Pitching, defense lead Keyser over Mountain Ridge, 9-0

Mar. 22—KEYSER, W.Va. — Other than Morgan Pratt, Keyser's lineup wasn't its usual explosive self: The Tornado confirmed they're a complete team.

Keyser capitalized on five Mountain Ridge errors to generate four unearned runs; it had no errors itself. In the circle, Charity Wolfe spun a shutout gem. Though the Tornado weren't 3 for 3 in all three phases, their two was more than good enough.

Pratt started the Keyser scoring with a lead-off home run and ended it with a walk-off two-run shot to secure the run-rule, as the Tornado used pitching, defense and opportunistic hitting to down Mountain Ridge, 9-0, on Monday evening.

"Normally, you have to win two out of three (phases) to be successful, and normally hitting is our one followed by pitching and defense," Keyser head coach Chris Shoemaker said. "As a team, we didn't hit well tonight. We didn't make adjustments.

"We need to be challenged. ... It's good to struggle in an area to see that your other areas overcome that. I'm proud of the girls."

Expected to be one of the top teams in the area this year, Keyser hasn't disappointed. The Tornado's closest margin of victory through their 4-0 start entering Monday was 15 runs.

Mountain Ridge, meanwhile, was playing in its first game of the season, and it showed early on.

Following Pratt's big fly over the left-field fence in the first, back-to-back errors put runners on, paving the way for a Rylee Mangold sac fly and a Charity Wolfe RBI single for a 3-0 Keyser lead.

The Tornado got another runner on in the second when Ivy Bromhal reached on an error, and she'd later score on a throwing error. Alexa Shoemaker added two more in the fourth with a two-run single, making it 6-0, and one of those runners also reached on an error.

"They had some errors early that cost them," coach Shoemaker said. "Without that, it's probably a 3-0 or 4-0 game, which is fine. I'll take that."

While the Miners' defense displayed some growing pains, their pitching and offense had their moments.

Mountain Ridge pitcher Macy Quinn had a solid outing, allowing five earned runs — just two before the fifth and final innings — on nine hits, walking two. A pair of Miners in Avery Tipton and Maddie Pressman also notched first-inning hits.

For a first game, and with their top pitcher Tipton sidelined, it was a decent showing for Mountain Ridge against what figures to be one of the area's best.

"We started hitting the ball a little better," Miners head coach Dave Tipton said. "I thought we put the ball in play, obviously Keyser's a really good fielding team. We're young. I start two seniors, three freshmen and three sophomores.

"We made some mental mistakes in the field, but all-in-all, I thought we did all right. Macy pitched a really good game."

In the other dugout, Wolfe was her usual dominant self, allowing just one hit after the first inning in the complete-game shutout. After Wolfe walked her first batter of the game with one out in the second, she stepped up in a big way, retiring 10 straight hitters — seven via strikeout.

"Charity threw a great game," coach Shoemaker said. "That's her first walk of the year. ... We made some plays on defense. We did just what we needed to do to win."

Pratt's second homer scored two and ended the game with two outs in the fifth; she finished 3 for 4 with two runs and three RBIs. Shoemaker was 2 for 3 with two ribbies, a run and a steal, Wolfe was 2 for 3 with an RBI and a steal, Taylor Likens doubled and Makayla Gillaspie also swiped a base.

Keyser faces what may be its toughest test of the season tonight, when the Allegany Campers come to town with first pitch slated for 6 p.m.

The Campers edged the Tornado, 3-2, last year, and the 2022 edition will likely have razor-thin margins once again.

"We have to win all three aspects tomorrow night," coach Shoemaker said. "You have to out-hit them, out-field them and out-pitch them to be in that game. We know that, and that's the expectation to be in that game. We're looking forward to that of course."

Mountain Ridge (0-1) hosts Clear Spring on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

Alex Rychwalski is a sports reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @arychwal.