ERIE, Pa. - The Frostburg State softball team made an improbable run through the losers bracket into Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship for the second year in a row, Saturday.
The No. 6 Bobcats (26-16) started the day off with a 3-1 victory over No. 4 seed Pitt-Greensburg. FSU was paced by freshman Brooke Speake (Burtonsville, Md./Blake) whose two triples delivered the deciding punch to UPG. Speake accounted for all three Frostburg State runs as she her first triple drove home a single run in the second innings and the second recorded two RBIs in the fourth inning.
Speake's clutch hitting supported junior Katelyn Coffey (Middletown, Md./Middletown) who tossed a complete game allowing just a single earned run in the sixth. The win evened up Coffey's record at 10-10 on the season.
Leading hitter Brooke Tapman (Pocomoke, Md./Pocomoke) enjoyed a 3-for-4 performance at the plate in the contest.
The Bobcats immediately turned around after the first contest for a revenge match against No. 3 Medaille (20-18) who defeated Frostburg State 1-0 in the first game of the tournament.
On the mound, it was a rematch of the first time the teams faced with freshman ace Megan Magee (Egg Harbor City, N.J./Holy Spirit) facing the Mavericks Amanda Westling. This time around the roles were reversed though as each pitcher tossed a complete game, but Magee held the upper hand for the entire contest allowing just three hits, while FSU struck Westling for an astounding 11 hits.
Tapman and junior Lindsay Freitag (Baltimore, Md./Parkville) provided the power for FSU at the plate and accounted for the Bobcats pulling out to a 5-0 advantage. Freitag scored on a Tapman sacrifice fly in the third inning and drove home single RBIs in the fourth and sixth innings.
Tapman made her mark in the sixth inning with a two-run homerun to left field plating senoirs Kaitlyn Wagner (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County) and Jayme Miller (Accident, Md./Northern). Wagner and Miller had each reached on singles earlier in the inning.
Medaille struck for two runs late in the sixth inning, but Magee found her composure to settle in with the 5-2 lead and retire the Mavericks in order in the bottom of the seventh.
Freitag and Wagner provided an excellent one-two punch at the top of the batting order as each had a 3-for-4 game to lead FSU.
Despite being outhit (6-5) in its third contest of the day Frostburg State ran Magee back to the mound to take her second victory of the day. The Bobcats made short work of No. 2 seed Mt. Aloysius (27-12) with a 3-0 win.
Tapman got the Bobcats on the board quickly by scoring on a Victoria Krichbaum (Olney, Md./Sherwood) single after hammering a two-out triple into the right center gap.
Magee kept the Mounties at bay by scattering five hits through five innings, while Frostburg State stood behind its pitcher with two insurance runs in the sixth inning. Freshman Jenna Delaney (Frostburg, Md./Mountain Ridge) plated Tapman with a double to right center before stretching the advantage to 3-0 by scoring on a Samantha Quirin (Lovettsville, Va./Loudoun County) single.
Tapman led the way for FSU with a 1-for-1 contest and finished 5-for-7 on the day with three RBIs and three runs scored.
Frostburg State outhit its opponents 28-to-17 and outscored them 11-to-3 as the three wins vaulted the Bobcats into the AMCC championship with a rematch of last year's championship against No. 1 Penn State Behrend. The series against the Lions will kick-off at 10:00 am at the PSB Softball Complex in Erie, Pa on Sunday May 3.
