SALISBURY, Md. – The Frostburg State baseball team dropped both games of today's doubleheader on the road against No. 20 Salisbury, losing 11-10 in game one and 12-6 in game two.
The Bobcats now sit at 10-7 on the season, 0-6 in Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) play, while Salisbury moves to 14-4-1, 6-0 against conference opponents.
Game One
The Sea Gulls jumped out to a 5-0 lead after manufacturing two runs in the first inning and three in the second.
The Frostburg offense awoke in the top of the third inning, as junior first baseman Ryan Roell singled home sophomore Bret Fogle to put the Bobcats on the board. Senior Jason Paredes followed Roell's at bat in a big way, clubbing a three-run home run over the right-center field wall, cutting the Bobcat deficit to one run, 5-4. The homer was Paredes' fourth of the season.
Salisbury junior Jimmy Monaghan hit a run-scoring double in the home half of the fourth inning for his second RBI of the game. In the following inning, junior Matt Padeway hit a solo homer, giving the Sea Gulls a 7-4 lead.
The Bobcats rallied in the seventh inning, starting with a one-out double off the bat of Roell. A Paredes single and walk to junior Mitch Fyffe loaded the bases with one out for junior catcher Quin Ambeault, who laced a single to right field to score Roell.
Sophomore Jared Mouton then grounded a two-run single into left field to tie the game. Two batters later, junior Devin Griffith laced a two-out RBI double into the left-center field gap to give the Bobcats their first lead of the game, 8-7.
After a Salisbury pitching change, Fogle added two insurance runs with a two-RBI triple, giving the Bobcats a three-run lead. Overall, the Bobcats scored six runs in the top of the seventh, taking a 10-7 lead.
The Sea Gulls answered in the bottom half of the seventh, scoring two runs on a single from senior Ron Villone. Salisbury could have had more runs, but junior reliever Chris Roosevelt stranded the bases loaded to keep the Frostburg lead to one run.
Salisbury struck again in the eighth inning, as with the bases loaded and two outs, Villone knocked a two-run single up the middle, giving the Sea Gulls an 11-10 lead going into the game's final frame.
Salisbury reliever Xavier Marmol held the Bobcats hitless in the final two innings to allow the Sea Gulls to scratch out the 11-10 victory. Marmol earned the win while junior Mike Livingston was tagged with the loss for the Bobcats, coming in from the bullpen in the eighth inning.
Paredes went 4-for-5 for the Bobcats with his homer, a double and three RBIs. Roell and Ambeault each had two hits and a RBI in the effort. Salisbury was led by Villone, who went 3-for-3 with two walks and three RBIs, including the game-tying and game-winning ones in the eighth inning.
Game Two
The Bobcats opened the scoring in the top of the second inning of game two, as Roell led off the inning with a single and later scored on a groundout from sophomore Tre D'Amico. Paredes drove in Griffith in the third inning with a two-out triple to left-center, giving FSU an early 2-0 lead.
The Sea Gull offense finally got something started against Bobcat senior Chase Delost in the bottom of the sixth inning, getting the first two runners on base and sacrificing the both of them into scoring position. Delost's classmate Franco Velasquez came in to relieve him and he struck out the first batter to face him. With two outs, Salisbury called upon junior Troy Miller for pinch-hitting duties, and he delivered with a two-run, opposite-field double to tie the score, 2-2. The Sea Gulls took the lead two batters later after Miller scored on a wild pitch.
Salisbury scored five more runs in the inning, highlighted by a grand slam off the bat of Monaghan, giving the Sea Gulls eight runs and an 8-2 lead going into the seventh inning.
Salisbury kept its foot on the pedal in the home half of the seventh as well, scoring four more runs to take a 10-run lead.
The Bobcats scored four runs in the ninth, highlighted by a three-run homer to straight-away center field from Roell, his team-leading sixth home run of the season, but the Sea Gulls coasted to a 12-6 win.
Delost pitched effectively in his first start of the season, tossing 5.1 innings, allowing two runs, earned, on three hits and striking out nine, a career-high for the righty. Salisbury starter Zach Amisano threw 8.0 innings, allowing two runs, earned, on seven hits and two strikeouts on his way to his fourth win of the season.
Offensively, Roell led the Bobcats, going 2-for-4 with his homer and three RBI. Monaghan led the charge for the Sea Gulls, going 4-for-4 with his grand slam, four RBIs and a walk.
The Bobcats will return home to face Shenandoah on Thursday, March 28. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at Bob Wells Field. For up-to-date game information, including live stats and a live stream of the action, visit frostburgsports.com.
