INSTITUTE, W. Va. – The Frostburg State Baseball team secured another road conference sweep, winning 10-4 and 5-2 against West Virginia State on a hot Sunday afternoon. 

The Bobcats couldn't have asked for a better start, as junior Brian Scott led things off with a hit by pitch before freshman Tanner Cunningham laid down a beautiful sac bunt, followed by junior Jackson Schalick beating out a grounder to put runners at the corners. That would set up senior Jake Holler, who rocketed one over the left field fence for a quick 3-0 lead. Sophomore Kamden Sowers toed the rubber to start, striking out the first batter he saw before allowing a solo homer, however he recovered by getting the next two batters out via a grounder and another K. The top of the second went by quickly for FSU before Sowers was once again a victim of the long ball, as the Yellow Jackets lowered their deficit to one. 

A one-out hit by pitch to Holler, followed by him stealing second, put freshman Drew Jourdan in a perfect position to drive him in with a single up the middle. After Jourdan got caught stealing third, Logan Helser drew a four-pitch walk before junior Ryan Bouma belted a homer, his second on the weekend, to give Frostburg a 6-2 lead. Back out in the third, Sowers went 1-2-3 before his offense added more in the fourth. Leading off, Scott walked, advancing to second on a Cunningham single, then a Schalick single brought Scott home for the seventh run. WVSU responded with a double into the gap in left-center and a single to plate a run, as freshman Bryce Bauer came in to close things out on a swinging strike. The Yellow Jacket run didn't deter the Bobcats, as Bouma reached after getting plunked, then redshirt sophomore CJ Carmichael sent a 3-1 pitch over the left field fence to make it a 9-3 game.

Bauer struck out the first batter in the bottom of the fifth, then worked out of a single and walk with back-to-back K's to hold the six-run lead. FSU added another in the sixth, as Jourdan singled before swiping second, then Bouma sent one to center to get to double-digit runs. Junior Branden Brown came into pitch in the sixth, as an error, wild pitch, and sac fly plated one run, with a fielder's choice preventing further damage. Entrusted to get the last three outs, Brown set down the side in order in the bottom of the seventh, giving the Bobcats the 10-4 win.

The offense was led by Schalick, Carmichael, Holler, and Bouma, all of whom recorded two hits, with the latter pair tallying three RBIs apiece. Sowers pitched 3 ? innings, allowing three runs on six hits as Bauer and Brown combined for 3 ? innings out of the bullpen, surrendering just one run on a hit and a combined six strikeouts.

The first three innings of game two flew by, as sophomore starter Hunter Layhew got himself out of a jam in the second, having allowed a walk and single before working a fly out and back-to-back strikeouts. FSU finally broke through in the fourth frame, as Cunningham led things off with a hit by pitch, then Schalick followed with a bunt for a hit and Holler singled through the left side to score Cunningham. Some more small ball on a safety squeeze by Jourdan allowed the runners to advance, as Schalick scored on a sac fly from freshman Will Mollman, giving Frostburg a 2-0 lead.

Back up to bat in the bottom of the fourth, WV State led things off with a single before playing some small ball of their own, using a walk, sac bunt, and sac fly to cut the deficit in half. Layhew was able to limit the damage to just one run, however, as Jourdan fielded a hot shot, stepped on third, and threw to first for an inning-ending double play. In the top of the next frame, Scott began things with a walk before Cunningham singled on a bunt and Schalick walked to load the bases. After a pop-up, Jourdan skied one to center for a sac fly that scored Scott, then a wild pitch allowed the runners to advance two bases as Cunningham used his speed to score and go up 4-1. The Yellow Jackets again found an answer in the bottom half, using a pair of singles, a fielder's choice, and a walk to score a run, as junior Joey Serafin entered the game and stranded runners at the corners with a swinging strikeout. 

The sixth inning went without much action from either side, as Serafin put WVSU down 1-2-3. The Bobcats were able to score a huge insurance run in the top of the seventh, as Schalick singled before stealing second, then scored on a Jourdan single to give FSU a 5-2 lead heading into the final half inning. Serafin came back out looking to shut things down, which he did after surrendering a lead-off single, as he generated two flyouts and a K, giving Frostburg the 5-2 victory.

Schalick recorded a pair of hits as he scored two runs, while Jourdan recorded two RBIs on the afternoon. Layhew earned the win, pitching four innings and allowing just one run on three hits, as Serafin earned the save, going 2.1 innings, allowing no runs on a hit and striking out two.

With the win, the Bobcats improve to 15-6 overall and 7-1 in the conference as WVSU drops to 7-15. Frostburg is back at it next weekend on Saturday, March 28, as they face West Virginia Wesleyan for a doubleheader starting at 1 PM at Bob Wells Field. For more information, please visit frostburgsports.com.