Kirtland uses eight-run fourth to top Beachwood

Usually when a team leads, 7-2, after three innings, that team walks away with the win. Beachwood had jumped to that lead in its Chagrin Valley Conference battle against Kirtland, but the Hornets struck back hard.

An eight-run fourth inning was the difference-maker. Relief pitcher Mason Rus led the charge in the defensive half of the inning, and Kirtland ended up with a 10-7 win on April 10.

Kirtland moves on to 7-2, while Beachwood falls to 4-3.

Before the fourth inning, the Hornets were struggling to figure out Beachwood pitcher Drew Dubin. A pair of Hornets had found ways to bring in some runs. But outside of that, hitters were struggling to get the ball in play. On the other side, the Bison capitalized on some Kirtland mistakes in the field.

Kirtland coach Luke Smrdel said his team was capable of playing better, and he told them they were running out of time to make something happen.

“A lot of it was just the mindset,” said Smrdel. “I told them after the third inning that we were just flat and needed to get it up at the plate. We needed to make something happen because it’s getting late in the game and we needed to make the move now.”

The Hornets responded in a big way. Mac Boyd walked to start the inning, and Gage Sullivan blasted an RBI triple to bring him home. Another walk put runners on the corners, and Reese VanArnhem stepped to the plate. He had collected an RBI single in his most recent at-bat, but this time he was looking for more. He blasted a pitch to deep center field, over the wall for a three-run home run.

There had been some earlier ground-rule doubles, and VanArnhem thought it was going to be another.

“Right after I hit it, I just started sprinting,” said VanArnhem. “It didn’t feel like I had hit it that far. But it carried all the way over the wall.”

For the first three innings, Beachwood looked like the better team. Coach Andy Pohl said even in a loss, the Bison did a lot of things really well.

“We did a lot of thing right through the seven innings,” said Pohl. “In the sixth, we had the bases loaded, thanks to hits in the hole that was there. But their second baseman made two really good plays that got them out of jams. We competed and knew this was going to be a challenge that we are going to get better from.”

Leading the way for the Bison were Clay Tepper with three RBI and Austin Mutillo with a tw-run double.

Beachwood will look to rebound when it takes on CVC foe Berkshire on April 12. Kirtland will look to extend its win streak to five when the Hornets face another CVC rival in Grand Valley on the same date.