BLUEFIELD, W. Va. – The Frostburg State baseball team defeated Bluefield State to start the season of with a pair wins, 8-2 and 14-8 in their Saturday doubleheader. 

The first game would start as a pitcher's battle, as both starters would face the minimum batters and five of the six outs were strikeouts. Sophomore Jacob Stretch looked solid in his first start of the year after being used as a reliever for much of his freshman season, pitching four innings only giving up one hit and sitting down seven batters.
 
Stretch's dominance allowed the offense to wake up in the top of the fourth, as after three innings of going down in order, it looked as though the same would be true after two outs, but senior Trevor Jones belted a ball over the left field wall for a 1-0 lead as the first score of the season. The drive sparked momentum, as five Bobcats would come across the plate in the fifth, starting with senior Andrew Smith hitting a home run after sophomore Mikey Guy reached on a BSU error to make it 3-0. Four batters later, sophomore Danny Estrada added two more when he drove a ball over the wall, then Jones picked up another RBI on a single scoring sophomore Randy Steen, making the score 6-0.
 
Senior Ben Vok would come on in relief of Stretch, striking out the first batter he faced in a scoreless half inning. FSU would add another run in the top of the sixth as Guy hit a leadoff double and stole third, eventually being driven in on a sacrifice fly from junior Aidan Duda.

The Big Blue broke up the shutout attempt in the bottom half of the inning, then the sides traded runs on an RBI from Steen and a late Bluefield State run in the bottom of the seventh for the final 8-2 Bobcat victory, with freshman Joe Pippin making his first career appearance in the final frame. 
 
In game two, Estrada got Frostburg going with a triple to lead things off, scoring on groundout by Jones for an early 1-0 lead. Senior Jack Maruskin took the mound and picked up two strikeouts in the first, as both offenses remained quiet in the next couple innings. 
 
BSU finally got even in the game, capitalizing on an FSU error in the bottom of the fourth to tie things 1-1. The Bobcats would answer in the fifth, as Guy struck out but was quick to react on the passed ball, reaching first and eventually second after a walk by Smith. Some Bobcat small ball ensued, with sophomore Cy Probst laying down a perfect bunt to advance the runners, allowing both to score on a single by sophomore Christian Shertzer. Estrada then knocked his classmate in after a steal on a single to left, making the score 4-1. Steen and Jones proceeded to draw walks, then junior Ethan Kiple was hit by a pitch and Guy walked to set up a Smith RBI single, with Frostburg ahead 7-1. 
 
Another couple of scoreless innings followed, with Bluefield State getting on the board again in the bottom of the sixth on a two-out RBI double. Again, the Bobcats responded, as Jones launched his second homer of the day to lead off the seventh. Kiple reached on an error and moved up a base on a Guy single, bringing up junior Justin Jimenez to add another run with his single scoring Kiple. A wild pitch moved Guy and Jimenez to third and second, with Shertzer driving in both on a liner to left for an 11-2 FSU lead.
 
The Big Blue caught fire and put up six runs in the bottom of the seventh to suddenly make it a ballgame at 11-8. Kiple would hit a one-out double down the left field line, later being brought in on a Guy double to regain some momentum. In the ninth, the Bobcats would add two more runs on an RBI single from senior Aronne Dutton and a wild pitch, as sophomore Nate Vermillion would strikeout six over the last three innings to protect the lead and help FSU secure the 14-8 win.

With the victories, Frostburg begins the season 2-0, while BSU falls to 2-5. The Bobcats return to the field tomorrow, February 19 to finish of the weekend series against The Big Blue with a 1 PM start time. For more information please visit frostburgsports.com