In a matchup that could go a long way toward deciding the final Western Reserve Conference championship, the Riverside softball team struck first.
The Beavers used three home runs and a complete-game effort from Clara Granchi to hand Chardon its first loss of the season, 8-5, in Wednesday’s league opener.
“That was a big deal,” said Riverside head coach Bill Ross. “It was tough to face off with Chardon right away to open the conference, but I thought the girls played great. I thought they did a nice job battling back and forth. It’s a huge win to start the conference.”
Chardon entered unbeaten after a strong spring break trip, but wasted no time showing why it’s considered one of the favorites.
Emma Anderson and Sierra Taylor opened the game with back-to-back singles, and McKenna Banville delivered a two-run double to center to give the Hilltoppers a quick 2-0 lead.
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Riverside answered immediately — and with power.
Emma Wilhelm led off the second inning with a home run to center, and the Beavers flipped the game in the third when Granchi tripled and scored on Becca Tornow‘s two-run blast to center.
“The ball was flying a little bit,” Ross said. “Emma’s and Becca’s home runs both went to dead center field, which on our fence is about 230, so that’s a poke. Clara hit an absolute monster shot right down the right field line, and it went over our brand new scoreboard, so that was fun.”
Riverside kept building from there.
Maddy Kevern singled and later scored on Olivia Powell‘s RBI double in the fourth, and Brynn Urban added a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 5-2.
Meanwhile, Granchi settled into a rhythm in the circle after the first inning, mixing pitches and working around Chardon’s consistent contact.
“She did great,” Ross said. “She was mixing up her pitches nicely. I had a couple of bad pitch calls at one point in the game that I own, but I think she did a nice job, and her defense backed her up when it counted.”
Chardon trimmed the deficit to 5-3 in the sixth when Taylor singled and eventually scored on Banville’s two-out hit, but Riverside responded with its biggest swing of the night.
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Granchi launched a home run. Tornow followed with a triple, Maddi Proud drove her in with another triple, and Proud scored on Wilhelm’s RBI single to stretch the lead to 8-3.
“It was really exciting to have a scoreboard for the first time,” Granchi said. “We got a donation for it from the alumni association before the game, so it was a cool moment. Being able to keep that inning going to get the extra runs going into the seventh took a lot of pressure off.”
Chardon made one final push in the seventh.
Addison Novak led off with a single, Emma Anderson followed with another hit, and Taylor delivered an RBI single. Gwen Boyle later drew a bases-loaded walk, and Alexa Anderson added a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to three.
With runners at second and third and two outs, the tying run came to the plate, but Granchi induced a groundout to end the threat and seal the win.
“They are a good hitting team, so I knew I had to adjust a little bit and keep working while trusting my defense,” Granchi said. “Brooklynn (Kleps) did a great job catching, so having her there kept me calm. I knew that our offense would be able to get the runs back, so I just focused on getting the next out to get us back to hitting.”
Granchi earned the win, striking out eight while allowing five runs on 10 hits, and also led the offense with a home run, double, and two RBIs.
Riverside finished with 12 hits, including multi-hit games from Granchi, Tornow, Proud, and Wilhelm, while Chardon collected 10 hits in the loss, led by Taylor and Banville.
Riverside improved to 7-2 overall and 1-0 in league play, while Chardon dropped to 8-1 and 0-1. The two teams will meet again on Friday at Chardon to close out the regular-season series.
Top Players
Riverside
- Clara Granchi: 2-4, HR, 2B, 2RBI, 8K (W)
- Becca Tornow: 2-4, HR, 2RBI, 2R
- Emma Wilhelm: 3-4, HR, 2RBI
- Maddi Proud: 2-4, RBI, key triple
Chardon
- Sierra Taylor: 3-4, 2R, RBI
- M. Banville: 2-4, 3RBI, 2B
- Emma Anderson: 2-4, 2R
- Caitlin Seamon: 2-3, 2B
What it means
With the conference dissolving after this season, every WRC game carries extra weight — and Riverside now holds the early edge in what could be a defining series.
The two teams meet again on Friday at Chardon to close the regular-season set.
“Starting off strong is important for us,” Granchi said. “It sets the tone for everything that’s coming.”
