Parisin and Lucas lead Fredonia to 6-4 win over Westfield | News, Sports, Jobs

Despite the new season spotlighting several newcomers for much of the action, the game certainly lived up to the hype. In the end, it was the visiting Billies who emerged victorious with a hard-fought 6-4 victory over Westfield Academy in one of the more competitive nonleague softball contests the section had hoped for.

“Anytime you get a win against a team like this that has had a lot of success in the past, it's great,” Fredonia head coach Jesse Beers said.

In the unfamiliar visiting dugout, Beals, a Westfield alumnus and former Westfield softball coach himself, spoke to his friend and childhood rival, Sean Gnadzinski, who is now coaching at Westfield. I was happy to get the win.

Despite having Division I pitcher Jordan Lucas at his disposal, Fredonia instead turned to pitcher Daniel Parisin on Thursday. With his father, Matt, Fredonia State University's sports information director and former baseball coach, watching, Daniel pitched like an ace who deserved the attention of his teammates.

Fredonia pitcher Jordan Lucas, 21, earned a save Thursday in a two-inning shutout in a 6-4 win over the Westfield Wolverines. Lucas struck out six of the seven batters he faced. Pajama photo credit: Braden Carmen

“If she played on another team in our county, she could probably be No. 1 on another team. She's that good,” Beals said.

There were 11 batters, and Parisin played with the minimum number of batters. With two outs in the fourth inning, the only blemish on the batting lineup was the second inning single, but even that base runner was wiped out by a forced throw from catcher Curry Draggett, who attempted to steal a base. Fredonia led comfortably with his 4-0 run, ending his fourth frame with one out remaining.

“We were rolling. Things were going well,” Beals said.

But then the game suddenly changed. Fredonia (3-0) made three errors in the infield, his third giving Westfield the lead. The bases remained loaded.

Westfield (3-3) had its first threat of the game without a strong hit until Drew Arnewane hit a deep drive into the left field seats. All three runners on base scored, and just like that, Westfield tied the game at 4-4.

Westfield pitcher Mackenzie Shoemaker pitches in a nonleague softball game against the Fredonia Billies on Thursday at Westfield Academy. Pajama photo credit: Braden Carmen

“She's been really good all season,” Westfield head coach Sean Gnaczynski said of Arne Wein.

“I told the girls we expect (Fredonia) to go to state,” Gnazynski said, noting the team's resiliency in fighting back to tie the game. . … Let them feel us. Let them know we can play too and leave here respectfully. ”

Lucas said the team needed to recover from mistakes faster.

“We are humans, not robots. We make mistakes.”

After dropping three strikes in the top of the fifth inning, Fredonia countered with a score that went over the plate on a throw to first base. Lucas then carried the ball to the left field seats for his third hit of the game, giving the Billys another run in the top half of the sixth inning.

Lucas noted that her father, Kevin, criticized her swing against Falconer earlier this week. Before Thursday's game, Lucas filmed herself correcting her swing in the batting cage and sent it to her father as evidence. He then had three hits and two RBIs, including a line drive into the left field seats in the sixth inning to bring in a run, but all was well for the Fredonia star.

Prior to that, Parisin dueled with Westfield's young pitcher Mackenzie Shoemaker through the first five innings, and the next era of pitchers between the two powerhouse programs took over the circle. Westfield's back-to-back sectional championship pitcher Haley Derow is currently away from playing Division I softball at George Mason University, and Lucas will join Derow next year in the same conference at St. Bonaventure University.

Fredonia showed how great it is to have Division I talent you can rely on when the game is on the line. With a two-run cushion, Fredonia turned to Lucas to close out the game and she gave the Wolverines no light.

After a one-out walk, Lucas came to the plate with a tying hit and closed out the sixth inning with consecutive strikeouts. Her speed was overpowering at times and she was blown off heater by multiple batters. She also displayed a deception with a screwball in the seventh inning, forcing the batter out of the way of the pitch, but it ended up just above the plate and she was called for three strikes.

Lucas faced seven batters in the final two innings. She struck out six of those. Her only flaw was giving up a walk to the No. 2 batter she faced, but Lucas responded in typical fashion, acknowledging her commitment to what she has consistently said since before announcing her college commitment. He mentioned spirituality. In her own words, she was “good. … Something like that will never happen again.”

The victory was a credit to Parisin, who did not allow an earned run until the fifth inning. He allowed just three hits, no walks, and three strikeouts. All four earned runs came in the fourth inning, and there were four shutout innings surrounding that. “She pitched great,” Beals said.

Shoemaker pitched six innings, giving up six runs (four earned) and striking out seven. He allowed only five hits, but struggled with his command and allowed 11 walks. Gnazynski credited Keira Kincaid for her strong defense behind the plate. It's a position normally held by Sidney Hotchkiss, who played third base Thursday. Freshman Avery Smith pitched seven shutout innings for Westfield.

“(Kinkade) did a great job behind the plate,” Gnazynski said. “…She kept it really close and she gave us a chance to try and get the win at the end.”

Lucas earned the save, something new for the Fredonia ace, but she found a way to find comfort in her new role that day.

“Honestly, I loved it,” Lucas said. “I came here like, 'I'm Jordan, I'm the closest one, nice to meet you.'”

After all, the joy was all hers.