. Shupe went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs, and was matched in RBIs by Weiss who went 2-for-6 with a run scored. Castro, who came into the day leading the Capital Athletic Conference with a .487 batting average, continued his success at the plate with a 3-for-6 day with a run and RBI. Keeler and Remalia each chipped in two RBIs.
Matt Hinson improved to 3-1 on the season for the Tigers after pitching one-third of an inning to close out the sixth. Nixon closed out the ninth to pick up his first save of the year. Jeff Gray led the Hampden-Sydney offense with four RBIs on a 2-for-4 day at the plate.
Frostburg will return to action tomorrow when it travels to take on Washington College at 3:00 pm.
