ABERDEEN, MD. – Frostburg State baseball opened their season on Friday afternoon, dropping both ends of their doubleheader to Kutztown. They fell in the first game 10-7 in extra innings before losing 9-3 in game two.
The Bobcats got off to a great start in game one, plating a run in both the first and second innings to take an early 2-0 advantage. Ryan Roell opened the scoring with an RBI single to left in the first inning, plating Bret Fogle who reached on an error to begin the inning. The Bobcats' second run also came unearned, as Mitch Fyffe reached on a throwing error and was brought home by a Hayden McLaughlin single to center field.
Josh Colliflower got the start on the bump for FSU and did well to work his way out of jams through the first few innings. Colliflower stranded two Golden Bears in scoring position in the second inning by striking out Joey Pettinelli looking to end the threat. He escaped the same situation again in the fourth, and once again Pettinelli was the culprit to end the inning by bouncing out to third base.
Kutztown leveled things in the fifth inning by plating a pair of runs, but Frostburg would respond in the bottom half. An RBI single to right field by Andrew Smith scored Bryce Jackson from second to put the Bobcats back on top 3-2. FSU would add another in the sixth, as Fogle singled to center to score Jared Mouton to make it 4-2.
Things would get crazy in the seventh, as Kutztown brought five men across home plate to take a 7-4 lead. A passed ball with the bases loaded scored the first run, followed by a bases loaded walk issued by Smith tied the game 4-4. After Nick Trey was brought in to replace Smith on the mound, he served up a go-ahead three-run double down the left field line to give Kutztown a 7-4 lead.
The Bobcats would bounce back in the bottom half of the seventh to send the game to extras. Smith atoned for his pitching in the top half of the inning by singling to left field for his second RBI of the night to make it 7-5. Jack Maruskin followed up with a game-tying two-run double to right field to knot things up at 7-7.
In extra innings, Kutztown would take the lead for good, as Ethan Martini clubbed a three-run homer to right field to make it 10-7.
In game two, Frostburg yet again got out of the gates fast. After a scoreless first inning, the Bobcats put two runners on thanks to a Roell hit-by-pitch and a walk to Worthy Hollister. Justin Jimenez stepped to the plate and touched off a three-run homer to left field to give the Bobcats an early 3-0 lead.
After a scoreless first four frames, the Kutztown bats woke up in the top of the fifth. An eight-run inning was capped off by a Gavin Moretski two-run triple to right field to make the score 8-3 in favor of the Golden Bears. Kutztown would add one more in the sixth on a bases loaded walk to get to the eventual final score of 9-3.
The Bobcats will hit the field again in Aberdeen on Sunday afternoon for another doubleheader against Kutztown. First pitch will be at 1:00 pm. For more information, visit frostburgsports.com.
