BELLAIRE - Edison coach Spencer Bendle was impressed with his team's early offensive barrage.
It wasn't just that the Wildcats scored five runs during the first two innings but how they did it that caught his attention.
All five runs and nearly half of the Wildcats' 14 hits came with two outs.
"We hit early with two outs and with two strikes," said Bendle after his team improved to 12-5 with a 7-1 victory Tuesday against homestanding Bellaire. "We were able to put the ball in play and be productive after getting behind."
Kristin Prokopakis and Cailtyn Brenstuhl each legged out three singles, with Brenstuhl driving home a pair of runners.
"We hit well early, but after that, we started hitting it at them," Bendle said. "But give them credit, they gave a strong defensive effort and were making the plays."
Conversely, Bellaire (8-11) managed seven hits off Edison starter Mikayla Tice which only resulted in one run.
"We just couldn't get any timely hits," Bellaire coach Melissa Lahna said. "We were hitting the ball right at them."
Case in point for Bellaire: The third inning.
The Big Reds loaded the bases and sent seven girls to the, but had only two hits and one run at inning's end for their efforts. Not quite what Lahna was hoping for as her team tried to dig out of a 6-0 hole.
Casey Garloch's single down the first-base line drove in the lone run as the Reds were victimized by three ground balls resulting in fielder's choice plays with Edison's infielders opting successfully for the lead runner every time.
The lone bright spot was the bat of first baseman Macy Cordy. She struck for three hard-hit singles.
"She has come on fire as of late," Lahna said of Cordy. "The last four or five games she's been stroking the ball."
Edison now turns its attention to a red-hot John Marshall (22-2) team that's reeled off 22 wins in a row since losing to the Wildcats in the Ohio club's season opener.
A win provides Edison with a ton of points and a probable No. 1 or 2 seed in the upcoming OVAC tournament.
"We want to start playing with more urgency," Bendle noted. "They need to feel that kind of pressure and urgency with playoff softball coming up."
Kayla Prokopakis and Trisha Trifinoff each had a single, double and an RBI for Edison while Molly McCoy and Danielle Snyder had doubles.
Edison 7, Bellaire 1
Edison 231 001 0 - 7 14 1
Bellaire 001 000 0 - 1 7 1
EDISON (12-5): Tice (WP, 3K, 1BB), Westfall (6, 1K, 0BB) and Kr.Prokopakis, Sheets (7). Kr. Prokopakis 3S; Brenstuhl 3S, 2rbi; Trifinoff S, D, rbi; McCoy D; Ka.Prokopakis S, D, rbi; Snyder D, rbi; Wiedaman S; Carpenter D, rbi.
BELLAIRE (8-11): Ging (LP, 4K, 0BB) and Garloch. Marlin S; Garloch S, rbi; Cordy 3S; Ging S; Gillespie S.
