WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Frostburg State Baseball team's win streak came to a close as they split their doubleheader against Wheeling on Saturday afternoon, falling 4-3 and winning 4-1. 

The top of the first in game one started out with a bang for the Bobcats, as freshman Tanner Cunningham led off with an inside-the-park home run to right field, making it 1-0 early. Sophomore Manny Hall followed with a single before stealing and then moving to third on a single by senior Jake Holler, however, the Cardinals worked out of the jam with a groundout. FSU sent sophomore Zach Dodson to toe the rubber, getting an early groundball out before a triple had WU threatening, but he was able to get out of the inning unscathed with two fly balls. After a couple of 1-2-3 innings from both offenses, Frostburg struck again in the top of the fourth, as junior Ryan Bouma hit a two-out single to left before classmate Logan Helser followed by beating out a ground ball to the pitcher, then redshirt sophomore CJ Carmichael worked a full count walk to load the bases. Sophomore Sam Atkinson was hit by a pitch while a walk to Cunningham moved everyone up twice, scoring a pair of runs to go up 3-0.

Wheeling had the momentum shifting their way in the bottom of the frame, as the first two batters walked before Luke Meyer singled up the middle, breaking up the shutout bid. Following a quick half inning from FSU, the Cardinals picked up right where they left off, with the first batter working a walk before he moved up to second on a sac bunt, then a triple brought in another run, which served as Dodson's exit for the game. Graduate Ty Morris came in for relief, surrendering two hits between a pair of outs to bring in another run for WU and giving them a 4-3 lead. The sixth went by without much action from either side, with freshman Drew Jourdan making a couple of nice snags at the hot corner before Frostburg had their last chance to add any runs, but Wheeling was able to get the last three batters via two groundouts and a swinging K to take the 4-3 victory. 

Holler, Bouma, Helser, and Cunningham each recorded a hit, with the latter tallying two RBIs, with Atkinson adding one. Dodson pitched 4.1 innings, allowing three runs on as many hits and striking out three, while Morris went 1.2 frames, surrendering one run on three hits.

Looking to turn things around in game two, Cunningham again led off getting on base, this time from an infield single before junior Jackson Schalick doubled in the left-center gap, scoring Cunningham to give the Bobcats another early 1-0 lead. On the mound, junior John Smith was handed the ball and worked out of the first inning fairly easily, overcoming a lead-off single before a scoreless second inning went by. To start the third, a four pitch walk to Hall and a single from Schalick put two runners on before Jourdan singled past the third baseman to bring in the former. After both Schalick and Jourdan stole a base, putting themselves in scoring position, Bouma knocked both in a single to left and putting Frostburg up 4-0. 

Smith kept dealing in the third, inducing two fly balls before working through a two-out double with a grounder to first. In the fourth, the Cardinals were finally able to break through with two hits, leading to a run, but Smith was able to keep the damage limited with a frame-ending fielder's choice. The next two innings flew by, as both defenses were able to keep runners off the bases, with the Bobcats making a nice 5-4-3 double play in the fifth. In the top of the seventh, FSU went down in order before Smith came back out to finish the game, getting three easy outs for the 4-1 victory

Cunningham, Schalick, and Bouma all had a pair of hits, with the latter two combining for three RBIs, as Jourdan brought another across. Smith earned the win going the full seven innings, surrendering just one run on five hits while striking out three. 

With the split, Frostburg's record is now 26-7 as WU moves to 25-9. The teams are back at it tomorrow, Sunday, April 12, as they continue their four-game series at 1 p.m. For more information, please visit frostburgsports.com