DRY RIDGE, Ky. — Grant County senior right-handed pitcher Braiden Beach admits he’s superstitious before taking the mound in a game.
And yet it may be difficult to discover another high school baseball pregame routine like what the 6-foot-5 star completes before the first windup.
“I listen to Beethoven before I pitch,” Beach said last week before practice. “It’s calming. It’s relaxing and I close my eyes and visualize me pitching.”
Beach, 18, started listening to Beethoven on Spotify during summer of 2025 and sees no reason to change at this moment.
“I think it relaxes me and gets me in the zone obviously,” said Beach, who is committed to Gulf Coast State College (Panama City, Fla.).
“It’s different. I’ve never heard anyone else do it. I see myself pitching and relaxing. When you visualize things, you visualize success," Beach said.
That vision has led to success. Beach excels for the Braves.
WATCH: Grant County senior Braiden Beach pitches for a special purpose
He surpassed 200 career strikeouts during a game against visiting Great Crossing April 24. Grant County coach Rocky Tucker isn’t aware of another Grant County pitcher with as many career strikeouts.
“He is dominant,” Tucker said. “He’s focused. He listens. He takes direction. We make a call – he hits his spots. Ever since I’ve been the head coach here, he’s pitched in every one of my district games. Couldn’t ask for a better ‘dawg’ – that’s what we call him.”
Beach is also known as a loving son who has a significant work ethic. He’s an inspiration to those around him – whether on the diamond or at home.
“When he takes the field, you can tell he’s out there for a purpose,” Tucker said. “He’s been like that since he’s been a kid.”
Beach first picked up a baseball some 14 or 15 years ago. The game has a different meaning these days. It’s helped him persevere in life.
Stacey Harris, who is Beach's mother, was diagnosed in February with metastatic melanoma in the lining of her abdomen.
“(If) she didn’t see me playing baseball – I don’t know where she would be at,” Beach said. “She says that gives her a purpose to get up and get moving out of the house, even on the days that she might not really feel like it.”
Besides baseball, Beach helps his mom with household chores and keeping her spirits up during difficult days. They have daily conversations about life, too.
“I’m so proud of how hard he works,” Harris said. “He’s such a loving person. I draw strength from him every day because of who he is.”
Family is always on Braiden’s mind before he takes the mound. His pitching has been clocked at 90-plus miles per hour. His future will be at a junior college with the hope of an NCAA Division I program in the future.
“I always had the goal and the dream of being a big-time baseball player and having an impact on a lot of people,” Beach said. “My dad pushed me at a young age. One thing that has truly helped me is my dad.”
Stacy Beach, Braiden’s father, is proud of his son as a baseball player but most importantly as a person. Stacy just wants Braiden to be happy in life.
“He wants to be in the MLB,” Stacy said. “I want him to reach his dreams.”
Braiden is well on his way to writing another chapter in his baseball journey while making family and those closest to him proud. He also thinks about his 4-year-old self just starting in the game he loves.
“Looking back, ‘Am I the baseball player that I would look up to nowadays?' And that’s a big inspiration for me,” Braiden said. “And also just succeeding and making my mom, my dad and all my family happy.”
