On Thursday, the Bears showed the Bulldogs why they are still the class of Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 2 baseball.

Aidan Gruber threw six innings of one-hit ball, striking out 13, while Daniel Peterson went 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI as Frewsburg beat Brocton 5-1 at the Frewsburg Sports Complex.

“He settled right in after the first inning and does what Gruber does, throws hard and hits his spots,” Frewsburg head coach Eric Haglund said. “He was intense.”

Gruber, who was overpowering at times, did walk five batters, but his fastball-slider mix was too much for the Bulldogs (10-4, 8-2).

The Bears’ Daniel Peterson slides into third base after a single and a two-base error. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

“He’s tough. He throws the ball hard, he stays around the plate,” Brocton head coach Rob Fetterick said.

“When you haven’t seen that good of a pitcher throughout the year … we were a little slow with our bat speed today,” Fetterick added.

Anthony Cruz, a senior whose first varsity appearance on the mound came Tuesday with three scoreless innings against the Wolfpack, again gave Brocton a fighter’s chance Thursday. The right-hander allowed just four hits and walked four while striking out five.

“Second time pitching and he was all for it,” Fetterick said of Cruz. ” … He’s not the most overpowering pitcher, he’s not going to blow the ball by you, but he’s going to make you think. If you’ve got a nice little curveball and a fastball that will hit spots, you can do some damage.”

The Bears took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Chase Haglund walked to open the game, stole second and went to third on a groundout before scoring on Maddox Sheesley’s sacrifice fly to center field.

Frewsburg first baseman Gavin Weaver catches a pop-up as Bears starting pitcher Aidan Gruber looks on during Thursday’s CCAA Division 2 baseball game against Brocton at the Frewsburg Sports Complex. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

The Bulldogs’ lone run came in the top of the second inning. Gruber walked Jeremy Weisner to open the frame before striking out the next two batters. Eric Pryll then hit a grounder to Frewsburg’s first baseman, but his errant flip to Gruber covering the bag got away, allowing Weisner to get all the way to third base. Gruber’s second pitch to Anthony Gatto was wild, actually bouncing over a fence to the side of the backstop and out of play, allowing Weisner to score from third.

The Bears ran themselves out of their next opportunity to score in the bottom of the second inning. Their leadoff batter got on when he was hit by a pitch and was sacrificed to second on a bunt. Weisner fielded the bunt and faked a throw to first base before catching the lead runner off of second base and throwing him out.

“We touched on base running before the game. I never yell at the kids if they’re aggressive, but it needs to be calculated and done correctly,” Coach Haglund said. “We’ll go back, chip away and make it right.”

After a flyout, Brocton catcher Ray Santiago picked off the Bears second runner of the inning when he threw behind him at first base.

“I can’t talk much more about a catcher with savvy, confidence and experience back there,” Fetterick said. ” … He’s got a green light. I trust in him and he knows I have the confidence in him that he’ll make the right choice.”

Frewsburg made it 3-1 in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs, Mason Eckman walked, stole second and went to third on an error. Sheesley followed with a walk and stole second before Peterson hit an RBI single to right field that was misplayed, allowing Sheesley to also score on the play.

“He’s a great kid from a big baseball family,” Coach Haglund said of Peterson. “He’s an intense hitter.”

The Bears scored their final two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Blake Weaver opened the inning with a single before Haglund hit an RBI triple that carried over the head of Brocton’s left fielder.

“He was patient trying to get his pitch,” Coach Haglund said of his son. “He finally got it and took it for a ride.”

Two batters later, Sheesley hit another sacrifice fly to make it 5-1.

That was plenty of support for Gruber, who worked quicker and quicker as the game went along — to the point where he and Cruz both had to be slowed down by the home plate umpire. Gruber carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning before Nathan Laurito reached on a leadoff single down the right-field line.

“We DH’d for him today so he could concentrate on throwing strikes and throwing hard,” Coach Haglund said.

Frewsburg’s Riley LaCross got the final three outs with a pair of strikeouts to send the Bears to 12-2 overall and 11-0 in the league. A win over Pine Valley today would clinch at least a share of the league title.

“That kid was way more offspeed than we’re used to for sure. The ball came in looking nice and big, thinking we could swing out of our shoes, and popping some balls up,” Coach Haglund said of Cruz. “It took a little bit to settle in and get some barrels.”

Brocton will host Clymer/Sherman/Panama today before a home rematch with Frewsburg on Saturday.

“We’ll bounce back. These kids are tough, they’re strong, resilient kids. They’ll stick together,” Fetterick said. “We should be able to finish this week out on a strong note.”