Mike Mathews
Cumberland Times-News
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SHORT GAP, W.Va. — Jeff Conley, whose exceptional performances at the plate, on the mound and in the field helped lead the Frankfort Falcons back to area prominence, was voted the John “Skip” Cook Memorial High School Baseball Player of the Year by area head coaches.
The big season led the Falcons and Conley to triple-crown years. While Frankfort won the Area, Appalachian Mountain Athletic Conference and Class AA sectional titles, Conley was named Area player of the year, AMAC player of the year, and was first-team Class AA All-State.
Conley is the fourth Falcon to be voted player of the year in baseball. The others were Corey Dolly (2005), Justin Jenkins (2002) and Josh Dolly (2001). The list of previous players of the year is featured in today’s Scoreboard page.
Conley batted .409 with six doubles, two triples, three home runs and 22 runs batted in to help lead a potent Frankfort offense. He also stole 22 bases for the Falcons, who were 28-8 overall and 15-1 in the conference.
“Jeff worked very hard and became a smart hitter,’’ said Frankfort head coach Joe Alkire. “He always could hit. He worked on becoming very selective and also being very aggressive. He would really study and had an awareness of what a pitcher may throw in any situation. He was well prepared.”
Conley is also a repeat selection on the All-Area first team. As a junior, he was a first-team infielder after hitting .433 with six doubles, four triples and two homers.
Conley also ranked among the area leaders in wins, earned run average and strikeouts as a pitcher. He posted a 6-1 record with one save, three shutouts and a 2.28 ERA. He struck out 93 batters in 46 innings, an average of two per inning and 14 per game.
“There’s a lot of things that helped make him a good pitcher, but I think the biggest thing was his location,’’ Alkire said. “He was unafraid to throw any of his three pitches — fastball, curve, changeup — anytime. He was very confident he could get people out.
“He had great control and great confidence.”
A three-year starter, Conley leaves the Falcons with an huge hole to fill at first base.
“One of the reasons we brought him up as a sophomore was because he was as good as anyone I had seen at first base, even at that age,’’ Alkire said. “He was very agile around the bag and saved a lot of infielders throwing errors because of his defensive ability. He was that way from the time I remember him back in the Hot Stove League.”
Conley also was first-team All-Area in soccer. He will be continuing his baseball career at Alderson-Broaddus College.
“Jeff was kind of a shy kid when he started out as a sophomore, but he turned out to be a very confident leader. He was the one that kept us going,’’ said Alkire. “He was very intense and very much into the game and tried to keep everyone else in it, too. His passion for baseball is unmatched and it reflected on everybody.”
Mike Mathews is a Cumberland Times-News sportswriter. He can be reached at mmathews@times-news.com
