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Beaver Area Middle School/High School

Beaver Area Middle School/High School

Beaver Area Middle School/High School

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BOBCAT PRIDE

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BOBCAT PRIDE

Beaver Area Middle School/High School

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BOBCAT PRIDE

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BOBCAT PRIDE

Beaver Area Middle School/High School

Girls Varsity Softball


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Senior Salute: Beaver trio powered Bobcats’ softball team -
3.0 years ago

Senior Salute: Beaver trio powered Bobcats' softball team

Lexi Dawson, Lexi Russell, and Allie Teagle played big roles in the Beaver softball team’s success since they were freshmen. Now, they’ll head their separate ways as they go off to college.

The Beaver softball team was gathered on the field after a win late in the 2018 regular season when Lexi Russell peeked at her phone.

“It was someone I knew who posted on Facebook that Ambridge beat Blackhawk, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God!’” Russell recalled.

The Blackhawk loss meant Beaver had just clinched the section title. The Bobcats swarmed first-year coach Amy Haggart in celebration.

“We were screaming and yelling,” pitcher Allie Teagle recalled. “It was really fun, because Coach Amy didn’t know yet — either she didn’t know or she didn’t say anything. We all found out right after the game, so we ran over and gave her a hug.”

Russell, Teagle and classmate Lexi Dawson had hoped this year would include another section title. The Bobcats lost out on the section crown last year thanks to a close, late loss to eventual WPIAL champion Avonworth. But the coronavirus pandemic means that opportunity won’t happen.

“I really believe this year could have been a really good run at the WPIAL championship for us,” Haggart said. “To see it taken away from them and not even giving them a chance was just heartbreaking.”

The Beaver trio have been starters since they were freshmen — Dawson in the infield, Russell in the outfield and Teagle in the pitching circle. They helped the Bobcats reach the playoffs all three years, including back-to-back quarterfinal appearances as sophomores and juniors.

“I always knew we were really good at working together. We’ve been playing together since we were young,” Dawson said. “But I never thought we’d come this far.”

Now, they’ll go their separate ways. Dawson, a power-hitter who earned all-section honors last year, is headed to Coastal Carolina. She may be the only one of the three to play softball in college, as she’s talked to the coaching staff about walking on to the Division I Chanticleers team. Dawson had opportunities closer to home, but the Myrtle Beach-based school had everything she wanted.

“They have a really good political science and pre-law program, so that was a big one,” said Dawson, who will be a political science major. “The campus is beautiful and the area is beautiful. I just felt like I wanted to get out and see a little more of the world.”

Teagle, an all-section pick as both a sophomore and junior, is also headed south. She has family ties to North Carolina, so she’ll be enrolling at UNC-Wilmington, where she plans to focus on pre-med. Teagle may play intramurals, but her softball career is likely over.

“I didn’t expect to start my freshman year,” she said. “I’m so grateful that Butch (Rousseau) trusted me when he was the coach. It’s because of him that I had the career that I’ve had now, because he put that trust in me now.”

Russell, an all-section outfielder as a sophomore, will stay closer to home as she plans to enter into the nursing program at CCBC. She’ll also hang up the softball cleats and instead will continue her exploration of a sport she picked up two years ago: Olympic weightlifting.

“My boyfriend did it for a while. I just ended up going to the gym for softball things and there were a couple people I knew who did it,” Russell said. “I got interested in it, so I started doing that instead of my softball workouts.”

Beaver has a lot of promising talent on the roster, but this Bobcats’ trio is a group Haggart is going to miss.

“They’re big shoes to fill for next year,” Haggart said.

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