Frankfort beats Keyser, 5-1, to advance to section title game

May 9—KEYSER, W.Va. — Playoff games are often decided by exceptional individual performances; Jacob Nething had one on Wednesday.

Frankfort's junior centerfielder made a game-saving diving catch in the bottom of the sixth inning and doubled off the go-ahead run at second to preserve the tied ballgame.

Nething then ended the tie a half-inning later with a two-out, two-run single.

Behind the heroics of Nething, a four-run seventh and a complete-game gem thrown by Lanson Orndorf, Frankfort upended top-seeded Keyser, 5-1, on Wednesday night to advance to the Class AA, Region I, Section 2 championship game.

"They're really good," Frankfort head coach Matt Miller said of Keyser. "We made some plays defensively that helped us out and came through in the seventh inning and started to hit the ball like we're capable of.

"Huge win for us. Happy with where we're at, but we have a lot of work to do because I'm pretty sure we're going to see them in two days."

Frankfort improves to 17-8 with the victory and sits a win away from the section title. Keyser (17-4) is still alive in West Virginia's double-elimination playoff format, but it will need to defeat Grafton in an elimination game today for another shot at the Falcons.

Grafton (9-14) edged Berkeley Springs, 3-2, on Wednesday night to keep its season alive.

Frankfort and Keyser entered the seventh inning tied at one with Orndorf and Noah Broadwater locked in a pitcher's duel.

Nething came up to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs, and the at-bat was a rollercoaster of emotions.

The junior was irate with himself early in the count after watching a fastball down the heart of the plate; however, he was calm and collected when Broadwater left a 2-2 off-speed pitch up, and Nething served it into center field to break the deadlock.

"I saw a lot of curveballs, so that's what I was expecting," Nething said. "I watched two fastballs, wasn't happy about that, but I was expecting more curveballs. So I just sat back on the curveball."

Frankfort added two more runs a batter later on a pair of errors on the same play, a Uriah Cutter grounder to second base. The second run was cut down at the plate but was ruled safe due to obstruction by the catcher.

Down 5-1, Keyser got the lead-off man on in the seventh, but Orndorf retired the next three batters to finish off his complete game.

"Through six innings, it was a well-played game on both sides," Keyser head coach Scott Rohrbaugh said. "They put the ball in play and got hits. Against a team like that, you can't get three hits through six innings and expect to win. Hats off to them, they did what they needed to do."

Orndorf allowed one unearned run, which scored on a dropped fly ball in the third, on four hits with three strikeouts and one walk in seven innings of work.

The sophomore right-hander wasn't overpowering, but he trusted his defense by attacking the strike zone which in turn kept his pitch count low.

Broadwater took the loss, surrendering five runs (three earned) on eight hits with seven strikeouts and three walks in 6 2/3 frames. The right-hander's final batter was Nething's go-ahead single. He threw 114 pitches.

Cam Lynch gave Frankfort the start it needed with a two-out, opposite field solo home run in the top of the first. Lynch, who also doubled in the fourth, was 3 for 3 and scored two runs. Orndorf also had a multi-hit game, going 3 for 4.

Defensively, Lynch, the first baseman, made two put-outs by tagging the runner on high throws to first. The senior recorded the final out that way.

Frankfort out-hit Keyser, 8-4. Logan Rotruck had two hits, and Patrick Liller doubled in the second. The Falcons left seven runners on base, and the Tornado five.

Keyser will be looking to get its bats going ahead of a possible rematch with Frankfort, which it will need to defeat twice to repeat as section champion.

The Golden Tornado have prime opportunity to do that against Grafton — a team that Frankfort pounded 18-2 on Monday.

"We had adversity two weeks ago, bounced back. This is another day of adversity," Rohrbaugh said. "We'll try to bounce back tomorrow. That's all you can do. Tomorrow is a new day."

One key question mark for Keyser going forward is the status of ace right-hander Evan Jenkins, a Potomac State commit, who has an 8-0 record, 0.73 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 57 2/3 innings.

Jenkins wasn't available Wednesday due to arm discomfort, and his status is unknown.

Frankfort, meanwhile, is in the catbird seat, a win away from a section championship.

"We knew tonight was huge," Miller said. "Both teams played with high intensity, and it was just a fun game to be in. It's a huge win. What we can't do, is let it be an emotional high and think that this series is over because it's not. We've got more work to do."

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