The BHS baseball team has gotten off to a bold start this year. Behind some strong performances and good team chemistry, the team has a 10-6 record, 5-1 in the Chagrin Valley Conference.

Coming out this strong out of the gate seems to tie back to the tough tests the team faced against out-of-state teams during spring break in Florida.

“Playing teams that were already seasoned and a couple of divisions up from us, helped to prepare us mentally while also [giving] us an opportunity to realize that nothing in this game is given to you,” head coach Todd Butler wrote in an email.

“The national schedule definitely showed how much potential we have as a team,” freshman outfielder and pitcher Ben Connor said.

“Playing on the national schedule definitely helped us come together as a team..we played the team that won the Kentucky Divison I state championship, Dunbar, and we only lost 4-3 due to (some errors), so it really showed us how well we can play,” sophomore first baseman and pitcher Aden Stern said.

Beachwood also played some teams that are able to play baseball the whole year, such as Bayside (FL).

“Playing Bayside and schools that play year round really helped us understand how good we really are compared to [those teams] … It definitely got us confident heading into our CVC play and nonleague play,” Stern said.

The game that really seems to epitomize the strong start the Bison have gotten off to was the 9-8 comeback win at home against Cuyahoga Heights on April 14.

Going into the bottom half of the last inning, the Bison were down 7-3, and a comeback seemed improbable.

“I remember [senior] Max [Balazs] was saying, ‘It doesn’t even matter, because we are going to score four runs regardless,’” Connor said.

“It brought everyone together because we did happen to score those four runs and move the game into extra innings. We got off to a slow start, but that last inning, we came together as a team, and we ended up winning the game,” Connor added.

“It showed that we don’t fold when we’re down by a lot…everyone really supported each other that game, and it showed that we could come back,” Stern said.

Butler wrote that he is proud of the team’s accomplishments, and attributes much of the success to the selflessness of the student athletes.

“We pick each other up when times are rough and all contribute when times are good,” he wrote.