OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Kazlin Beers, far left, hugs Sydney Bigelow after Bigelow’s game-winning hit scored Laural Erick, far right, during a CCAA Division 1 West high school softball game against Chautauqua Lake, Monday, April 8, 2019, in Fredonia. The Fredonia Lady ‘Billies won the game, 4-3, in eight innings.

Editor’s Note: This is the first among a series of memorable games from the high school spring sports season revisited throughout the summer.

When it comes to high school baseball or softball, early season games are often just a time for teams to figure out who they are — a time for trying new things or new positions, or maybe just for warming up for the rest of the season, while waiting for the weather to warm up, too.

But on Monday, April 8, Fredonia and Chautauqua Lake proved that is not always the case. Two teams who already had a very good idea about their own identity squared off in one of the most thrilling softball contests of the entire season.

In the end, Fredonia came away with the win by the most narrow of margins, as a controversial play at the plate gave the Lady ‘Billies a 4-3 victory over the Chautauqua Lake Lady Thunderbirds on that Monday afternoon in early April at Fredonia High School.

“What a great early season game. Holy smokes. A great early season game to really set the tone going forward,” said Fredonia coach Jesse Beers after the game.

The game had plenty of storylines leading in, as Chautauqua Lake entered as the defending NY State Champions. The Lady Thunderbirds defeated Fredonia in a winner-take-all game for the CCAA West 1 Division title the last time the two met on the Fredonia High School field. That game came down to a go-ahead, game-winning two-run home run in the seventh inning by Cameryn Hawkins, the lone Chautauqua Lake senior on the 2018 team.

This one took even longer than that to decide a winner.

Early on, the two pitchers performed as well as expected, as both Chautauqua Lake’s Olivia Anderson and Fredonia’s Maddy Marsh put up zeroes through the first two innings.

In the bottom of the third inning, Fredonia struck first with three runs. A throwing error allowed the first run across and two more followed later in the frame.

Chautauqua Lake got a run back in the next half inning, but failed to tie the score with runners left on base in the frame. The Lady Thunderbirds added another run in the fifth inning, while Fredonia was held at bay once again by Anderson in the circle. As the game progressed, once again Chautauqua Lake came to the plate down a run to start the seventh inning, in Fredonia. Though Chautauqua Lake didn’t claim the lead this time around, Cianna Braymiller’s infield single with two outs tied the score at 3-3 to keep the game alive. Fredonia could not answer in the bottom half, which sent the game into extra innings.

Chautauqua Lake had a leadoff double in the eighth inning stranded in scoring position to end the top half of the extra frame. Then, Fredonia came to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning, hoping to capitalize on its second opportunity of the day to leave with a walk-off win over the defending champs.

While Hawkins was the only departure from the 2018 team, among all the familiar faces between the two squads, it was a newcomer to the matchup that scored the winning run. In fact, it was a newcomer to the sport altogether.

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Fredonia’s Grace Mroczka worked a full count and finally reached base on a walk. That prompted Coach Beers to make the decision to turn to Laural Erick as a courtesy runner for Mroczka. Erick, who was a heralded soccer star at Fredonia known for her lightning speed, had never played softball at Fredonia before and had already committed to play women’s college soccer in the fall at Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Fredonia’s Sydney Bigelow — a college athlete in her own right, who later committed to play softball at Mercyhurst North East (along with Chautauqua Lake’s Braymiller) — came to the plate next. Bigelow connected with an Anderson pitch to send a single into right field. As Erick approached second base, the screams of Coach Beers behind third base of “Get here!” prompted Erick to turn and head for third. The throw to third was wild and sailed to the fence blocking the visitor’s dugout. Erick quickly darted toward home plate, while Chautauqua Lake catcher Chadelynn Johnson prepared for the play at the plate. Erick slid in and the home plate umpire signaled she was safe, which sent the Lady ‘Billies darting from the dugout to celebrate a 4-3 walk-off victory over the defending State Champions.

“It feels amazing,” said Erick after scoring the run. “My team needed me and I came in and did my job. … Honestly, all I thought was get my foot to the bag. I just needed to go for it and I needed my foot to get there. … Everything else stopped for a second. It was just foot to the bag, then I heard everyone screaming.”

Chautauqua Lake’s side was vocal in their protest of the call at the plate.

Chautauqua Lake coach Sue Teets said that Johnson “definitely had the tag on her. Even if she did hook around and touch the plate, there’s no question that the tag was on her,” after the game. Chautauqua Lake fans first shouted at the umpires, who quickly departed after the contest’s conclusion, then directed their frustration toward Coach Beers.

After the contest, both teams stressed how it was just one game among many on the schedule. As it turned out, both teams later went on to play another thrilling one-run game later in the year, in Mayville, that eventually decided the league title once again, in favor of Chuatauqua Lake for the second straight year. Both teams also went on to appear in Section VI Class finals, with Fredonia falling in the Class B2 final and Chautauqua Lake with a surprising loss to Portville in the Class C1 final.

But as much as the rest of the year entailed, that early game in April was one that will linger in the minds of both sides for years to come. That was the kind of game that rivalries are made from, and after three straight one-run games with huge league implications attached, it’s quite exciting to look forward to see what the next chapter from these two teams could possibly bring.

Twitter: @bradencarmen