Fredonia’s Jaelyn Davis (9), Callie Draggett (18), Jordan Lucas (21) and Danielle Palisin, left, congratulate Jenna Fryberger after her first-inning grand slam in the Hillbillies’ 12-0 win over Wilson in the Section VI Class B crossover game Wednesday in Gowanda.
OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms
GOWANDA –Two seasons ago, the Fredonia softball team finished a postponed sectional final at Gowanda High School and defeated the Eden Raiders to claim its first title since 2015.
That began Fredonia’s run of three sectional championships in a row, but the past two years the ‘Billies have fallen in the Section VI Class B crossover game.
Fredonia’s third chance to get into the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Far West Regional game came Wednesday against Class B2 champion Wilson at its home away from home, Gowanda High School.
Making the most of their last season with senior pitcher Jordan Lucas, the ‘Billies gave her an easy day in the circle by plating enough runs for the mercy rule and won 12-0 in five innings.
“I honestly don’t know, but this is like our second home,” Fredonia head coach Jesse Beers said about Gowanda High School. “We’ve talked about it multiple times that we’ve never lost here. Whether it’s playoffs or when we play Gowanda, we’ve never lost here. It’s just a good vibe here, I wish we could keep playing here. It’s one of those things with baseball and softball, sometimes you get comfortable in certain places and we take advantage of it.”
The Hillbillies greet Rihanna Benner after her home run in the third inning.
OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms
While her teammates took the pressure off in the circle, Lucas still did her thing anyways and tossed her third no-hitter of the playoffs with 11 strikeouts in just five frames.
“To her credit, coming into this year she even said ‘This isn’t about me,’” Beers said about Lucas. “‘It’s not about me, it’s not about individual accolades, I want to get this team to states.’”
“That’s the mindset she’s had and just now in our circle I said we’re 21 outs away,” Beers added. “We’re 21 outs away from getting to that stage we’ve been trying to get to now for I don’t know how many years.”
With the kind of pitching Lucas provides, teams cannot make mistakes and must keep the scoring low. Early on, the Wilson Lakewomen learned that the hard way.
In the first inning, Fredonia eighth-grader Jenna Fryberger’s playoff run got even better when she hammered a grand slam over the right field wall to give the ‘Billies all the runs they would need. With one swing of the bat, many of the hopes of the Wilson players were dashed away knowing scoring five runs against Lucas is a herculean task.
Senior Jordan Lucas delivers to the plate during her no-hit performance in the circle.
OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms
“I was super excited my first at-bat,” Fryberger said. “I needed to make it go in play so I could score the first run. I was really just trying to get one run in to start the inning.”
Things went from bad to worse for the Lakewomen as the Fredonia bats stole the show. Danielle Palisin highlighted the second inning with an RBI double and then scored when a routine fly ball was dropped in right field allowing her to beat a play at the plate. Jaelyn Davis then knocked Lucas home from third on a single to give Fredonia a 7-0 lead after two.
Then, for the third straight inning, Fredonia scored when Rihanna Benner sent a towering shot over the fence in center field for a solo home run.
“We really battled up and down the lineup today,” Beers said about the offense. “Some girls had some success and some girls didn’t, but when you’ve got your No. 8 hitter hitting a home run to dead center it’s usually a good sign.”
The only inning Fredonia did not score in was the fourth, but Fryberger did manage another hit before finishing her day 2 for 2 with a grand slam and two walks.
Fredonia’s Sophia Gullo holds the Class B crossover plaque while posing for a photo with her teammates and coaches following the Hillbillies’ 12-0 victory over Wilson in Gowanda on Wednesday evening.
OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms
“She’s just been so hot for us ever since we brought her up,” Beers said about Fryberger. “I joked with Coach (Ed) Schrantz today after she hit the grand slam ‘I’m not sure I thanked you for mentioning what a good hitter she is.’ Just incredible poise for a kid her age and sometimes with youth ignorance is bliss. I think it’s a bit of both, she does put a ton of time in playing all year-round with a travel team and sometimes like this it’s just another game. I think maybe when the year is over, maybe a couple years down the road she will realize what big stages these have been and how she has performed, but right now I’m going to leave her alone and let her stay in her zone.”
Eager to get to their first Far West Regional since 2009, the ‘Billies plated all the runs they needed for the mercy rule in the fifth inning. Maddie Ambrose and Bella Buckley knocked singles, but the shining moment came from Palisin collecting her second double, driving in a pair of runs. Naomi Muck’s walk resulted in a run when Wilson dropped another fly ball, but the biggest walk of the game was Callie Draggett’s which walked off the game 12-0.
“Last year, I stayed up at night and wondered: are we ever going to get past the crossover game,” Lucas said. “So I am stoked, and no offense to the other team, to mercy was crazy, we thought it was going to be a close game. I’m so proud of my team, we got a scouting report of what we were going to see and we practiced a lot.”
Fredonia (21-0) finally got past the crossover game and showed why it’s ranked No. 2 in the state with an emphatic victory to get to the Far West Regional. However, Fredonia has the tall task of facing the No. 1 team in the state, Section V champion Wellsville (20-1), at Webster Schroeder High School on Saturday at 10 a.m.
“It’s going to be a tough road,” Beers said about trying to get to states. “I scouted Wellsville this past Saturday, they’re a quality team. I think every game from here on out is going to be 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, those types of games and it’s going to come down to who makes the fewest mistakes.”
In Fredonia’s most recent trip to the Far West Regional, it defeated Wayland-Cohocton 10-2, then defeated Section I’s Chenango Valley 5-1 in the state semifinals before falling to the 2009 state champion Mechanicville of Section II by a score of 3-1.
“It is amazing, it’s been a dream of mine since I was a freshman,” Lucas said about reaching the Far West Regional. “I really, really want to go to states. They call you out during school and everybody claps you out and it’s something I’ve been wanting to do my whole high school experience. So all the hard work I’ve put in, practices, offseason, have all led up to this and now I’m just unleashing it.”
Last season, Wellsville defeated Iroquois 15-5 in the Far West Regional before falling in the state semis to Section IX Marlboro Central 3-2.