Sophomore Jameson Walsh gutted through 5 2/3 innings on the mound, striking out eight while allowing five hits as Southwestern handed the Hillbillies their second league loss of the season.

Coupled with Gowanda’s 13-2 victory over Jamestown, Fredonia and the Panthers are tied atop the division standings with identical 8-2 records. The Trojans are a half-game behind with a 7-2 mark.

“We still control our destiny,” Fredonia head coach Tim Cowan said. “You can’t ask for more than that.”

Southwestern jumped on top with a three-run first inning Tuesday. Lucas Gilbert led off with a single and Judd Harris followed with a sacrifice bunt. After Aidan Kennedy was hit by a pitch, Walsh hit an RBI single up the middle and advanced to second on the throw home. Jayce Neal then hit an RBI single of his own before Max Marshall hit an RBI groundout.

Fredonia first baseman Alex Paluch runs to first for an out. OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman

“I’m really proud of the bottom half especially, coming through big,” Southwestern head coach Jared Brown said of his lineup. ” … We’ve talked about situational hitting and 0-2 hitting. … I thought we did a really good job of sitting back and going with the pitch.”

The Hillbillies answered with three runs of their own in the top of the second inning. Matt Cash reached on a one-out error and Trevor Persch walked before a passed ball moved the runners to second and third. After a strikeout, pitcher Owen Ludwig helped his own cause with a two-run single to left field. Andrew Cowan was then hit by a pitch and Simon Davis reached on an error before Gabe Schrader was hit by a pitch to force in the tying run.

Spencer Kane singled, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Harris to give the Trojans the lead for good in the second inning.

“He’s having a heck of a year. He’s producing. He’s laid down a lot of sacrifice bunts,” Brown said of Harris, who was filling in for middle-of-the order third baseman Dustin Hendrix. “He’s doing everything that we’ve asked. I couldn’t ask for anything more, especially out of a freshman. He’s a very poised baseball player.”

In the fourth, Southwestern added on three more runs, benefiting from a pair of Fredonia errors. Walsh led off with a double to right-center field before Neal reached on an error. After a stolen base put runners at second and third, Marshall drove in a run by reaching on another error. Kenyon Davidson then had the biggest hit of the afternoon for the Trojans, a two-run double to center field.

Fredonia's Trevor Persch slides into second base safely. OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman

“It was an uncharacteristic day for us. There were plays we probably make nine times out of 10,” Cowan said. “Throws faded at the end. A couple of in-between balls we couldn’t short-hop probably proved to be the difference in the end.”

The Hillbillies closed within three on an RBI groundout by Cash in the top of the fifth inning, but Southwestern tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the frame. Marshall singled and stole second before Kane moved Marshall to third with a single of his own. With two outs, Gilbert hit a two-run single to right field to make it 10-4.

Fredonia scored twice in the top of the sixth as Owen Rush hit a two-run double to left-center field, scoring Cowan and Simon Davis, but Kennedy relieved Walsh and Rush was thrown out at home on a double-steal attempt to end the threat.

“I think it’s fair to say it was not his best stuff, but I think if that’s not a kid’s best stuff and he’s still throwing that well, that’s really impressive,” Cowan said of Walsh. “His velocity was great throughout. He threw some really critical offspeed pitches in tough counts and kept us off-balance just enough.”

Fredonia will host Allegany-Limestone on Thursday before closing its week at rival Dunkirk on Saturday evening.

Fredonia pitcher Owen Ludwig throws to the plate. OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman

“It’s an incredibly competitive division, I would say perhaps the most competitive division in Section VI, top to bottom,” Cowan said. “We have four challenging league games left. If we can take care of business, we control our destiny. We can’t ask for more than that 10 games in.”

Southwestern will host Falconer today before traveling to Jamestown on Thursday and Allegany-Limestone on Saturday morning.

“Every single game is a grind. Every team has really good pitching and really good hitting,” Brown said. “As long as we go one game at a time, continue moving forward and getting wins, that’s all we’re really concentrating on.”

NOTES: Gilbert, Harris, Walsh, Marshall and Kane each had two hits for Southwestern. … Five different players had hits for Fredonia. Ludwig threw a complete game with six strikeouts on the mound.

Fredonia shortstop Gabe Schrader throws to first. OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman