FROSTBURG — Mountain Ridge was the better team in the fifth and sixth innings, and it decided Monday’s game against No. 4 Keyser.
The Miners (6-6) scored five runs across the two innings, leading to a 7-4 victory.
Destinee Johnson pitched a complete game for Mountain Ridge, allowing two earned runs on 11 hits and four walks with three strikeouts.
“She’s been pitching well, we talked a couple games ago about not giving up as many walks,” Mountain Ridge head coach Kim Jackson said. “Bearing down in certain spots and she’s certainly responded. She’s done a wonderful job on the mound for us.”
Gracelyn Shingler’s RBI double in the second inning was Mountain Ridge’s only hit through the first four frames.
The Miners recorded four hits in the bottom of the fifth including a bases-clearing go-ahead triple from Jaianna Wickline.
Wickline split the gap on a fly ball to right center, scoring two runs easily before a third crossed home plate after the outfield was late to get a throw in.
“They were extremely focused and they performed very well,” Keyser head coach Cody Spotts said. “We were not focused and let a lot of blunders happen that shouldn’t be happening, but it’s the name of the game.”
Later in the inning, Aubrey Wilson hit a line drive single to center to increase Mountain Ridge’s lead to 6-3 after five.
Wickline came through again in the sixth with an RBI double to left center as the Miners took a 7-3 lead into the seventh.
“She’s a senior and we had that talk at the beginning of the year, we expected those kind of things out of her,” Jackson said. “The two great catches she made, the two great hits, we told her at the beginning of the year she’s a senior and she needed to take that on.”
Wickline led Mountain Ridge going 2 for 3 with three RBIs and a walk.
Ivy Bromhal sent the first pitch she saw into left field for an RBI double in the top of the seventh, but was stranded at third to end the game.
The Golden Tornado (11-6) scored the game’s first two runs in the first off an error and a wild pitch.
Keyser took a 3-0 lead in the second on an RBI single from Brielle Root after putting seven baserunners on in the first two innings.
“I think it’s part of her becoming more mature,” Jackson said of Johnson’s ability to limit early damage. “She’s pitched for three years, two years ago that would’ve upset her. That’s part of the game and she’s just gotta shake that off.”
Shingler’s double and a groundout in the second cut the Miner deficit to 3-2.
Root, Bibs Felton, Ivy Bromhal and Edie Bromhal each recorded two hits for Keyser.
“We started squaring up the ball, but we were hitting it right at them,” Spotts said. “Their center fielder (Wickline) made quite a few good plays. They started to find the gaps, even between the bloop hits and gap shots, they were finding the open field and we weren’t.”
The Miners head to No. 4 Southern (7-3) on Tuesday before hosting Fort Hill (4-9) on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
The Golden Tornado travel to East Fairmont on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
“We weren’t focused, not taking anything away from them because they played great,” Spotts said. “We lost focus, we really weren’t focused the whole game and it showed.”