SHORT GAP, W.Va. — Nobody was taking the ball from Frankfort’s Rhett Sensabaugh one out from a complete-game win Monday, and that includes his manager Matt Miller.
The veteran skipper made the slow trot to the mound after Allegany brought the tying run to the plate against the right-hander, and Sensabaugh, who ran his pitch count up to 95, wanted to finish what he started.
“In the (seventh) inning there with a guy on, I thought with one swing of the bat the game’s tied, so I was going to bring in Lanson (Orndorf),” Miller said. “Before I could even ask him how he felt, he’s like, ‘I’m not coming out of the (expletive) game.’”
Sensabaugh’s day was done three pitches later, the final delivery a called third strike to cap his complete game, driving third-ranked Frankfort to a 5-3 victory over second-ranked Allegany.
“He hit a perfect spot on a fastball, outside corner, end the game looking,” Miller said. “That’s a good way to finish against a very good Allegany team.”
Frankfort’s victory over its border rival was a tale of redemption in more ways than one.
The Falcons (14-6) fell to Allegany (10-4), 4-0, earlier in the season in Cumberland, and for all their accomplishments — most notably capturing the 2024 Class AA state championship — their senior class had yet to defeat the Campers over the course of their careers.
On a personal level, Sensabaugh was hungry to prove something after he didn’t make it out of the first inning in a start against Allegany last season.
The junior made it through all seven Monday, allowing three runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
A four-run Frankfort fifth inning provided him with all the support he needed, as Jacob Nething slotted a two-run single to right field to break a 1-1 draw, and two more insurance runs crossed on an error later in the frame.
Those two unearned scores proved to be the difference in the game.
“We made more mistakes than they did,” Allegany manager Jon Irons said. “We put ourselves in a position to win on the mound. Kohen (Madden) didn’t have his best stuff today. … But he’s young, that’s bound to happen when he’s carried the load like he has.
“Those mistakes became very big mistakes, and that’s what happens in the playoffs and it knocks you out.”
Kane Williams led the Campers’ offense going 3 for 4, including a solo home run with two outs in the seventh inning to get his team within two runs.
The left-hander also pitched two innings of relief, allowing two unearned runs on one hit.
Madden, who had a multi-hit game along with Landyn Ansel, was dealt the loss on the mound surrendering three runs on six hits in four innings. The sophomore right-hander struck out three and walked two.
Sensabaugh also played a significant role in Frankfort’s lineup, going 2 for 3 with a double — the team’s lone extra-base hit — and scoring two runs.
Jaxon Hare added a two-hit day for the Falcons.
Madden scored the game’s first run in the opening half-inning on a wild pitch, and Frankfort drew level in the second on a two-out RBI single up the middle by Hare.
After Frankfort’s decisive frame, Allegany got a run back in the sixth on a balk to pull within 5-2, and it put runners on the corners with two outs for its leadoff man Myles Bascelli.
Bascelli stung a pitch to right field, but Uriah Cutter made the grab to limit the damage.
Both teams played well defensively for six innings, the exception being the fifth frame in which each squad made two miscues.
Frankfort’s two errors in the top of the fifth didn’t come back to bite it after Sensabaugh induced a fly-out and a line-out.
Allegany dropped a pop-up foul early in the bottom half, a precursor to its untimely muffed grounder
“We took advantage of a couple of their mistakes,” Miller said, “especially the two runs we scored at the play at short there. It’s tough for a pitcher to go to the field like that. He’s really good. Sometimes that happens. … We needed those two.”
Frankfort will try to make it five straight wins when it heads to Hampshire (6-12) on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Allegany, which had its seven-game streak snapped Monday, hopes to start a new one when it hosts Broadfording on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
“That’s why we like having teams like Frankfort on the schedule,” Irons said. “They show you your weaknesses and they exploit them. When you make a mistake, they make you pay for them. Two good baseball teams. Good game.”