Derrick Walters made a statement in his favor on Saturday.

Walters threw a complete game shutout to lead Fredonia to victory, 8-0, over 6-seed Albion on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Class B1 high school baseball playoffs.

Fredonia (15-1, 3-seed) came into the playoffs under-appreciated by the seeding committee, as usual, and faced a tough opponent in sixth-ranked Albion. The Hillbillies struggled early on at the plate, with no runs in the first inning, one in the second and one in the third frame.

“Albion is a really strong team. They had a good pitcher on the mound and they came to play,” said Fredonia coach Vince Gullo.

OBSERVER Photo by Justin Goetz Fredonia Hillbillies pitcher Derrick Walters winds up to deliver a pitch during Saturday’s 8-0 win over Albion in the quarterfinals of the Class B1 high school baseball playoffs at Fredonia High School.

The Fredonia offense may have started off slowly, but Walters certainly did not struggle at all. Walters retired the first three batters in order, worked around a leadoff walk in the second inning to retire the next three in a row, then retired the side in order in the third frame, with strikeouts to begin and finish the third inning.

“As a 6-seed, they’re a really tough team, actually,” said Walters, who made quick work of Albion in the fourth inning, as well. Walters faced the minimum in the fourth thanks to an inning-ending double play started by Reid Tarnowski at shortstop.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Fredonia broke the game open with three runs, courtesy of a pair of Albion throwing errors. Seth Schrader had an RBI single with two runners in scoring position to plate Anthony Gullo, followed by Alec Schrader coming around to score on an error on the play. Seth Schrader later scored on a passed ball to give Walters a 5-0 cushion heading to the fifth inning.

“It feels good to have insurance like that,” said Walters. “It really helps with (my) confidence.”

Walters set Albion down in order once again in the fifth inning, then allowed only one runner to reach in the sixth on a hit-by-pitch that forced the Albion batter to leave the game. Fredonia held a 5-0 lead heading to the bottom of the sixth inning.

In the bottom half of the sixth, Fredonia loaded the bases with one out, forcing Albion to remove its starting pitcher. The next pitcher in allowed back-to-back walks with the bases loaded to Trey Swartz and Ryan Mroczka, prompting another pitching change. Walters hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score the eighth run of the game for Fredonia, giving himself an even bigger cushion heading to the final inning.

The only question remaining was whether Walters would return for the seventh inning after such a long delay, with his pitch count around 80. Walters did return to the hill — and he finished off Albion with a pair of strikeouts in the final frame.

Walters finished with only two hits, one walk and one hit batter, while tallying nine strikeouts in the complete game victory. Because he finished with under 100 pitches on the day, Walters will also be available for the next playoff game on Tuesday.

“He’s good to go,” said Gullo. “We still have Reid (Tarnowski) and Trey (Swartz) also. We’re in a good position right now.”

In addition to solid defensive play at shortstop, Tarnowski stood out for Fredonia at the plate, reaching base all four times he took his turn in the batting order. Tarnowski’s first inning single was the first hit of the game and his third inning triple led to Fredonia’s second run.

“He’s been through this so many times. He’s one of the leaders of the team and he had a really strong game. He got us going,” said Gullo.

Fredonia has been tested lately, with tough games against Dunkirk and Chautauqua Lake to finish out league play, followed by a tough quarterfinal matchup with Albion. Now the Hillbillies face Depew, the 2-seed in B1, on the road on Tuesday.

“We’ve just got to keep playing like we did today,” said Walters. “Our fielding was good, and getting those hits in the middle innings really helped. We’ve got to keep it up.”

Fredonia is no stranger to the big stage. Now the Hillbillies will be playing for a spot in the B1 Final, a title Fredonia has claimed in a state-record seven straight seasons.

“I hope these guys really enjoy games like this,” said Gullo. “We had to fight for the runs … and it was nice to see our defense come up big.”

Twitter: @bradencarmen