FROSTBURG, Md. – Frostburg State baseball celebrated Senior Day in a big way on Friday afternoon at Bob Wells Field, sweeping Fairmont State by final scores of 4-1 in game one and 9-6 in game two.
Senior Franco Velasquez got the start in game one, but got into early trouble after allowing a leadoff home run to Justin Brown to make it 1-0 Falcons. After a single from the next batter Jacob Goodnight, Velasquez would strike out two of the next three hitters to end the inning.
Frostburg would get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning. With runners at the corners, junior Nick Benitez hit an RBI groundout to second base, allowing junior Jack Maruskin to score to tie it at 1-1.
After a 1-2-3 top of the third from Velasquez, the Bobcat bats would give their starter a lead to work with. With two outs and the bases loaded, Maruskin laced a pitch off the bottom of the wall in center field, clearing the bases with a three-run double to make it 4-1 Bobcats.
From that point on, Velasquez went into cruise control. He limited the Falcons to just one base hit over the final four innings of the game. Velasquez would finish the game with just four hits and one run allowed, while setting a new career-high with nine strikeouts in his first career complete game.
While pitching was the story in game one, it was the bats that broke out in game two, as all but one inning saw at least one runner reach base. Fairmont once again struck first, scoring on a throwing error by junior first baseman Bryce Jackson.
In the bottom of the inning, Jackson would atone for that mistake. After a single from senior Mitch Fyffe, Jackson launched a two-run home run well over the fence in right field to give the Bobcats a 2-1 lead.
After scoreless innings in the second and third innings, Goodnight would knot things up in the fourth with an RBI single to center. Frostburg would answer back with two more in the bottom of the fourth, thanks to an RBI single from senior Jared Mouton and an RBI double from Fyffe to make it 4-2 Bobcats.
Senior Caleb Smith got the start of the bump for Frostburg State in game two, and looked poised to pitch a 1-2-3 fifth inning. However, EJ Trickett had other ideas, sending a 1-1 pitch over the left field wall for a solo homer to cut the deficit to 4-3.
As was the case all game, Frostburg would answer back again. Benitez would hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth to score junior Andrew Smith to make it a 5-3 FSU lead.
Both teams had big sixth innings, with both rallies coming after each of the first two batters of the inning recorded outs. Zach Musgrove made it a 5-4 game after a double off the wall in right center field, and PJ Lanham would follow on the next pitch with a single to tie things at 5-5. Then, Tyler Haskin hit a ball to right that was ruled to be misplayed by Maruskin, which allowed the go-ahead run to score to give the Falcons a 6-5 lead.
Frostburg would fight back in the bottom of the inning. After Jackson singled with two outs and advanced to second on a wild pitch, he was able to steal third base to put himself 90-feet away with the tying run. The next pitch from Fairmont State pitcher Noah Seymour sailed to the backstop, allowing Jackson to score to make it a 6-6 game.
Later in the inning, Smith would put the Bobcats back ahead with an RBI double to left center field that allowed junior Josh Netterville to cross the plate. Maruskin and Benitez would both add insurance runs on back-to-back RBI singles to make it a 9-6 Bobcats lead.
Maruskin would be brought on to close things out in the top of the seventh. He would earn his first save of the season by recording the first 1-2-3 inning of the ballgame to earn Frostburg the Senior Day sweep.
The Bobcats and Falcons will play another doubleheader tomorrow afternoon in Bridgeport, W. Va. beginning at 1:00 p.m. For more information, visit frostburgsports.com.
