BEACHWOOD—Beachwood opened its new softball facility on Wednesday with a dominating 17-3 win over visiting Chagrin Falls.
The Bison scored eight runs in the first inning and never looked back.
“It was nice because we struggled yesterday against Laurel,” said Beachwood coach Mike Coreno. “We only got one hit, so it was nice to come out and open up the new field. The kids kept their focus on the game, as well as the festivities, but we had a lot more hits than yesterday and our focus was there, we played good defense, and Ari (Preston) pitched well.”
Preston drew a leadoff walk in the first and stole her way to third. She scored on Emily Clar’s groundout. A walk, single, and hit batsman loaded the bases for Allie Rindsberg, who picked up an RBI when she was hit by a pitch.
Dalilah Harrison hit an RBI single, and Preston added a two-run double later in the inning.
The Bison added three more runs without a hit in the second.
Beachwood used three walks, three hit batsmen, and a groundout to push its lead to 11-0.
A six-run third put the game out of reach.
Ryleigh Zabell, Nia Brown, Maya Greller, and Rindsberg each had a single in the inning.
Chagrin Falls scored two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to close out the scoring.
“We’ve always struggled with Chagrin Falls in the regular season, but we came in with the right mindset and played well,” Coreno said.
Preston led the Bison with a pair of hits and two runs batted in. In the circle, she allowed two earned runs on three hits and struck out five in five innings.
“It makes it easy to coach with her pitching,” Coreno said. “If the pitcher struggles, like they struggled today, it can be a long day, but Ari can put the ball over the plate pretty consistently.”
Brown also had two hits for Beachwood.
Peyton Pierce, Michaela Plante, and Kate Quinn had hits for Chagrin Falls.
