High school baseball: (14) Beachwood vs. (8) Norton district semifinal preview capsule
May 22—(14) Beachwood vs. (8) Norton
What: Division II district semifinal
When: 2:00 p.m., May 23
Where: North Ridgeville, 34620 Bainbridge Road, North Ridgeville
Records: Beachwood 15-10, Norton 14-9
Beachwood's path: Def. Keystone, 3-2, Def. Triway, 7-2
Norton's path: Def. Firelands, 7-3
On deck: Winner advances to play (3) Hoban or (19) Bay in a Division III district final on May 25.
For the record: If you're looking for a team that came into the postseason hot, look no further than Beachwood. The Bison have won eight of their last 10, including their postseason victories, and earned their first CVC Metro division championship since 2015. ... Beachwood features three batters batting over .300 with Brenden Malek hitting .400 and leads the team with 21 RBI. Luke Bennett (18), Vincent Crenshaw (17) and Josh Rosenblitt (16) are right on his tail. Bennett also leads the team with 10 doubles and 19 stolen bases. Malek (18) and Crenshaw (13) have also been hot on the base paths. ... Beachwood also features three pitchers with 2.00 ERAs and two with five wins or more. Rosenblitt will be the one taking the mound for the district semifinal, bringing his 63 strikeouts on the season with him. ... Norton features a trio of sophomores all hitting over .350 with Jacob Ford leading the way with .391. George Antal has been strong from the mound for the Panthers with his 2.19 ERA, as he hopes to have an answer for the hot bats of the Bison.
Hercik's pick: Beachwood
