The Trojans are now 4-0 to start the year and 2-0 against league opponents while the Cougars are 0-3 overall and 0-1 in the league.

Southwestern’s early lead came courtesy of a series that began with a fly ball to center field off the bat of Aden Froah, which was followed by four more singles from Aidan Kennedy, Nate Johnson, Aidan Melquist and Spencer Kane.

Kane ripped his shot between first and second to plate a pair of runs while Luke Tota grabbed the sixth and final hit of the opening frame to give the Trojans a 5-1 advantage.

“I was really happy with Spencer Kane’s approach at the plate,” Southwestern coach Jared Brown said. “He did a good job and I was really happy with the way that Luke Tota played, both in the field, pitching and his plate appearances.”

Southwestern’s Nate Johnson delivers to the plate.

Southwestern’s Nate Johnson got the start on the hill, giving up a run in the first inning as Braden LeBaron was able to scamper home for the Cougars.

In the second, Johnson sent Jared Dorman to first on ball four before giving up a single to Max Pingitore. With Dorman thrown out on a fielder’s choice, Pingitore made his way over to third on a wild pitch, but the Trojans were able to get out of that jam with no damage done.

Southwestern made it 6-1 in the second when Kennedy cracked a single up the middle before Johnson was able to make it to first on an error. Kennedy found his way home following a passed ball.

“I really didn’t know what to expect out of this team because we were so young,” Brown said. “Not having one senior on our team and losing (Cole) Snyder to start the season was a big shock for us. Everything seems to be going good though, I mean we are making the young mistakes that we thought we would make and we will learn from those mistakes and keep grinding out wins when we can.”

Froah picked up an RBI double in the third to extend the lead for the hosts, but Cassadaga Valley was able to fire back in the fourth when David Peterson was sent home on a fielder’s choice as Pingitore picked up the RBI on his way to first.

Cassadaga Valley’s Adam Goot delivers to the plate during Thursday’s game.

Froah added another RBI on a single in the fifth while the Trojans added their final run on a wild pitch as Mitch Pascarella found his way to home plate.

Adam Goot was the man on the hill for the Cougars through the first four innings, finishing with a pair of strikeouts before giving way to Brandon Rodriguez and Nick Russo in relief.

Thus far Cassadaga Valley has been dealing with a limited roster as the team works its way through the early part of the season.

“Our first two games were pretty rough,” Cassadaga Valley coach Joe Mistretta said. “We’ve had three people missing so we are down to nine players. We’re juggling around trying to find where people can play and where they can’t and it hasn’t been working too well. Hopefully this game will give us a little more confidence. We had our best pitcher pitching so he kept us in it a little bit.”

Johnson fanned seven through five innings for the Trojans before Tota finished things off with a pair of Ks in relief.

“Nate Johnson did a really nice job of mixing speeds and keeping them off balance,” Brown said.

Kennedy finished his day 3 for 4 while Kane was 2 for 4.