SHORT GAP, W.Va. — The importance of pitching was on full display in Monday’s game between No. 1 Frankfort and No. 2 Allegany.
Rylee Mangold threw a complete-game shutout for the Falcons (8-0) and struck out 16 batters.
She allowed four hits and a walk as Frankfort won 3-0.
“Rylee is high-energy, she keeps up high-energy,” Frankfort head coach Kim Root said. “She’s throwing well, she’s a very high dominance in the circle. Her pitches are on command, she does what’s asked of her.”
In the other dugout, Jordyn Sneathen allowed three runs in the first inning, then tossed five shutout frames to keep the Campers (6-2) in the game.
Sneathen’s final line was six innings with eight hits, three runs and three walks with seven strikeouts.
In the fourth inning, she stranded two runners in scoring position while leaving a runner on third to end the fifth.
“Rylee’s a four-year starting pitcher, she’s awesome, she threw a great game,” Allegany head coach Dave Winner said. “But I will say this, Jordyn threw equally as good of a game against their lineup. That was great for Jordyn, that’s a great game.”
The past several seasons, the Campers featured two consecutive aces in Kyra Pittman and Abi Britton who are now playing softball at Pitt and Penn State, respectively.
Last season, Britton earned the Gatorade Player of the Year for Maryland with 252 strikeouts across 102 innings and only one earned run all year.
After pitching in five games last season, Sneathen has thrown 43 innings for a 2.72 ERA so far in 2025.
Sneathen has allowed one or fewer runs in six of eight appearances.
“We don’t have Pittman and Britton who both are pitching D1 right now,” Winner said. “Jordyn’s only a junior, she’s 6-1 this year. We do have to score more runs. It’s a different team, but it makes it kinda fun. You gotta play softball and if you score, you have a chance. If you don’t, you don’t. But I think J’s gonna be right there next year when she’s a senior.”
Last season, the Falcons averaged seven runs per game, but allowed nine a night and finished 9-17.
So far this spring, Frankfort hasn’t allowed more than two runs in a game and has outscored its first eight opponents 62-5.
Mangold holds a 0.00 ERA in three games, striking out 33 in 14 2/3 innings.
Her teammate, Avery Noel, holds a 0.78 ERA with 17 punchouts across nine frames.
Mangold (Kent State) and Noel (Liberty) are both committed to Division I programs.
“Last year, we struggled pitching,” Root said. “Last year offensively, we were doing a lot better than we are now. I can’t really put my finger on where that’s at. Having their dominance in the circle is a huge asset to us, especially when offensively we’re not performing the way we should be.”