From there, Southwestern pitcher Lucas Genareo buckled down, just as his head coach, Jared Brown, always tells his team to do.

“Don’t let the scenario be too big. Just play within yourself,” Brown said.

The Trojans’ starter capped off six strong innings with back-to-back strikeouts to leave the tying run stranded on base. Soon afterward, the Trojans finished off the victory over Fredonia 6-3 in Tuesday’s CCAA Division 1 baseball game at Fredonia High School.

“We knew what kind of team Fredonia is. We knew that yesterday was going to be nothing like today,” Brown said. “… I knew it was going to be a grind.”

The Hillbillies’ Brady Crawford dives back into first base ahead of the tag from the Trojans’ Alex Watkins. P-J photo by Ashleigh Brown

Fredonia (7-7, 5-7) scored the game’s first two runs in the bottom of the first inning after Southwestern (7-3, 7-2) failed to score in the top half. Brady Crawford reached on an error, then after a walk to Colin Luce and a wild pitch, a bloop single by Pauly Tabone over the second baseman’s head scored the game’s first run.

Rocco Muscarella walked to load the bases for Fredonia, then Jack Frame perfectly executed a safety squeeze bunt to score the game’s second run. Issiah Ruiz struck out looking to leave a pair of runners on base, but Fredonia left the inning feeling good with a 2-0 lead.

“I do like the resolve of this team to come back,” Fredonia head coach Tim Cowan said after his team scored the first two runs on Tuesday after it had allowed 18 runs in one inning in Monday’s 22-2 defeat at Southwestern. “We shut them down early and we took the lead. I like that we battled.”

From that point on, Fredonia’s offense scored just one run, and even then, the Hillbillies had a shot at a lot more. They just didn’t get the big hit, and off Southwestern’s starter, they didn’t get a single hit after the first inning.

“When we’re playing the way we need to, we have to hit all nine in the order,” Tim Cowan said. “… We need the big hit, and we were lacking that today.”

Southwestern, however, got things going in the middle innings. The Trojans got one run on the scoreboard in the third inning, after a two-out double down the left field line by Wilson Genareo was followed by an RBI single by Oscar Harris to shallow center field.

Lucas Genareo set the Hillbillies down in order in the bottom half of the inning to bring the Trojans right back up to bat, and they capitalized.

Gavin Anderson led off the top of the fourth inning with a deep blast to center field on the first pitch of the at-bat. The ball one-hopped into the high grass beyond the mowed portion of Fredonia’s fence-less outfield.

After a groundout, Cooper Charles tied the game with an RBI single. Following a walk, a ground ball on the infield looked like a potential double play, but a high throw sailed over Colin Luce’s glove at first base and out of play to force in the Trojans’ third run of the game to take the lead. Then, with two outs and two strikes, Lucas Genareo squeaked a ground ball into left field for an RBI single to double the lead to 4-2.

The Trojans added a run in the top of the sixth inning as Fredonia was held to just one base runner and no hits from innings 2-5. But in the bottom of the sixth inning, even with a three-run deficit, Fredonia had its chance to pull even.

Tabone led off by being hit by a pitch. Then after a fielder’s choice and a pair of walks, Fredonia had the bases loaded with just one out. But from there, Lucas Genareo struck out Luka Paoletta swinging for the second out. That brought Max Hazelton to the plate, and after a wild pitch brought in a run, the Hillbillies had the tying run in scoring position, down 5-3, with a full count and two outs. The final pitch of the day from Lucas Genareo caught Hazelton looking and the runners were left stranded in scoring position.

“We left too many on base. We went down looking six times, and that’s ultimately the difference,” Tim Cowan said.

The Trojans added an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning, but they didn’t need it. Cooper Charles set down the top of the Fredonia order to seal the victory, 6-3. Charles earned the save, while Lucas Genareo earned the victory.

“I’m proud of the guys for being able to face adversity, being down early 2-0 to be able to battle back,” Brown said.

In the win, Lucas Genareo pitched six innings and allowed three runs, but just one hit. He walked five batters and hit one, as well, while another runner reached on an error.

Matt Cowan threw all seven innings for Fredonia in the loss, with half of his runs allowed coming in the fourth inning.

“Matt (Cowan) gave us a good start. He kept the quality of their order off balance. We made enough plays behind him to stay in it, but then, ultimately, we need to put up more than three,” Tim Cowan said.

Fredonia’s league play is complete, with non-league contests with Nichols, Jamestown, Lake Shore, and Chautauqua Lake left to finish out the regular season before Sectional Playoffs begin.

“There were things to build on from the game today, and that’s what we’ll take with us,” Tim Cowan said Tuesday. “… It’s a big turnaround from where we were yesterday, so we build on that and look to move forward, and try to get some momentum going into the playoffs.”

Southwestern still has three league games left, including two against Silver Creek this week on Thursday and Saturday, before closing the league year with Salamanca on Monday.

“This is an extremely tough league. It shows every single game,” Brown said. “Silver Creek is going to be no walk in the park. They are a good baseball team and they are proving that this year. We’ve got to keep the pedal to the metal.”