SHORT GAP, W.Va. — In a classic pitchers’ duel between No. 1 Frankfort’s Avery Noel and No. 3 Northern’s Bailey Champlin, both starters showed out.
It came down to a handful of pitches that the Falcons (7-0) took advantage of, holding on for a 3-2 win on Wednesday.
“I absolutely think we do, there’s times you need to be brought back down to reality,” Frankfort head coach Kim Root said of playing a competitive game. “Yesterday, 15-0, three innings, we were out of here in 45 minutes. The girls need a game every once in a while that’s challenging.”
In the bottom of the second, Noel (Liberty) only saw two pitches.
The second was a fly ball to left field that landed on the hill for a solo home run.
“Putting that one run up on the board opened things up for us,” Root said. “Getting baserunners on and knowing you got a strong hitter behind you that’s gonna move you around, I think it builds and carries through.”
In the bottom of the fourth, Adison Pritts (Potomac State) sent a line drive to to center field for an RBI double, taking third on the throw.
Claire Westfall went back-to-back with another RBI double on a ground ball past the shortstop.
Now trailing 3-0, Ada White opened the top of the fifth with a full-count walk.
Four pitches later, Champlin sent a fly ball deep into left center for a two-run blast to cut the Huskies (3-3) deficit to 3-2.
“I thought we were very competitive,” Northern head coach Kadi Cosgrove said. “Against a team like that, I was very proud of my girls. Frankfort’s a great team and has some really competitive and talented players. I was very proud of Bailey for coming alive there and having that home run. I think that brought the team to life.”
In the top of the seventh, Champlin hit a popup down the right field line that dropped for a hit, but Noel retired the next two batters to seal the win.
Noel went the distance, allowing four hits, two runs and four walks with 12 strikeouts.
Champlin went four innings in the circle, allowing four hits, three runs and a walk with a strikeout.
She led Northern going 3 for 3 with two RBIs, a home run and a stolen base.
“I think she went out on the mound and showed she’s confident and she threw some offspeed pitches and kept them on their toes,” Cosgrove said of Champlin. “They weren’t sure what was coming. She just kept them guessing the whole time.”
Rain Ritchey entered in the fifth inning and retired the side in order in two innings of work.
Champlin was the more efficient starter, only throwing 58 pitches while Noel finished at 118.
Northern fell behind 0-2 in the count 11 times against Noel, but saw at least four pitches eight times.
“A lot of our girls are 0-2 hitters, so sometimes when they’re down in the count like that I feel like our girls come to life,” Cosgrove said. “Not really nervous whenever we have an 0-2 count because a lot of times, our girls come through for us.”
The Huskies have now played wire-to-wire against the area’s top two teams.
Northern lost to No. 2 Allegany 4-3 on a walk-off home run by Mackenzie Monahan on Monday.
“I think our team has a great shot at going far this year,” Cosgrove said. “I was very happy with how they competed with the Falcons, and I think we came through with the Campers too, just a hard loss.”
For the Falcons, it’s the first competitive game since a 5-2 season opening win over Moorefield.
Frankfort had won its previous five games by a 51-1 margin.
“They stuck together, they play together one through seven,” Root said. “That’s something they can be proud of. I told them, this was going to be one of the closer games that we’ve played all season, maybe the closest game that we do play all season. They needed to go into it with the confidence that they can and will win. It’s a little closer than I would’ve liked to have seen, but they stayed in it.”
The Falcons head to Bridgeport on Saturday at 3 p.m.
The Huskies head to East Hardy (1-4) on Friday at 6 p.m.