Bobcats gets title, coach gets 100th win

Frostburg State captured the Capital Athletic Conference tournament in its first season in the league. Frostburg State sports information

Frostburg State used everything it had to go 4-1 in the 2011 CAC Tournament and bring home the conference championships and automatic bid to the NCAA D-III tournament.

The Bobcats had an unusual start to the day having to finish their fourth round game against Salisbury that had been delayed from the day before because of lightening. Frostburg State was up 8-7 in the bottom of the ninth and the Sea Gulls were threatening with two runners on. Senior Britton Quayle was in the game when it was suspended, but coach Guy Robertson put the ball in the hands of senior Greg Ross to get that third and final out. Ross worked a 2-2 count before throwing the third and final strike past Salisbury’s Nick Walls to advance to the championship game against No. 3 seeded Mary Washington.

With the win in the books, Robertson became the third coach in Frostburg baseball history to reach at least 100 wins.

Mary Washington came out in top of the first inning of the championship game with something to prove, and put up five runs before the Bobcats got an at bat. Frostburg got two back in the bottom of the first off a junior John Barrett two-run home run that brought home freshman Matt Donaldson.

The Eagles added another run in the top of the second and two more in the third to put the game out of reach of the Bobcats. Frostburg added two runs in the third to cut the lead to 8-4. Junior Garrett Price led off getting hit by a pitch and came around to score when classmate Doug Anuszewski singled to right. Senior Matt Ridenour and junior Adam Summerfelt hit back-to-back singles to drive home Anuszewski.

The Eagles added four more in the fifth, two in the seventh and one more in the ninth. The Bobcats put two runs up in the sixth, but could not overtake the Eagles.

The Bobcats, suffering their first loss of the tournament, needed just one more win to take the conference title.

The Eagles got on the board quickly with two runs in the top of the first, but Ross held them to just three runs, one earned, over his six innings of work.

The Bobcats would not be outdone and put up three runs in the bottom of the second to take the lead, one which they would not surrender. Summerfelt and junior Shane Boyd led off with back-to-back singles and senior Daniel Heatwole reached on a fielding error by the pitcher on a sac bunt. With the bases full of Bobcats, Price singled and drove home Summerfelt and Boyd to tie the game at two. With runners on the corners, senior Matt Greene singled through the right side to bring home Heatwole.

Anuszewski extended the lead to 4-2 with a solo home run to right field in the bottom of the sixth. To add a little insurance, Frostburg added two runs in the bottom of the sixth to push the lead to 6-2. With two outs, Heatwole lined a single to center and Donaldson doubled down the left field line to bring Heatwole home. Price got his second RBI single of the game to score Donaldson.