New Era with New Diamond for Chagrin Falls Softball

April 10, 2025 by Rich Kelly

A new era of softball got off to a bumpy start for the Chagrin Falls Tigers on April 3 as they hosted the Cardinal Huskies.

On a beautiful new diamond that was soaked the day before as heavy rains came through the area, first year coach Kendall Switzer also began her coaching career for the Tigers as spring weather showed up on this date of celebration

Fueled by a good crowd and a warmly received ceremonial first pitch thrown out by former Chagrin Coach Whitley Garrett, current co-captains Ella Stech and Addison Frankel cut a bright orange ribbon the get the game into full position to start.

As happens with many a young team, however, once that game got going, the wheels on the cart became very wobbly in making plays.

Cardinal, with a more experienced group of girls in the blend, got off to a fast start and then put metal to the floor in taking a 27-9 victory from the Tigers.

“There may well have been some nerves on edge for the girls today,” Coach Switzer said. “At the same time, though, they weren’t really nervous about playing, but things just didn’t go well for us. We never stopped battling at any time. I am pleased with how we hit the ball, we stayed aggressive on the bases, so the effort we ask for was there. Cardinal is just a solid team.”

The field itself is going to be a palace for games for years to come. After massive storms dropped a load of rain the previous couple of day, many fields would have been unplayable. This field, with bright red crushed clay on the infield and lush green grasses in the outfield, dried out well for this game after the scheduled opener the day before with Kirtland was washed out.

It was soggy in spots, but the field itself was in excellent condition.

That got the Huskies going in a hurry, and they never let up, either, taking advantage of numerous miscues from the Tigers at every chance.

Olivia Krebs sent the second pitch of the game from Chagrin junior righthander Mia Beavers right back up the middle to centerfield for a single. Two stolen bases followed in rapid fire, and Emily Pleva worked a walk. A successful double steal saw the runners move up, and an errant throw on the front end of that play sailed into left field after a wide throw was not able to be caught, and a parade of miscues had begun for the Tigers (0-1).

The Tigers responded well, scoring a pair of runs in the second inning to cut a 4-0 deficit in half. Bridgette Edwards sent a cannon shot to the fence in left center for a double. After Lauren Eickhoff drew a walk, however, on a pitch that eluded catcher Adalyn Grant, Edwards strayed too far off of third base after she had advanced on a wild pitch.

Grant got the ball quickly, saw where Edwards was standing, and fired a bullet to third baseman Krebs. The ensuing rundown got the first out of the frame. Ella Stech promptly followed with a shot to center to plate Eickhoff and Beavers, who took a pitch on the backside to become the second runner for the Tigers.

A massive amount of miscues were to follow, however, as Cardinal took full advantage of each opportunity they got, which were plentiful.

The game of softball is about throwing and hitting and catching the orb, and the Huskies did it better, starting with an 11 run third inning. Six more runs in each of the fourth and fifth frames blew the contest wide open, but several great defensive plays from the Huskies stopped any ideas the young Tigers had about a comeback.

The game turned into a statisticians nightmare as Chagrin committed 11 errors that, when combined with 18 hits and 14 stolen bases, along with 6 wild pitches, made the final outcome inevitable as the warm weather chilled out in a hurry as well.

Krebs slammed a pair of long balls over the fence to lead the Cardinal parade on the bases, but coach Haley Adams was grateful and glad to get the game in.

“This is just a beautiful new field for Chagrin to be playing on, and it was an honor for us to be part of the first game,” she said. “That helped us focus today. We’re both young teams, but our girls have been playing together in every sport for a long time, so we have some experience behind us. We took advantage of things very well when we could, and this win sets us up for a good season the rest of the way out.”

The Huskies move to 3-2 on the season, having avoided serious weather issues, which the Tigers have not.

That said, this beautiful facility provides a new era of softball for Coach Switzer to build a program on.

“It’s something very special to be the first team to play on a new field like this one,” she said. “It’s a special opportunity for all the girls which will go with them for a lifetime, and that doesn’t happen too often.”