AVON, OHIO – Frostburg State baseball dropped both ends of its Saturday doubleheader at Notre Dame (Ohio), falling 7-2 in game one before losing 8-7 in game two after losing a late lead. Frostburg's record drops to 10-23 on the season, while the Falcons now stand at 14-20.
The Falcons struck first in the bottom of the first, as Ben Ross got his 4-for-4 day started with a leadoff home run to make it 1-0. Frostburg would bounce back and take the lead in the third, as junior Bryce Jackson would knock in the first run of the inning on an RBI groundout. Senior Ryan Roell followed with an RBI single to left, bringing home first-year Justin Jimenez to make it 2-1 Bobcats.
Frostburg's offense would be held in check for the remainder of game one, as Notre Dame would score six unanswered runs to earn the victory. The Falcons would re-take the lead for good in the bottom of the third on a pair of run-scoring singles by Nick Farrell and Nick Petrolla.
Farrell would add another RBI single in the fourth inning, as his base hit preceded a sacrifice fly by Jacob Fonderlin to increase the NDC lead to 5-2.
Two more Falcons crossed the plate in the sixth, as Ross and Fonderlin both drove in their second runs of the game to give Notre Dame a 7-2 lead.
In game two, Frostburg got out to a 4-0 lead after scoring twice in each of the first two innings. The two runs in the first came after Jackson and Roell launched back-to-back solo homers. Jackson added two more in the second after his single scored both junior Josh Netterville and first-year Chase O'Dell.
Fonderlin would get the Falcons on the board in the bottom of the third, as his ground rule double made it a 4-1 game. Another ground rule double scored a Falcon run in the fourth, this time off the bat of Aaron Miller to cut it to a 4-2 game.
The Bobcats stretched the lead in the fifth, starting with a two-run homer from junior Andrew Smith to make it a 6-2 FSU lead. Later in the inning, O'Dell would add another with an RBI single to make it 7-2.
Notre Dame would rally late in the game, however, as Ross started the comeback in the sixth with a double down the left field line to make it a 7-3 game. Later in the inning with the bases loaded, Michael Zeuli singled to left to drive in another run to make it 7-4. Austin Mora would then follow with a two-run single to draw the Falcons within a run.
Notre Dame would complete the comeback in the bottom of the seventh. With the bases loaded, Fonderlin drew a walk to tie the game at 7-7. The next batter was Petrolla, who would hit a sacrifice fly to center that brought home the winning run, as Notre Dame came away with an 8-7 win.
The Bobcats and Falcons will do battle again tomorrow in a doubleheader that gets underway at 1:00 p.m. For more information, visit frostburgsports.com.
