SHORT GAP, W.Va. — Frankfort head coach Matt Miller called Allegany’s performance Monday a “death by a thousand cuts.”
The second-ranked Campers slapped 14 hits, mostly singles — punctuated by a Myles Bascelli home run and four Kohen Madden base knocks — Caden Long pitched a quality start and they rolled to a 10-1 rout of third-ranked Frankfort.
“Good win for us today. Frankfort is a good baseball team,” Allegany head coach Jon Irons said. “We did something today that we’ve been trying to put together this first half of the season, and that’s putting the ball hard in play.
“We didn’t just get it in play. We hit the ball hard. When you do that, good things happen.”
The win was Allegany’s sixth in a row and improved the Campers to 8-2 overall. Frankfort fell to 6-5.
Allegany had two hits in the first inning loading the bags. While it didn’t result in any runs after Lanson Orndorf got out of the jam with a strikeout, the traffic on the bases was a sign of things to come.
The Campers scored three runs in the second inning, four in the fourth and three in the seventh. The Falcons’ lone run came in the fifth when a balk plated Orndorf, who reached on the teams’ only base hit.
It was an uncharacteristic day for Frankfort at the plate, as the Falcons scored 17 runs two days prior in a win over Grafton.
“They hit the ball well,” Miller said. “They hit the ball in the hole in the early innings with runners on base. Nothing was crushed, but they just found holes.
“Their pitching was great tonight. Caden (Long) pitched well to start for them. We let too many fastballs go for us. If you don’t swing at fastballs, you’re not going to be successful.”
Bascelli led the offense with a two-run home run in the fourth as part of a 2-for-4 day with three RBIs and three runs.
“Myles hits the ball hard,” Irons said. “I’m waiting for that one big game from him where he breaks out and goes 4 for 4, 4 for 5 because it’s coming.”
Kohen Madden had one of those days Monday going 4 for 5 with two RBIs, Bryce Madden was 3 for 4 and Josef Sneathen ended 2 for 4 with a double and three runs batted in.
Long picked up the win, allowing one run on one hit in 4 2/3 frames of work. The right-handed Frostburg State commit struggled with his command at times, walking five Falcons, but he was effectively wild, fanning nine.
“He didn’t have his best control, but he was effective enough,” Irons said. “Sometimes you have to learn how to pitch like that. You’re not always going to have your best stuff, but he still came out and had a quality start for us.”
Long ran out of steam in the fifth, and Madden entered and stranded a pair with a strikeout. The right-handed Glenville State commit threw 2 1/3 innings of shutout ball, striking out five and walking three.
It was an uneven day for Frankfort at the plate. The Falcons showed good plate discipline with the bases empty, drawing eight walks, but they couldn’t find a hit with runners on the bags.
Frankfort left 10 on and went down in order in just two frames: the first and fourth.
“You have to think fastball, adjust to curve ball, and I’m not sure that was our approach today,” Miller said.
Cam Lynch struck out his first at-bat but garnered three straight base on balls. On defense Lynch, the catcher, threw out a would-be base stealer in the first inning.
The Falcons used four pitchers. Orndorf tossed the first 3 1/3 innnings, Jaxon Hare came on in the fourth, Jesus Perdew in the sixth and Blake Jacobs in the seventh.
Hare had the best day for Frankfort, throwing 1 2/3 shutout innings of one-hit ball with two strikeouts and a walk.
Allegany (3-0 Western Maryland Athletic Conference) will look to keep the bats going at Mountain Ridge (0-8, 0-4 WestMAC) on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
Frankfort has a quick turnaround against Moorefield (5-7) on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
“That’s the great thing about baseball,” Miller said. “You can flush it down the toilet and play tomorrow.”