PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Frostburg State Baseball team dropped both games on their doubleheader 7-4 and 6-3 against Point Park on Saturday afternoon.

Freshman Tanner Cunningham led off the first game with a single to left before swiping second base, which was where he would stay as the Pioneers' pitching generated two flyouts to end the inning. The Bobcats sent out junior John Smith to start game one, and he began with back-to-back strikeouts before Olindo Pezzone rocked one over the left field fence for a homer as the opening score. The second and third innings didn't see much action from either offense despite a few hits, one being from freshman Landon Marple, before FSU was able to break through in the fourth. Junior Ryan Bouma launched a one-out double into the left-center gap before stealing third, which proved to be important, as senior Jake Holler hit a sac fly to right, scoring Bouma to tie the game at one apiece. 

In the bottom of the fourth, Smith came back out and shut down PPU's offense 1-2-3, allowing his offense to pick up right where they left off, as sophomore Sam Atkinson made it to second via an error before redshirt sophomore CJ Carmichael lined a single to left to put runners on the corners. With the top of the lineup up, Cunningham laid down a squeeze that not only scored Atkinson, but worked as a base hit as well to keep two Bobcats on base. That allowed for a junior Jackson Schalick hit to right to bring in Carmichael for a 3-1 lead.

When the bottom of the fifth came, Smith got the first out easily before another Pioneer homer added a second run. A pair of walks to Holler and junior Logan Helser put two runners on for FSU in the sixth, but a strikeout and a 4-6-3 double play kept the score right where it was. Pezzone put up another long shot to left to even things at 3-3 before junior Joey Serafin was able to get the next three outs from two flyballs and a swinging strikeout.

After Carmichael drew a four-pitch walk and took second on an errant pick-off throw, freshman Jourdan bunted for a single, bringing Carmichael home and giving Frostburg a 4-3 lead. Down to their last at-bats, Point Park worked a pair of hits before Serafin countered with back-to-back outs. After a full-count walk, Pezzone then put each runner across with one swing on another 3-2 pitch, putting a walk-off grand slam on the 7-4 win.

Cunningham led with a pair of hits and an RBI as Jourdan and Schalick each added a hit and an RBI. Smith pitched five innings, surrendering just two runs on five hits while striking out nine. 

A couple of singles from Jourdan and Bouma in the first inning of game two had the Bobcats threatening, but PPU shut things down, getting the last out via a line drive to right. Point Park got some more quick offense, as three walks, a single, and a wild pitch brought two runs across for the hosts. After a scoreless inning, Point Park added some insurance runs as a single and a couple of free passes loaded the bases, allowing a sac fly to bring one across and a steal of home put the lead at 4-0.

In the top of the third, the Bobcats cut their deficit in half, as Jourdan led off the inning with a double to center before moving to third on a passed ball, which allowed for a Bouma line out to work as a sac fly. To keep things going, Holler blasted a first pitch home run over the left field wall, bringing the score to 4-2. After a couple of scoreless half innings passed, the Pioneers were able to generate more offense as a two-out double followed by a single scored a fifth run. In the top of the fifth, Jourdan responded instantly, as he rocketed the ball over the left field fence for his first collegiate home run, making the score 5-3.

Redshirt sophomore Cody Sharman seemed to find his groove against PPU as he set them down in order via a pair of grounders and a pop-up. After another scoreless inning from FSU's offense, sophomore Kamden Sowers came out of the bullpen for Sharman, working to get the first two outs easily before the long ball struck yet again to give Point Park a three-run lead. With their last chance to make any magic for a comeback, the first two batters got out before Schalick singled, then made it to second on another error, however it wasn't enough momentum as the Pioneers got the final out via a grounder to finalize the 6-3 win.

Jourdan recorded three hits and one RBI as Bouma had two knocks and Holler one, each adding an RBI. Sharman and Sowers out of the bullpen combined for 4.1 innings pitched, allowing only two runs on four hits.

With the losses, Frostburg falls to 26-12 as PPU improves to 24-13. The Bobcats are back at it on Saturday, April 17, as they continue their four-game series against Point Park, with the first game slated for a 1 PM start. For more information, please visit frostburgsports.com.