HUNTINGTON — Frankfort weathered an early deficit, then leaned on senior ace Lanson Orndorf and timely execution Saturday evening to capture the WVSSAC Class AA baseball championship with a 5-2 victory over Logan at Jack Cook Field.
The title is the second in three years for the Falcons (27-7), who won the state championship in 2024 and returned to the mountaintop after falling short a season ago.
Logan (23-13) manufactured runs in each of the second and third innings to grab a 2-0 lead despite managing just three hits against Orndorf.
The Wildcats broke through in the second when Tanner Akers singled and later scored on Ivan Miller’s sacrifice bunt. An inning later, Adam Baisden singled, moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt and came home on a Frankfort error to extend the advantage to 2-0.
Orndorf never allowed the game to get away.
The senior right-hander settled in after the rocky start, limiting Logan to one hit over the final four innings while striking out eight and walking two in a complete-game effort. He threw 94 pitches and allowed just two runs, one earned.
“My command,” Orndorf said. “My command has always been good throughout my career, and just spotting both sides of the plate. That’s a good lineup. They’re very patient, so they weren’t going to chase breaking balls off the plate. I had to make them hit strikes and then break off the plate.”
Frankfort answered immediately in the bottom of the third.
After Carson Durst was hit by a pitch and Braeden Laffey walked, Orndorf was also plunked to load the bases. Jaxon Hare followed with a sacrifice fly to left field, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
The Falcons seized control an inning later.
Jesus Perdew opened the fourth with a walk and Gunnar Bradshaw followed with a single. After Rhett Sensabaugh moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, Durst delivered an RBI single through the right side. Laffey added a sacrifice fly to tie the game before Orndorf ripped an RBI triple to right field, scoring Noah Jeffries and giving Frankfort a 4-2 lead.
“I told Blake that I’m keeping them off balance, they’re not on the barrel,” Orndorf said. “If we can just put up two or three, we can win this game. That’s what happened.”
The Falcons added an insurance run in the fifth when Bradshaw reached on a fielder’s choice that brought home Cole Shanholtz.
Meanwhile, Orndorf retired nine of the final 11 batters he faced. Logan’s best remaining opportunity came in the fifth when Landon Hall walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch, but Orndorf responded with back-to-back strikeouts.
The Wildcats never advanced a runner past first base over the final two innings.
Frankfort head coach Matt Miller said he never panicked after Logan’s early runs.
“I told our guys last night, if we play our game, we’re going to win this game,” Miller said. “I know Coach Goertz is going to do a great job of generating some runs because he’s such a great coach, but I knew if we played our A game, we’d get the job done.”
The championship capped an extraordinary run for Frankfort’s senior class.
Miller called the group the “greatest collection of athletes in school history,” pointing to state championships and deep postseason runs across multiple sports.
“This senior group, and this is across the board – football, baseball, basketball, everything – this is the greatest athletic group that’s ever come through Frankfort High School,” Miller said. “They’ve proven it without a doubt.”
Orndorf closed his career in fitting fashion. The longtime ace finished with 296 career strikeouts and added another state championship performance to his resume.
“I’d have to say this is better than the sophomore year,” Orndorf said. “Just because this is my last game, and to go out with a win is just awesome.”
Logan, making its first state championship game appearance since 1997, finished as state runner-up after a season that included an impressive turnaround following a slow start.
“I still take my team against anybody,” Logan coach Kevin Goertz said. “We battled all year, tough schedule. Hey, finish second, finish runner-up … not bad. I’ve coached for 40 years,” Goertz said. “I’ve never seen a closer group of young people than that group right there.”
