CHARLESTON, W. Va. – After a two day, 12-inning affair in their fourth game of the MEC Championship, presented by YES! Chevrolet and YES! Ford, the Frostburg State Baseball team secured their spot in the Championship game with a 7-6 victory over Concord.
 
As the game began on Saturday afternoon, FSU came out of the gates firing, using the momentum of their Friday night win into the first inning. After a groundout to short began the game, sophomore Danny Estrada lined a shot over the wall in right to put the Bobcats on the board at 1-0. Junior Ethan Kiple followed with a single into left, then sophomore Mikey Guy chopped a ball towards third on effectively a swinging bunt, to which CU's catcher fired well wide of first and allowed Kiple to come all the way around to score. Sophomore Cy Probst put the cherry on top the inning with a two-run blast to left-center that gave Frostburg a 4-0 lead.
 
Senior Jack Maruskin got the start on the bump and struck out the first batter he saw, but the Mountain Lions threatened to get themselves right back in the game. A pair of walks and a single into center loaded the bases with just one out, but Maruskin got an important strikeout after a battle with Brendan Brady, finally earning a swing and miss after six straight foul balls in a 2-2 count. Concord did get on the board after a wild pitch plated the runner from third, but a groundout to second ended the threat with the score at 4-1.
 
Frostburg tried to work some two-out magic in the top of the second, with a single, hit by pitch, and walk loading the bases, but a grounder to the shortstop ended the threat with no runs coming across. CU came storming back in the bottom half of the frame, using three two-out hits, including a pair of doubles, to take a shock 5-4 lead before a fly out to center finally ended the inning. The Mountain Lions tacked another run on in the third with a couple of singles leading to an RBI groundout and a 6-4 advantage.
 
The Bobcats found a response in the top of the fourth, with sophomore Christian Shertzer leading off with an infield single, then coming in to score after a couple of miscues from the Concord defense. Having reached on an error, junior Stafford Allison got to third after a bunt single from sophomore Randy Steen, then was driven in on a sac fly to center by Estrada to tie the game 6-6.
 
In complete reverse fashion from the first four innings, neither team plated a run for the next seven frames in a pitching duel between the sides. On in relief, senior Andrew Smith tossed near-perfect fourth and fifth innings, allowing just one baserunner on a walk, then junior Ethan Kiple was stellar over the next six frames, striking out four with just one hit given up.
 
Frostburg had a great chance to take the lead in the top of the ninth, as the bases were loaded with just one out, but a strikeout and line out to center ended the threat and took the game into extra innings. As Kiple continued to quiet the CU offense, FSU had another chance in the top of the tenth, putting a pair of runners on with two outs, but a grounder to third took the scoring chance away.
 
Finally, in the top of the 12^th inning, a run was put up on the scoreboard for the first time since the top of the fourth inning. Sophomore Jerry Crispino laced a liner down the line in left for a lead-off double, then moved to third on a sac bunt from Allison. Steen lofted a ball to shallow left, with head coach Anthony Williams desperately wanting a lead, sent Crispino from third, narrowly beating the throw with a textbook, head-first slide for a 7-6 lead.
 
Due to the lateness of the game and a rain delay, the contest was suspended due to the Charleston Dirty Birds needing the stadium for their home Atlantic League game, moving the tournament game into Sunday morning.
 
At the resumption of the game, Kiple picked up where he left off, getting the first batter he saw to ground to first. The Mountain Lions were determined not to let their undefeated run end, putting back-to-back hits into the outfield to put a pair of runners on with just one out. After a visit from pitching coach Dean Peterson, the Second Team All-MEC reliever reared back and imposed his will over the next two batters, striking both out to seal the victory and advance into the championship game.
 
Steen, Kiple, and Probst all had multiple hits, while also combining to provide all five Bobcat RBI's. Kiple was also brilliant in closing out the game, tossing seven innings of shutout ball, allowing just three hits while striking out six to earn his fourth win of the year.
 
The total in-game duration was three hours, forty-nine minutes, with the full game taking over 20 hours to complete.
 
With the win, Frostburg improves to 33-19 on the year, while the Mountain Lions fall to 29-20. The Bobcats await the result of the final elimination game of the tournament between Concord and Charleston (WV), set to begin at 4 p.m. The Championship Game will then be played at 7 p.m. in a winner-take-all contest. Information and updates will be posted at frostburgsports.com.