CARY, N.C. – The Frostburg State Baseball team secured a Friday sweep of Goldey-Beacom to start their weekend at the USA Baseball Complex, winning by scores of 9-2 and 5-3.
 
FSU sent sophomore Zach Dodson to the mound to start game one, as he worked out of a one-out single in the first with a fly ball to left and then picked the runner off trying to steal. The Bobcat offense gave him a quick lead, as freshman Drew Jourdan walked and got to third as sophomore Manny Hall doubled into left. After Jourdan was thrown out at home on a grounder, Hall came in to score on a senior Jake Holler sac fly to center.
 
Dodson maneuvered out of more trouble in the second, having given up a walk and a single but kept GBC off the board with a groundout before working an efficient 1-2-3 inning in the third. Frostburg went down in order in their next two trips to the plate, while the Lightning were limited to a walk in the fourth.
 
Goldey-Beacom finally got their offense going in the fifth, leading off with a double before a pair of singles and a hit by pitch brought in two runs to give them a 2-1 advantage. FSU hit right back in the bottom half of the frame, as freshman Johnny Antonelli led off with a single and was replaced on the bases by senior Tiernan Daly. Freshman Tanner Cunningham then reached on an error and Jourdan laid down an attempted sac bunt that was thrown away, allowing Daly to score and putting a pair of runners in scoring position. Hall poked a ball the other way to plate both, though he was thrown out trying to advance to second. Junior Jackson Schalick and Holler brought the momentum back with two straight singles, followed by freshman Will Mollman drawing a walk to load the bases. Junior Ryan Bouma was also given a base on balls to plate a run, then redshirt sophomore CJ Carmichael drove a sac fly into foul territory in right to bring Holler home for a 6-2 lead.
 
Graduate Ty Morris came on to replace Dodson in the sixth, quickly putting GBC down without much fuss and getting the Bobcat bats back to the plate. Cunningham was hit by a pitch to lead off, followed by Jourdan singling to the right side and Hall drawing a walk to put the bases full. Schalick ripped a ball up the middle to plate Cunningham before he and Hall were brought home on Mollman legging out a triple to the gap in right center to grow the lead up to 9-2. Morris went back out to finish off the Lightning, working a strikeout and a pair of fly outs to take the seven-run victory.
 
Jourdan, Hall, and Schalick all notched multi-hit games, while Mollman and Bouma each drew a pair of walks. Dodson tossed five innings, allowing five hits and the two earned runs to earn the win, while Morris had two scoreless frames with a pair of strikeouts.
 
Neither side would see a run cross until the sixth inning of game two, with a pitcher's battle taking place. Junior John Smith allowed just two baserunners through the first five innings while striking out four to keep Goldey-Beacom off the board. Frostburg's closest chance to score came in the top of the fifth, as Carmichael led off with a single while Jourdan was hit by a pitch, but neither would advance further in the frame.
 
Going into the bottom of the sixth, the Lightning were able to find a breakthrough, as a pair of doubles within the first three batters plated the game's first run, while sophomore Kamden Sowers worked out of further damage with a fly out and groundout. With the contest set to go nine innings, FSU finally got themselves going in the top of the eighth, with Scott leading off on a single before scampering around to score on a Schalick double into the gap in right-center with two outs that evened the score.
 
GBC responded swiftly in the bottom half, hitting a one-out knock to center then launching a homer to left to take a 3-1 advantage. Needing a response, the Bobcats were helped out by an error before junior Konner Pittman and Bouma drew a pair of walks to load the bases. A passed ball allowed Daly to score as a pinch runner, then Scott was hit by a pitch and Jourdan beat out a potential double play to plate the equalizing run at 3-3.
 
Junior Joey Serafin worked through the ninth and tenth allowing just a single in each inning, though Frostburg couldn't manage anything of their own at the plate. In the eleventh, Goldey-Beacom looked to take the victory with a pair of walks and a single with one out for a bases-loaded jam. Serafin breathed a sigh of relief through a called strike three, then a deep fly to left was tracked down by Schalick to keep the contest going.
 
Scott led off the twelfth with a walk, moved to second on a sac bunt by Jourdan and stole third to take the go-ahead run 90 feet away. After a pop-up caught by the Lightning catcher, Schalick was intentionally walked and caused some chaos on the basepaths, going to steal second and seeing the ball thrown into the outfield, allowing him to score and Scott to come across the plate. Schalick then was also brought in as a balk made things 5-3 going to GBC's final at-bats.
 
Sophomore Mac Crismond was entrusted to close out the game, getting the first batter he saw to go down looking. He then allowed a walk followed by a single the other way, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate. Coming out on top of a battle, he got the next batter to go down swinging, then got another backwards K to end the game, stranding the two runners and taking the sweep.
 
Smith tossed 5.1 innings with just one run allowed and three strikeouts, while Serafin and Crismond combined to throw the final four frames without allowing a score and striking out five between the pair.
 
With the sweep, Frostburg improves to 4-1 on the year, while Goldey-Beacom drops to 3-3. FSU will next face Slippery Rock at 11 a.m. from Cary tomorrow, February 21. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.