Frankfort comes back to rout Mountain Ridge, 14-6
Mar. 30—SHORT GAP, W.Va. — Mountain Ridge stunned Frankfort with a six-run second inning Wednesday, but the Falcons didn't bat an eye.
Frankfort immediately responded with a five-run second inning — part of 12 unanswered runs — and Avery Noel came on in relief with three shutout frames to help the Falcons defeat Mountain Ridge, 14-6, in five innings.
"We went up and they (took the lead), and our girls didn't back down," Frankfort head coach Duke Lantz said. "They came right back to the plate. ... That's been the mentality of this team since last year. Getting down doesn't bother them. They will continue to fight."
Frankfort (3-1) entered off the momentum of a 5-1 victory over No. 4 Bishop Walsh on Monday. Mountain Ridge (2-3) was looking to bounce back after an 18-5 defeat to No. 2 Keyser on Tuesday.
The Falcons elected to start Aubrie Root in the circle Wednesday to spell ace Noel, who had 32 strikeouts over the team's last two wins.
Mountain Ridge took the lead in the top of the second when Macy Barth doubled down the left field line to plate a pair, and RBI knocks by Jaianna Wickline (triple) and Jordan Burris (single) put the Miners ahead 6-2.
All six Mountain Ridge runs came with two outs.
However, Frankfort took advantage of nine Mountain Ridge walks thrown by three pitchers, and Adison Pritts and Root tallied two hits apiece to lead a Falcons offense that scored five runs in the second inning and six in the third.
Noel entered the circle in the third and tossed three frames of scoreless, one-hit ball with six strikeouts and no walks to slam the door and secure a run-rule Frankfort victory.
Destinee Johnson took the loss for the Miners.
"Frustrating to say the least," Mountain Ridge head coach Dave Tipton said. "We come to practice every day prepared, and then we perform like that, it's rough.
"Our No. 1 pitcher, she got sick, so after that we started struggling a little bit. Tomorrow's another day."
Barth was a bright sport for the Miners, reaching base in all three of her at-bats, going 2 for 2 at the plate. The freshman outfielder, a left-handed batter, shot both of her base hits to the opposite field.
"She's a baller, she puts 110% in practice and it shows on the field," Tipton said. "If I can get other girls to give me that kind of effort in practice I think we'll be fine. She's doing a fantastic job, defensively and offensively."
Wickline added a triple for Mountain Ridge, which was out-hit by Frankfort, 8-5. The Miners stole five bases, led by Macy Guinn with two.
In addition to the free passes issued by Mountain Ridge, the Miners' defense gave Frankfort four free outs with errors. The Falcons had two defensive miscues.
Pritts topped Frankfort with a 2 for 3 day at the plate with two RBIs and two runs scored. Root was 2 for 3 with a double, an RBI and three runs scored. Noel ended 1 for 2 with an RBI and two runs. Emma LaRue scored three times, and Raley Nestor touched home plate twice. Delyla Mills doubled.
Frankfort returns to the field with another contest against an Allegany County opponent, as the Falcons will take on Fort Hill (2-1) on Friday at 4:30 p.m. at Washington Middle School.
"We've always played (Fort Hill) well, but we haven't been able to beat them," Lantz said. "I'm hoping that we continue to fight and battle and hope for good things. ... They're gonna be a worthy opponent."
Mountain Ridge will try to end its two-game skid when it takes on Southern (1-3) at home on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
Alex Rychwalski is a sports reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @arychwal.
