BUCKHANNON, W. Va. - Frostburg State Softball picked up a pair of key wins over West Virginia Wesleyan on Sunday evening, winning by scores of 6-5 and 6-3 to maintain a perfect 4-0 record in MEC play.
In game one, FSU started out on the front foot, with senior Kennadie Batchelor legging out a one-out infield single, then freshman Jamie Roberts singled to right after a fly-out to keep the inning alive, bringing up junior Brianna Powell, who launched a home run to take an early 3-0 lead.
In the top of the third, Powell came up with another big hit, a leadoff double to right, then stole third and was brought home on a single from sophomore Katie Ernst. WVWC responded in the bottom half of the inning, stringing together five singles to get back three runs with the score at 4-3.
Freshman Laura Gilford made her own offense in the top of the fourth, leading off with a single before stealing second and third, with the Wesleyan catcher erring the throw to third and allowing Gilford to score for a 5-3 lead. WVWC tacked on a run in the bottom of the fourth to get within one, then tied the game in the sixth on a solo home run that eventually took the game to extra innings.
Both teams had a scoreless eighth inning, with sophomore Sierra Sanderson starting off the ninth with a single and advancing to second on an error. Gilford moved her to third on a sacrifice bunt, allowing Batchelor to loft the ball just long enough for a sac fly and give Frostburg the lead back at 6-5. Freshman Katie Chapple shut the door with three straight outs in the bottom of the inning to earn the win, pitching four innings of one-hit ball in relief of sophomore starter Sydney Theobald.
The Bobcats again came out strong in the second game, with Gilford putting pressure on the defense with a walk and pair of stolen bases, being driven in on a double from freshman Jayla Hill. Roberts then reached on an error, paving the way for another three-run bomb from Powell for a 4-0 lead. Wesleyan put a run up in the bottom half of the inning, but FSU got the four-run lead back in the fourth thanks to some WVWC errors.
A two-run Wesleyan home run in the fourth cut the deficit to 5-3, but this time Theobald was the one to close things out, holding Wesleyan to just one hit across three scoreless innings to earn the save. Frostburg put one more run up on the board to close things out, with freshman Adriana Wimmer knocking in an RBI double to finish the scoring at 6-3 and earning FSU the sweep.
Powell led the offense on the day, going 4-8 across the two games, with a double, triple, and two home runs to the tune of six RBI. Chapple and Theobald both pitched well in relief of one another, allowing just six earned runs across 16 total innings while striking out six.
With the victories, Frostburg improves to 9-6 on the year, having won six in a row, while WVWC falls to 11-8-1. The Bobcats are back in action on Wednesday, March 23 for their home opener at Bobcat Field against Salem (WV), with the doubleheader scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. For information and updates stay tuned at frostburgsports.com.
