SHORT GAP, W.Va. — After finishing as Class AAA state runner-up and compiling a 23-9 record, Frankfort was selected as the area champion by a panel of local sportswriters.
Frankfort had an area-best 9-1 mark in area games, its lone defeat coming to Allegany, which it split with.
“We had a really good year,” Frankfort manager Matt Miller said. “Against area opponents, we split with Alco but won every other game. Pitching was great all year long. We started off slow at the plate, but we hit the ball well at the end.
“It was a great season. Lot of very good wins. We didn’t lose any games to teams that weren’t very good. We didn’t have any bad losses.”
Frankfort has won the area title six times previously, half of which came under Miller in 2016 and ‘18-19. Joe Alkire led the 2010 Falcons to one, and they won it twice under Tim Foley (‘01, ‘05).
Allegany had won at least a share of the past three area titles under Jon Irons, winning it outright in 2022 and ‘24 and splitting it with Northern in ‘23.
Frankfort’s seven titles rank third-most all-time behind Southern (11) and Allegany (eight).
The area championship is determined by the final area sportswriter poll, which is chosen by a panel of six voters: Jeff Landes, Jordan Kendall, Kyle Bennett and Alex Rychwalski (Cumberland Times-News), Chapin Jewell (Mineral News Tribune), and Trevor King (Garrett County Republican).
Frankfort received three first-place votes and 26 points in the poll overall, edging Maryland Class 1A state champion Allegany (18-4), which notched two first-place votes and 25 points, for the title.
The duo was followed by Northern (18-3) with one first-place vote and 17 points, West Virginia Class A state champion East Hardy (14-15) with 14 and Fort Hill (11-8) and Petersburg (19-7), which tied for fifth, with four votes.
The highlight of Frankfort’s season was a two games to one victory over Bridgeport in a three-game regional series, the clincher a 10-6 result on the road on May 31.
Bridgeport, a nine-time state champion, has won seven titles over the last 11 years.
Frankfort had lost to Bridgeport seven out of eight times in regional finals or in the state tournament.
“Everyone all year said, ‘Sorry that you’re in AAA, you guys would have a shot if you were in AA,’” Miller said. “Hopefully, we proved people wrong beating Bridgeport. It was the exclamation point on a really good season.”
Frankfort’s area title was a reversal of last year’s, where the Falcons won the Class AA state championship but were bested by Allegany for the area crown after a pair of decisive defeats to the Campers.
This season, Allegany won the Class 1A state championship, but Frankfort eked out an area title over the Campers.
Asked if he felt Frankfort deserved the area title this year, Miller said:
“I think our players played well enough to win the area. Split with Allegany. Very successful throughout the season. Our strength of schedule is very impressive. Both Allegany and Northern are great teams, but so are we.”
Frankfort boasted a balanced lineup with eight hitters batting at least .290 in Blake Jacobs (.412), Jacob Nething (.390), Lanson Orndorf (.382), Jaxon Hare (.341), Rhett Sensabaugh (.329), Jesus Perdew (.312), Lane Lease (.294) and Gunnar Bradshaw (.291).
Jacobs led the team with four home runs, 11 doubles, 45 runs scored and 20 stolen bases, and Nething’s three triples and 35 runs batted in topped the Falcons.
Orndorf, a right-hander committed to the University of Charleston, was the team’s ace, finishing with a 7-3 record, two saves and 2.85 ERA in 66 1/3 innings with 76 strikeouts to 14 walks.
Hare provided the Falcons with a one-two punch. The right-hander went 7-2 with a 2.83 ERA 54 1/3 frames, striking out 52 and walking 21.
Sensabaugh also had a 2.33 ERA in 30 innings.
Orndorf, Jacobs and Nething were named to the Class AAA All-State first team, and Hare and Uriah Cutter landed on the second team.
Orndorf, the Potomac Valley Conference Division 1 Player of the Year, was honored as Area Player of the Year on Saturday.
He made the All-Area first team along with Jacobs and Nething, and Hare made the second team.
Asked what Miller will remember most about this team, he said:
“The fun the kids had together in the dugout is something I’ll remember. Last year we were very similar to this season, but they were older this year. The camaraderie was better. I’ll remember the bus trips as well as I’ll remember the games. They came out of their shell.”
Frankfort graduates four seniors in Nething, Cutter, Lane Lease and Jules Pattison but returns the bulk of its production.
With the Falcons slated to return to Class AA next season, they’re expected to compete for a state championship again.
“The expectations will be to get back to Charleston to finish the job,” Miller said. “We know how hard it is to win the whole thing. There are some good teams and players between now and then, but we want to earn our AA title back.
“We did what we had to do in AAA, but if we were where we belonged, we really believe we’d have another one.”