FAIRMONT, W. Va. – The Frostburg State Softball team earned a pair of hard-fought wins over Davis & Elkins in a Friday sweep that put them above the .500 mark for the first time this season.
 
In game one, the Senators took early control, putting up three runs in the first inning and another in the second for a 4-0 lead, but that would be all of their offense on the day, as FSU began to mount their comeback.
 
Freshman Jayla Hill continued her season-long power with a two-run shot in the top of the third to drive in freshman Laura Gilford that halved the deficit to 4-2. Both teams went scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings, before the Bobcats were able to tie things in the top of the sixth. The first two batters grounded out, but freshman Samara Funk and junior Brianna Powell earned back-to-back walks to keep the inning alive. Sophomore Katie Ernst came up with the big hit, a double to right field that scored both runners and tied things at 4-4.
 
Freshman Katie Chapple came on for sophomore starter Sydney Theobald in the bottom of the sixth and kept D&E quiet offensively, paving the way for a monster top of the seventh for the Bobcats. The inning began with a walk from sophomore Sierra Sanderson, who then stole second and was driven in on a triple by Gilford to give Frostburg their first lead of the day. Senior Kennadie Batchelor followed up with an RBI single for a two-run cushion. A double play put the Bobcats at two outs, but again FSU kept the inning alive. First, a single from freshman Jamie Roberts put a runner on, then a walk from Funk brought up Powell, who crushed a three-run homer to left-center to cap the five-run inning and put Frostburg ahead 9-4.
 
 Chapple shut the door in the bottom of the seventh, helped out by a nice defensive double play, to secure the win for the Bobcats.
 
Davis & Elkins once again took an early lead in game two, scoring a run off of Chapple in the top of the first, but once again, were unable to generate any offense beyond that. The Senators managed to keep the Frostburg bats quiet until the top of the fourth, when another RBI double from Ernst scored Batchelor and knotted things at 1-1.
 
After a scoreless fifth, FSU once again worked their two-out magic in the sixth, with Hill, Roberts, Powell, and freshman Adriana Wimmer all singling one after the other to take a 3-1 lead. Chapple threw scoreless sixth and seventh innings to earn the win and the sweep for Frostburg.
 
The wins put the Bobcats at 7-6 on the year, while the Senators fall to 2-15. FSU returns to the field on Sunday, March 20 for a road doubleheader against West Virginia Wesleyan, with the first pitch set to be thrown at 1 p.m. For information and updates stay tuned at frostburgsports.com.