MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Frostburg State softball team capped off their Spring Break trip to Myrtle Beach with two more wins, defeating Sarah Lawrence, 6-2, and the St. Louis College of Pharmacy (Mo.), 8-0, in five innings on Thursday.
The Bobcats now sit at 9-7 on the season after taking six of eight down in Myrtle Beach this past week.
Game One:
Frostburg opened the scoring early on against Sarah Lawrence, scoring two runs in the first inning. The first run of the game came courtesy of a run-scoring single off the bat of first-year Amber Keene, as she deposited the ball into right field to score junior Claire Hanlon. Three batters later, sophomore Aliyah Ramey drove in Keene with a single of her own, giving the Bobcats an early 2-0 lead.
FSU struck again three innings later after sophomore outfielder Shylo Arneson doubled home a pair in the bottom of the fourth inning. Arneson later scored on a Gryphon error, extending the Bobcat lead to 5-0 after four innings.
The Gryphons managed to get a run back in the top of the fifth inning, on a two-out RBI single from Zoe Kim, giving Sarah Lawrence its first run of the game. The Bobcats responded with a run of their own after Ramey collected her second RBI single of the game, making the score 6-1.
Sarah Lawrence added a run in the top of the seventh, but it wasn't enough as the Bobcats cruised to a 6-2 victory. Sophomore Emily Moll went the distance, tossing a complete game and allowing two runs on seven hits and striking out four on her way to her second win of the season. Both Arneson and Ramey collected two RBIs at the plate.
Game Two:
The Bobcats scored early and often, scoring two runs in the first inning, three in the second and two in the third to jump out to an early 7-0 lead over the Eutectics. The scoring got started with a two-out, two-run double off the bat of junior Katelyn Mehrling in the home half of the first.
Hanlon and first-year Erica Payne knocked back-to-back RBI singles in the second inning to keep the Bobcats' momentum going early on. Sophomore pitcher Taylor McCarty helped her own cause on the offensive side as well, singling up the middle to score Payne two batters later and giving the Bobcats a 5-0 lead.
Frostburg another two more runs in the following inning, including another run-scoring single from Hanlon, her second RBI of the game. Payne clocked another RBI single of her own in the fifth inning, extending the Bobcat lead to 8-0.
In the circle, McCarty earned her third win of the season pitching a complete-game shutout, allowing five hits and no walks, while collecting two strikeouts.
Hanlon, Payne, McCarty and sophomores Sam Carver and Carly Wirth each had two hits in the victorious effort.
The Bobcats will return to Frostburg to play their first games of the season at Bobcat Field on Sunday, March 24 as they host Bridgewater in a doubleheader. Game one is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. For up-to-date game information, including live stats, visit frostburgsports.com.
