WEST LIBERTY, W. Va. – The Frostburg State Baseball team took the first two games of their four game series against West Liberty, with scores of 10-2 and 3-2 on Friday afternoon.
Frostburg got on the board in the top of the second inning in game one, as sophomore Cy Probst opened the inning with a double to left field, followed by a single from sophomore Christina Shertzer. Sophomore Randy Steen wss credited with an RBI singled up the middle, that allowed FSU to jump out to a 1-0 heading into the bottom of the second. In the top of the third, sophomore Mikey Guy reached base after being hit by a pitch, as junior Ethan Kiple connected with a pitch for a homerun over the fence of center field, to extend the Bobcats lead to 3-0. West Liberty would get their first runs of the game in the bottom of the third, scoring two, to bring the game to 3-2.
Both teams stayed quiet in the fourth, as junior Max Proctor kept the Hilltoppers hitless, to leave the game at 3-2. Frostburg got things going again on offense in the sixth, as Kiple doubled down the left field line, and scored on an RBI single from Shertzer. Senior Andrew Smith then reached base after drawing a walk, allowing FSU to have two runners on base, as junior Stafford Allison came up big for the Bobcats with a three-run shot over the fence of right center field, building Frostburg's lead to 7-2.
FSU kept things going on offense in the top of the seventh, as sophomore Danny Estrada drew a leadoff walk, and was sent around to score on back-to-back singles from Guy and senior Aronne Dutton, and an error by West Liberty. Kiple then hit a sacrifice fly, allowing another run to cross the plate for Frostburg, making the score 9-2. Sophomore Cael Huyer came into pitch in the fifth, finishing off the game for the Bobcats and continuing to keep the Hilltoppers scoreless since the third, helping Frostburg take the 9-2 victory in game one.
Estrada got the Bobcats on the board early in a game two with a lead-off homerun to right field to start the game. West Liberty grabbed two runs of their own, also in the first inning, to bring the game to 2-1. Neither team would score a run until the fifth inning, as both pitchers only gave up a pair of hits until then. In the top of the fifth, Steen opened the inning with a single, as Estrada followed with a single of his own to left field. Guy then sent a two-RBI double into right, to allow FSU to take the lead with a score of 3-2. The pitching staff of game two for Frostburg only gave one hit in the Hilltoppers last three at-bats, allowing FSU to hold on for the 3-2 game two victory.
Kiple led the way on offense for the Bobcats finishing the day with four hits, two runs, and three RBI. Guy and Shertzer each recorded a trio of hits, combining for a total of three runs and four RBI as well. Proctor recorded his fifth win of the season in game one, with Huyer recording his first save. Senior AJ Campbell earned the win in game two, his second of the season, while Kiple picked up his fourth save.
With the sweep, Frostburg improves to 17-12 on the season, while West Liberty falls to 9-21. The Bobcats will remain on the road for another doubleheader against West Liberty on Saturday, April 8 with the first game set for 1 PM. For more information and updates, please visit frostburgsports.com.
