Fredonia’s Danielle Palisin winds up for a pitch during Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 action against Olean on Thursday. P-J photo by Braden Carmen

FREDONIA — Thursday evening, Jesse Beers and his powerhouse program added another achievement to the overwhelming list of accomplishments for the Fredonia softball program. The girls in orange are once again league champions.

The ‘Billies defeated the Olean Huskies 6-1 in Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 action at Fredonia High School to clinch the league title outright.

“I’m really happy for the girls because it’s so nice to see a team get rewarded when they do the right things,” Beers said.

Beers and his right-hand man, assistant coach Tim Wright, have kept the messaging consistent throughout the past decade of dominance for their group: “Don’t be upset at the results you don’t get for the work you don’t do.”

Thursday, their team put in the work and got the same result it has earned in each league game this year, a victory.

All year long, Fredonia put in the work and got the same result it has earned year after year under the same leadership, a championship.

“When you put the work in and you get the results, it’s a great thing,” Beers said.

With the league title theirs for the taking, Fredonia pitcher Danielle Palisin struck out the first batter of the game, then fielded a one-hopper herself for the second out. A groundout to shortstop Naomi Muck set Olean (9-7, 9-2) down in order in the top of the first inning.

Fredonia (13-3, 11-0) jumped ahead 2-0 in the bottom half of the inning on a double to left-center field off the bat of Ava Muck. The early lead gave Palisin plenty of “leeway” moving forward as she navigated the Olean lineup.

After a runner reached on an error in the second inning, Fredonia’s defense made up for it as catcher Callie Draggett rifled a throw down to second base to catch the Olean runner stealing to end the frame. Defense continued to stand out in the third inning as Leah Marsh threw out a runner at first base from right field, then Palisin stopped a one-hopper right back to the circle again.

Fredonia added a run in the third inning with a two-out rally, capped off by a sky-high pop-up off the bat of Draggett that was dropped by the second baseman to allow the runner to score from second. Fredonia led 3-0 after three innings of play.

Olean got its lone run of the game after a two-out error allowed a runner from third to cross the plate after advancing on a pair of fielder’s choices. The unearned run cut Fredonia’s lead to 3-1, but the ‘Billies got the run right back in the next half-inning. After Bella Buckley was narrowly thrown out at the plate while trying to score on an error, Rihanna Benner had better luck on another error by the Huskies.

“It’s the little things that make the difference,” Beers said. “We saw it today. We really didn’t make any mental mistakes.”

Fredonia’s 4-1 lead increased to 6-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning. Palisin led off with a line-drive single over the head of the third baseman, followed by a hard-hit single up the middle by Jenna Fryberger. Both Palisin and Fryberger took the extra base on the throw to give the ‘Billies a pair in scoring position with nobody out.

Palisin later came in to score on a wild pitch, then Fryberger crossed the plate after a squeeze bunt from Draggett. Although Draggett said she was so nervous that she was shaking before she put down the bunt, it could not have been placed any better down the first base line. Olean did not even bother to look at home plate as Fryberger came in to score.

“Those are the type of things that just deflate a team,” Beers said of Draggett’s squeeze bunt. “That game was over right then and there. It took the wind right out of their sails.”

Palisin relied on her defense with two ground balls to the left side for the first two outs in the sixth inning, then did the work herself to cap off the frame with her second strikeout of the contest. Leah Marsh made a pair of catches on line drives to right field in the seventh inning, then the ‘Billies ended the game by tagging a runner out between third base and home in a rundown.

“I’m really proud of my team because we were able to make the plays that we needed to,” Palisin said. “I have a really strong defense behind me.”

Seven innings pitched while only allowing one unearned run, against the second-place team in the league, was the statement performance Fredonia needed out of Palisin. With just two strikeouts, Palisin showed that she had trust in her defense if she could limit the Huskies to soft contact. That strategy paid off.

“I have complete confidence in my entire field. Even if I don’t have the perfect game, they are always behind me to make the plays that I need,” Palisin said.

With how high the bar has been set by previous teams, Palisin said winning the league title was a relief.

After the graduation of Jordan Lucas, an all-state pitcher a year ago, it was up to Palisin to step into the circle this year and assume the title of Fredonia’s ace in its quest for another league title, along with the ever so familiar sectional championship aspirations.

With Lucas and other former captains Jaelyn Davis and Sophia Gullo in attendance on Thursday, Palisin proved what she has been proving all season. When it came to finding an ace in Fredonia’s quest to earn another banner, Palisin understood the assignment.

“I was not going to be the one to break that streak,” Palisin said.

While she acknowledged after the game that it took a while to get used to stepping out of the shadow of the great Lucas, Palisin feels comfortable in the spotlight now. Her coach is not one bit surprised.

“I knew last year that Palisin was a gamer. She has been absolutely phenomenal this year,” Beers said. “She’s quiet and unassuming about it, but my gosh, she’s getting it done on the field. It’s fun to watch. You could see her confidence build as the year has gone on. Now it’s her circle, and she knows it.”

Up next, Fredonia closes out the regular season Saturday morning with a rivalry battle with Dunkirk at Fredonia High School. Olean concludes its regular season today at Southwestern. Fredonia is almost certain to earn the No. 2 seed in the Section VI Class B playoffs beginning next week.

“This is a pretty darn complete team,” Beers said of his group heading into the playoffs.

But first, Fredonia’s bitter rival provides one more test.

“I think for a Dunkirk-Fredonia game, I don’t really have to talk to the girls too much about getting excited about it,” Beers said.