FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Keyser senior Evan Jenkins produced nearly as many hits at the plate as he allowed in a complete-game victory as the No. 1 Golden Tornado defeated regional rival and Class AA No. 4 Fairmont Senior, 2-1.
Jenkins went 2 for 3 in the batters box and he tossed a three-hitter as Keyser won their 10th consecutive game. Jenkins walked just one batter and struck out seven while tossing 94 pitches.
“He was having a little trouble with his curve ball and locating it until the end. Then he started dropping that in. But his main pitch is fastball and slider and he had pretty good control of that today,” said Keyser head coach Scott Rohrbaugh.
“In the offseason, he worked out a lot on his own. So he was ready to go on day one.”
The teams traded runs in the middle innings. Keyser, ranked No. 2 in Class AA, broke a scoreless stalemate in the third inning when Josh Shoemaker scored on a wild pitch. Fairmont Senior evened the score in the bottom of the fourth. Dylan Ours drove an opposite field single to right field to send Brody Whitehair to the plate.
Keyser regained the lead in the sixth when Jenkins delivered his second hit of the game. His single to center sent Hunter Harr home with the eventual game-winning run.
“He can hit,” Rohrbaugh said. “He doesn’t go up there thinking. He just goes up there to see the ball and hit the ball. That’s why I have him batting in the six-hole.”
Jenkins retired the final six batters he faced to close out the game.
After dropping their season opener, last year’s Class AA state runners-up have won 10 consecutive games.
“They grind things out and they never quit,” Rohrbaugh said. “If we get down a run, we keep fighting. These are good kids. They get along well and they are very coachable.”
Fairmont Senior and Keyser compete on opposite sides of Region I, meaning they could square off in the regional round if both teams win their sectionals.
“We see what they’ve got now,” Rohrbaugh said. “And of course they see what we’ve got. Now it is not so much a guessing game. We have a little more knowledge.”
Fairmont Senior (10-3) starting pitcher Hayden Jones allowed just one unearned run in five strong innings of work. He allowed four hits, walked one batter and struck out three.
Keyser hosts Northern (5-4) on Wednesday at 6 p.m.