The University of Mary Washington baseball team gained two ninth inning walkoff wins over Frostburg State University, 3-2 and 8-7, on Saturday to sweep the Bobcats and advance to the 2017 Capital Athletic Conference Tournament next week. The Eagles improve to 17-17 on the season, and 8-10 in CAC play.
In the opener, Frostburg went ahead with a solo home run in the third inning, and held the 1-0 lead until the bottom of the seventh. The Eagles tied the score as Tyler Truslow doubled to right center, and pinch runner Zavier Webb would come around to score on a double from Ramsis Ruiz.
After a scoreless eighth, Frostburg regained the lead in the top of the ninth with a run on two hits and an error. In the bottom of the ninth, Cody Beacorn was hit by a pitch, and advanced to second on a sacrifice from Garrett Lyons. Brian Burns then reached on an error which allowed Beacorn to score.
After Burns stole second, Christian Hague was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second. Junior David Slupek then connected for a single to right field to plate Burns with the winning run.
The Eagles had seven hits from seven different players, with Hague, Truslow, Ruiz, and Robert Cross posting doubles and Kyle Bynum a triple.
Bryant White gained the win, pitching 1/3 of an inning and allowing no hits or walks.
In the second game, which would amount to an elimination game for the conference tournament, Frostburg jumped ahead with two runs in the first and two in the second.
UMW exploded for six runs in the third to take the lead. Cross opened with a walk and moved to second on a single from Burns. Thomas Weaver then connected for a three-run home run to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Hague followed with a single and Slupek doubled to put runners at second and third. After a Bynum sacrifice fly, Truslow was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Ruiz walked to force in a run. Beacorn followed with an RBI single to push the Eagle lead to 6-4.
Frostburg tied the score in the sixth on one hit and three Eagle errors, but White induced a strikeout with the bases loaded to avoid further trouble. UMW went back ahead in the sixth as Hague doubled and Slupek walked before Truslow added a single to score Hague.
Frostburg tied the score at 7-7 with a pair of hits in the eighth, setting the stage for the home ninth. With two outs, Ruiz inside-outed a pitch down the right field line for a single, and Beacorn followed with a slow grounder for a single that was thrown away at first. Ruiz came all the way around from first to slide in with the winning run.
Hague had a single and double in addition to Weaver's home run, and Truslow,Ruiz, and Beacorn each had two hits.
Stephen Johnston gained the win in relief, allowing no hits or walks in 1.1 innings.
The Eagles will advance to the CAC Tournament on Tuesday when they visit top seeded Salisbury University.