CHAGRIN FALLS–Cardinal’s red-hot bats powered a 27-9 bounce-back win over host Chagrin Falls on Thursday.
The Huskies had suffered a 25-2 loss to Pymatuning Valley on April 1 but came out aggressive two days later.
“We had short memory, and the girls did a great job not dwelling on the loss,” said Cardinal head coach Haley Adams. “We stress the next play and game mentality, and the girls did a great job of that. We felt like we should’ve won this game last year, so we came in wanting revenge. We got that, and the girls were aggressive from the start.”
Cardinal plated four runs in the first, with Olivia Krebs and Emily Pleva scoring on passed balls.
Maggie Grant singled, her courtesy runner Aallyah Barbee scored on a steal, and Adelyn Grant walked and crossed on a Brooklyn Whitely RBI groundout, giving Cardinal a 4-0 lead.
Chagrin Falls responded in the bottom of the second. Brigitte Edwards singled to start the rally, and after Mia Beavers was hit by a pitch, Ella Stec hit a two-run single, cutting the deficit to 4-2.
Cardinal answered with 11 runs in the third. Grant doubled in an RBI and scored on an error. Rylie Leichtman had an RBI single and scored on a passed ball.
Natalie Soltis scored on a fielding error, and Grant drilled a two-run single for a 12-2 lead. Grant stole second, allowing Pleva to swipe home on a double steal. Adelyn Grant drove in Maggie Grant and then scored on a wild pitch, making it 15-2 after three.
Krebs crushed a two-run homer in the fourth, extending the lead to 17-2. Grant had another RBI single, and Whitely added another RBI groundout. Kaminski slapped an RBI single, and Leichtman doubled in Kaminski, pushing the score to 21-2.
The Tigers scored six in the fourth. Chloe Nightwine walked in an RBI, Edwards had an RBI single, and Lauren Eickhoff and Beavers hit back-to-back two-run singles, making it 21-8.
Krebs blasted another two-run homer in the fifth for a 23-8 lead. Cardinal then added six more runs.
Adelyn Grant doubled to score Barbee, then both Grant and Whitely scored on an error. Leichtman’s RBI double gave the Huskies a 27-8 lead.
Alana Nykulak led off the Chagrin Falls fifth with a single and scored on a wild pitch, capping off the scoring and a Cardinal win.
The Huskies tallied 16 hits, including seven extra-base hits, and drove in 19 runs.
“The girls did a good job situationally,” Adams said. “We worked on a lot of situational plays at practice, and they did a great job transferring that into the game.”
Cardinal has been on the rise after rebuilding and continuing to grow.
“I was around when we started the rebuild, and now that we have these girls, they’ve been a huge help,” Leichtman said.
Adams is confident the Huskies are more competitive this season.
“I feel like this group can compete with anyone,” she said. “They bounced back from the loss to PV and put up a fight against Maplewood, who has a good pitcher. I’m proud of their next-play mentality.”
Krebs led the offense, going 3-for-5 with five RBI, including two homers. Maggie Grant went 4-for-5 with five RBI, and Leichtman finished 3-for-5 with three RBI.
Maggie Grant earned the win in four innings, allowing eight earned runs on six hits, six walks, and four strikeouts. Whitley pitched the final inning, allowing one earned run on one hit with two strikeouts.
Adelyn Grant went 3-for-4 with two RBI and four runs scored, while Kaminski had one hit and three RBI. Whitely also drove in two runs.
Chagrin Falls, now 0-1, was led by Eickhoff and Beavers, who each went 1-for-2 with two RBI. Stec finished 1-for-3 with two RBI.
Beavers took the loss, giving up 15 earned runs on 17 hits, eight walks, and one strikeout.
Chagrin Falls hosts Rocky River on April 5, while Cardinal visits Valley Forge on the same day.
