AVON, OHIO – Frostburg State baseball split its doubleheader with Notre Dame (Ohio) on Sunday afternoon, losing game one 7-2 before coming away victorious in game two by a score of 10-8. The Bobcats' record now sits at 11-24 on the season, while the Falcons are now 15-21.
Notre Dame put up three runs in both the first and second innings to take an early 6-0 lead in game one. Frostburg would get on the board in the fourth inning, as a groundball from first-year Stafford Allison allowed senior Mitch Fyffe to score to make it 6-1. The Bobcats would add another in the fifth on a home run from sophomore Hayden McLaughlin to make it a 6-2 game.
Notre Dame would add one more run in the bottom of the sixth on a single from Nick Petrolla to bring the Falcons to the 7-2 win.
Game two was a slugfest, with both teams banging out 16 hits and Frostburg scoring in all but two innings. The Bobcats would strike in the top of the first on a double from senior Ryan Roell, but Nick Farrell would answer back with a solo shot in the bottom half of the inning to tie things at 1-1.
Frostburg would score three more in the second, the first coming after a double from first-year Justin Jimenez to make it 2-1 FSU. Junior Josh Netterville followed with an RBI triple to make it 3-1, followed by a Roell single later in the inning to make it 4-1. Notre Dame would get another run back in the bottom of the second on an RBI single to make it 4-2.
After a scoreless top of the third from Frostburg, the Falcons would capitalize in the bottom half of the inning. Jacob Fonderlin launched a two-run homer to left-center to tie things at 4-4.
The Bobcats would put two over the fence in the top of the fourth to regain the lead. Junior Bryce Jackson sent one over the wall to make it 5-4, while two batters later fellow junior Andrew Smith also knocked one out of the park to give Frostburg a 6-4 lead.
Ben Ross would play long ball as well, as his homer in the bottom of the fourth brought the Falcons back within one. Later in the inning, NDC would retake the lead on a two-run single from Petrolla to make it 7-6.
The middle of the order was the story for the Bobcats in game two, as the duo of Jackson and Roell stepped up again in the fifth. Jackson gave Frostburg the lead back with a two-run double to make it an 8-7 game. Roell would then knock him in with a single to left field to give the Bobcats a two-run lead at 9-7. The Falcons would get a run back on a sacrifice fly from Ross to pull back within a run at 9-8.
The sixth inning would be the only frame in which neither team scored, however both sides left runners in scoring position. Frostburg had runners at second and third with one out, but failed to score. Notre Dame had a man at second with one out and suffered the same fate.
In the seventh, Roell put a cap on his big game two, launching a home run to give Frostburg State a 10-8 lead. First-year Nate Vermillion would come on in the bottom of the seventh to close things out. After allowing two batters to reach base, he forced a foul out to end the game and earn his sixth save of the year.
Frostburg wraps up the regular season in the next week, as they will play a four-game series against Fairmont State. The series will get underway on Friday afternoon at Bob Wells Field, with a doubleheader set to start at 1 p.m. For more information, visit frostburgsports.com.
