SHORT GAP, W.Va. — Frankfort is playing its best baseball of the season, and its performance Tuesday served as proof.
The Falcons fell 4-1 to Philip Barbour in Morgantown 38 days ago. They entered the playoff rematch with the Colts 16-2 since, and they put their improvement on full display.
Frankfort reached base safely 17 times, Lanson Orndorf was one over the minimum in a no-hit performance, and the top-seeded Falcons bludgeoned No. 4 Philip Barbour, 15-0, in four innings in a Class AA, Region II postseason rout.
“We hit the ball extremely well tonight,” Frankfort manager Matt Miller said. “We were very selective at the plate against a pretty good pitcher. Lanson (Orndorf) was dominant, didn’t give up a hit all night, walked a (No. 9) hitter. He would have thrown a perfect game.
“Defensively, when we needed to make a play, we did. So when you do all the phases of the game correctly, we’re pretty good.”
Frankfort (21-7) has won 13 of its past 14 games and advances to the region final awaiting the winner of Philip Barbour (15-13) and Moorefield (14-11) on Thursday.
The Falcons got off to a 3-0 start after an inning and separated for good in an eight-run second frame where they brought 11 batters to the plate.
Jesus Perdew blasted a bases-clearing triple to ensure a crooked number in the second.
Frankfort displayed mastery of the strike zone, drawing three walks in the first and two in each of the next two innings to put constant pressure on the Philip Barbour arms.
“Kale (Wolfe) doesn’t walk anybody,” Philip Barbour skipper Jonathon Carpenter said of his starting pitcher. “So I don’t know what exactly was going on there, and I care not to comment much.”
Perdew drove in four runs in total, Jaxon Hare was 2 for 3 with a double, two RBIs and three runs, Braeden Laffey finished 2 for 3 with a double and two ribbies, Charleston signee Blake Jacobs drove in a pair, and Gunnar Bradshaw added an RBI.
Jackson Lawrence scored four times as a courtesy runner for Orndorf.
The right-handed Orndorf was efficient from the start, retiring the game’s first six hitters on 16 pitches and setting down eight straight before a two-out walk to Keagan Wolfe in the third.
Orndorf, who is signed to Charleston, responded with a strikeout to strand his lone base-runner, and he retired the final three hitters he faced in the fourth to secure a no-hitter.
Orndorf struck out five in his 40-pitch, run-rule-shortened outing.
“If you want the truth, Lanson, he was very dominant today,” Carpenter said of the difference between Philip Barbour’s win over Frankfort during the regular season and Tuesday. “He was able to get ahead, pitch ahead, did a good job changing speeds, hitting spots.
“He was definitely an all-state pitcher today.”
Wolfe was tabbed with the loss for Philip Barbour, surrendering 11 runs on seven hits in two innings. Dayton Morrison and Braxton Carpenter toed the rubber in relief.
Frankfort is now in the driver’s seat, able to rest its pitching while its eventual region championship game opponent battles through the loser’s bracket.
The Falcons need to be beaten twice for the title.
“We feel like we’re the better team,” Miller said. “They got us earlier in the year. We left 14 guys on base. We didn’t do that today. So we made that adjustment. We hit the ball much better and got a win.”