NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Frostburg State baseball team lost both games in its doubleheader on the road against No. 4 Christopher Newport, losing 26-12 in game one and 10-6 in game two on Saturday afternoon.
The losses snap the Bobcats' 10-game winning streak to start the season, as FSU now sits at 10-2, 0-2 against conference opponents, while the Captains improve to 12-2, 2-0 in conference play on the season.
Game One
Facing an early 1-0 deficit, the Bobcats scored seven runs in the top of the third inning. The rally started with a leadoff home run from sophomore Jared Mouton, his first homer of the season. Later in the inning, junior Ryan Roell singled up the middle with the bases loaded and all three runners scored, with the third runner coming around on a CNU error. Seniors Jason Paredes and Nick Fuhrmann followed that with back-to-back homers to give the Bobcats a 7-1 lead.
Christopher Newport came back, scoring 10 unanswered run in the following three innings, highlighted by home runs off the bats of Nick DiNapoli, Trey Hicks and Seth Woodard, giving the Captains an 11-7 lead.
After a scoreless sixth inning from both teams, CNU broke away from the Bobcats, scoring 12 runs in the seventh inning, batting around twice in the inning. The Captains added three more runs in the eighth, giving them a 26-7 cushion going into the game's final frame.
The Bobcats managed to score five runs in the ninth, including an RBI double off the bat of junior Quin Ambeault, but ultimately fell by a final score of 26-12.
Roell ended the game going 2-for-5, with two singles and three RBI. Paredes also went 2-for-5 with his homer and two RBI for the Bobcats.
The Captains were led offensively by Nicholas Bahm, who went 4-for-6 with a home run and four RBI, and Joseph Cutchins, who came off the bench to go 3-for-3 with a homer of his own and six RBI.
CNU managed to collect 23 hits and eight walks off of Bobcat pitching in its victorious effort.
Game Two
Frostburg starter Colby Lee worked himself out of danger in the first inning, facing the bases loaded and two outs, he forced Hicks to pop out to the second baseman, keeping the game scoreless in the early going.
The Bobcats struck first in game two, as Roell led off the top of the second inning with a home run to left field, his fifth of the season. Roell drove in another run with a RBI double in the fourth inning, scoring junior Mitch Fyffe from first base. Paredes followed Roell's double with one of his own, scoring Roell and giving his team a 3-0 lead.
The Captains answered in the home half of the fourth inning, plating five runs. Eric O'Brien and Connor Clark each had two-run doubles in the inning, giving CNU the two-run advantage over FSU.
Frostburg got a run back in the following half inning, as Fyffe drove in junior Jesse Hodge on a sacrifice fly, bringing the Bobcat deficit to one run, 5-4. The Captains managed to get five insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh, after back-to-back-to-back doubles from O'Brien, Austin Henry and Clark, followed by a triple from Woodard with two outs scored four runs. CNU added another run to take a 10-4 lead.
The Bobcats managed to score two runs in the top of the ninth on a Hodge single, but CNU held on to beat Frostburg, 10-6. Lee finished his day tossing 4.0 innings, allowing five runs, earned, with three strikeouts, getting hit with his first loss of the season.
Roell was the highlight of the Frostburg offense, going 2-for-4 with his home run and two RBI. Ambeault also collected two hits for the Bobcats.
O'Brien and Clark each had three hits, two doubles and three RBI for the Captains, leading the CNU offense.
The Bobcats will wrap up the three-game series against CNU tomorrow, March 17. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. For up-to-date game information, including live stats, visit frostburgsports.com.
