OBSERVER Photo by Roger Coda Fredonia’s Maddy Marsh delivers to home plate during Thursday’s softball game against Albion. Marsh was the winning pitcher.

Some of the names on the back of the jerseys may be fresh, but the postseason success synonymous with the name on the front is familiar for Fredonia softball.

The Fredonia Lady ‘Billies defeated Albion, 11-1, in a Section VI Class B-1 quarterfinal softball game at Fredonia High School on Thursday.

Fredonia (12-3, No. 2 seed) came into the year with plenty of question marks, as the senior-led core of the team from a year ago had moved on. Yet, Fredonia was not fazed by the departures, and Thursday could not have been a better example of that.

Maddy Marsh, a freshman, started the game in the circle for Fredonia — and she finished it, as well. The young standout pitcher only allowed one unearned run on the day in the complete game win.

“Maddy threw another great game,” said Fredonia coach Jesse Beers. “We played good defense today and made the plays when we had to. I like where we’re at.”

The day didn’t just belong to Marsh, however. Fredonia had a plethora of offensive standouts, notably from the young rising stars of the Lady ‘Billies. Kelly Gullo, a freshman, had a four-hit day, including a home run in the sixth inning. Sophomore shortstop Kazlin Beers had the biggest hit of the day, a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning, to put Fredonia ahead 3-0. The home run, which sparked a four-run inning, ended up as the game-winning hit. Fredonia added four more in the sixth frame, highlighted by Gullo’s home run.

“I think this proves that we can do big things,” said Kazlin Beers. “Age isn’t the only thing that matters. Everyone says that seniors need to be leaders, but I think the young people can be too. … No one had high expectations for us, but we’re just proving people wrong, just like we did with basketball. It’s been good so far, now we need to keep it going.”

Coach Beers, Kazlin’s dad, stated that the way the regular season played out had a significant role in the development of his young team. With many teams expecting Fredonia to be more vulnerable this season compared to recent years, the Lady ‘Billies are used to seeing the best that teams have to offer.

“We’ve been telling the girls all year that they are going to have a bullseye on their backs, regardless of how we’re playing. Because we’ve been so dominant the last couple years that we’re always going to get everybody’s ‘A game’,” said Coach Beers. “I think that has really prepared us well for the playoffs, because we know we’re getting everybody’s top pitcher, top effort game in and game out. We’re used to it.”

Kazlin Beers said her third inning home run “lit a spark to the fire,” while crediting teammate Maggie Mignoli for reaching base ahead of her on an error to be in position to score.

“Every big inning starts with an error,” said Kazlin Beers. “As soon as someone gets a hit, it gets everyone going. Everyone gets confidence, it’s contagious.”

Coach Beers said that the hit by Kazlin was even more important because it signaled that his team had finally broken through, after many hard-hit balls prior to that point did not result in hits for Fredonia.

“We hit the ball hard a couple times and we kind of came up empty,” said Coach Beers. “That (hit) loosened everybody up a bit. … For Kazlin to come up big and hit that home run really took a lot of the pressure off of the other kids.”

Thursday’s win was made even more special by Dunkirk’s defeat of City Honors less than an hour later. Now, Dunkirk will head into Fredonia for a semifinal matchup on Monday to determine a spot in the Class B1 final.

“It just makes us want it more,” said Kazlin Beers. “Our teams are equally athletic. Whoever wants it more is going to come out with the win. It’s going to settle the split we have right now.”

After the visiting team won each regular season matchup, the Lady ‘Billies will have one final chance to defend its home field, and to take the final meeting with its longtime rival, in the final home game of the year for Fredonia. The game will begin at 4:45 p.m. at Fredonia High School on Monday.

Twitter: @bradencarmen