The Hillbillies scored six runs in the first inning, sending every batter to the plate, and then some.

The visiting Gators failed to even put a ball in play their first time through the order. Nine up, nine down, with nine strikeouts.

Ashton Putney, Fredonia’s ace, was dialed in.

“It was quite a performance,” Fredonia head coach Tim Cowan said. “He certainly led by performance today.”

OBSERVER Photo by Ashleigh Brown Fredonia’s Ashton Putney delivers to the plate during Friday’s CCAA Division 1 baseball game against Allegany-Limestone at Fredonia High School.

The Hillbillies continued their dominant start throughout the rest of Friday’s Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 game en route to a 16-0 win over Allegany-Limestone.

While Fredonia managed to score 16 runs in the contest, the Hillbillies did so in just four innings. Fredonia scored the same amount of runs as Allegany-Limestone had at-bats in the game.

“There won’t be too many days where that happens,” Tim Cowan said with a smile. “That was a pretty special one.”

Fredonia (8-7, 6-3) got its first two runs of the game on a single by Brady Crawford to plate both Matt Cowan and Andrew Cowan. Colin Crowell, Luca Gullo and Pauly Tabone followed in order by all driving in runs for a 5-0 lead.

“In my first at-bat, I had a bad at-bat — I flew out — but I trusted the guy behind me. That’s all we’ve been thinking all year. One pitch at a time, trust the guy behind you, and we’ll get it done,” Putney said.

The second time through in the inning, Putney walked, Matt Cowan reached on an error for the sixth run and Andrew Cowan popped out to leave the bases loaded after six men crossed the plate.

After failing to score in the second inning, Fredonia poured it on even more in the third frame. While the Gators had yet to record a hit, Fredonia put together its second inning of batting around the order.

In the bottom of the third inning, Matt Cowan had a two-run single; Colin Luce drove in a run on a base hit; Colin Crowell smacked a line drive into left field for his second RBI single of the game; and three more runs came in by the time the inning closed. Even the final out came on a hit, as a runner was thrown out after Putney drove in a run with a single. Fredonia led 14-0 after an eight-run third inning.

Allegany-Limestone (4-9, 1-8) did not put a ball in play until the fourth inning, when a one-hopper went right back to Putney, who threw to first for the 10th consecutive out he was responsible for. He returned to form with the next batter for his 10th strikeout.

Finally, with two outs in the fourth inning, Allegany-Limestone got its first hit — but even that did not come easy. A line drive to second base went off the glove of Tabone, despite a valiant effort. It was just inches away from being the type of play that would be remembered as the moment when the no-hitter was saved. Instead, it was the one and only hit on the day for Allegany-Limestone.

“It took a line drive to take the no-hitter from (Putney) and we got a great effort going for it from second. He laid out and it was just out of reach. You tip your cap,” Coach Cowan said.

The Hillbillies responded with two more runs in the bottom half of the inning to push the lead to 16 runs. Just as he did in the first three innings, Putney struck out the side in the fifth frame for the five-inning, mercy rule victory.

Putney’s father, Mark, celebrated his birthday on Friday by holding a radar gun behind home plate. Mark sat next to his brother, Mike, to watch his son put together a dominant performance in his final home game in league play.

Putney’s fastball reached 88 miles per hour and consistently sat in the mid-80s. His offspeed pitches regularly sat 10 and 20 miles per hour below that, respectively. It all added up to one stellar showing from Putney on his dad’s birthday — five innings, one hit, no walks and 13 strikeouts.

“Efficient is an understatement,” Tim Cowan said. “… Thirteen strikeouts out of 15 outs is quite a performance. We’ll take it. He finished with a pretty efficient 67 pitches. … That’s excellent. It’s nice to see, it’s nice to play behind.”

Putney said “everything felt good” after the game. He even credited the mound for recently being redone. Putney said he focused on throwing strikes because he trusted his defense behind them, although that trust was hardly tested. Only three balls were even put in play — the fourth inning single, a flyout to Luca Gullo, and the comebacker he handled himself.

“If they put the ball in play, I had no worry in my head. I just tried to trust my defense. Credit to them, because if not, I’d be overthrowing all that stuff,” Putney said.

Coach Cowan added, “Ashton shined on the mound, but we had some really strong at-bats from almost everybody in our order. … He rightfully gets a lot of the attention with a performance like that today, and he’ll be the first to tell you the whole team had his back. That’s really what I’m most pleased with — that everybody contributed today.”

On Monday, Allegany-Limestone hosts Fredonia in a rematch. Before that, Fredonia is back in action today in a nonleague game at Gowanda. Postseason play is just a week away.

“We’re here to fight. We’re not going to be an easy out,” Putney said of his team’s mentality with the postseason approaching. “We’re going to do everything in our power, trust each other and have fun.”