The Bison softball team took on the Hawken Hawks on Thursday, April 26 and finished with a commanding 17-6 win. 

This was the second Bison win against Hawken, but the day prior, the Bison suffered an unfortunate close loss to a strong Harvey team, so this game was a huge demonstration that Beachwood is back on track.

The tough loss on Wednesday brought a sense of focus to the Bison for the Hawken game. 

“Our loss on Wednesday against Harvey was definitely a wake up call for us, and we realized how important it is to be focused and ready to play,” freshman Lily Grover said. “We were able to use that game as a learning opportunity and improve during the Hawken game through our focus on the field and in the batters’ box.” 

To start the game Beachwood put up two runs in the first inning. Hawken responded with a four-spot, but the Bison had confidence in sophomore pitcher Ela Sazmaz.  

“It gives us a lot of confidence since Ela pitched the whole game for the first time and people played a lot of new positions,” senior Arianna Preston said. “It shows that we can switch things up and still play as a team and win.” 

With this confidence, the Bison offense was able to put up a massive 12-run second inning, which ultimately proved to be all that was needed for the day. In this inning, Lily Grover hit a home run, which propelled the Bison and gave them tons of momentum in this rivalry game. 

“It felt really good to hit a home run following some less successful at bats, and I was happy to bring in more runs to help support our pitcher Ela,” Grover said. “The positive energy and overall good play of the team also helped in my success in the Hawken game.” 

In addition to this big day at the plate from Grover came a day in which Arianna Preston went three for three with a single, double and triple. 

“I didn’t want to walk at all that game,” Preston said. “It’s my last year playing school ball, and I need to make every at bat count, so I went up to the plate confident I was going to get a hit every at bat.” 

Preston also has a home run on the season, and has pitched the majority of the innings over the first seven games of this season. While her play speaks for itself, the leadership she has provided as a senior has stood out to teammates more than anything. 

“Our main veteran is Ari this year and captain and she is truly great,” sophomore Dalilah Harrison said. “She helps so much with our team’s strength and confidence.” 

Preston knows her leadership is key, especially since she is the only senior on the roster this season.

“It is really fun being a senior leader and seeing all the underclassmen improve and have fun,” she said.

Hawken responded in the bottom of the second with a run, but the Bison offense was not done for the day as they added an additional run in the third, fourth and fifth innings to rule the Hawks in only five innings. 

Ela Sazmaz was able to notch her first win of the season, having pitched all five innings in the game while only giving up two earned runs. 

For Sazmaz to go as deep into the game as she did was a huge boost for Beachwood because Senior Arianna Preston is generally in the circle for the team, but a day of rest was needed and Sazmaz was certainly up for the challenge.

With this win, and then an additional win on Friday beating Laurel 16-0, Beachwood’s record improved to a very impressive 6-1. 

Following a CVC Championship in 2023, there were multiple question marks going into the season and positions to fill with players like Emily Clar, Maya Greller, Nia Brown and Ryleigh Zabell all graduated, but this team is definitely showing they have made up for the loss of the class of 2023. 

Grover has been a valuable addition to the roster. She is playing for the Bison this season since Hathaway Brown, the school she attends, did not have enough players to field a team this year.

“I’m just really grateful to have the opportunity to play with Beachwood,” Grover said. “The girls have been really welcoming.”

Sophomore Dalilah Harrison credits their success this season to the hard work that goes in daily at practice. 

“We just stay ready so we don’t have to get ready,” she said. “We practice hard and stay strong and we are confident to know that we are able to beat a team like Hawken.” 

The team is scheduled to play at West Geauga at 4:30 this afternoon.