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Early Offense Leads Giants to 10-8 Win over Big Train
AJ Martin connects for a third-inning grand slam. His four RBIs led the way in a 10-8 Giants win against the Big Train. Photo by Brandon Lauchnor.
By Tim Wilcox
The first five Giants batters in the second inning recorded hits. Before the first out was made, Gaithersburg scored four runs, breaking the game open.
The next inning, the Giants loaded the bases with one out, setting the table for AJ Martin (Undecided), who had already singled in a run in the second inning. This time, on the first pitch he saw, Martin crushed a grand slam over the scoreboard at Shirley Povich Field. The long ball gave Gaithersburg eight runs in just the first three innings.
“We tried to set the tone early [and] be aggressive at the plate,” Giants head coach TJ Brockway said. “The prettiest thing about tonight was we had a lot of timely hitting so [that] helps out a lot.”
Behind their early run support, the Giants (9-6) led from the second inning onward to win 10-8 over the Big Train (7-8). During Bethesda’s Juneteenth celebration – a night where the Big Train wore Eagles jerseys to honor the 1954 Scotland Eagles – there were fireworks in the sky and on the field. The Giants and Big Train combined for 22 hits as Martin tallied five RBI to lead Gaithersburg while Andrew Williamson (UCF) went 4-for-6 with two extra base hits for Bethesda.
After a scoreless first, Aiden Robbins (Seton Hall) and Danny Wyatt (UMBC) led off the second inning with singles. With two aboard, Tyler DeMartino (Indiana) laced a double to bring in Robbins for the game's first run.
Martin followed with a single to drive in Wyatt before Landon Runyan (UC San Diego) plated two more with a double, giving the Giants a 4-0 lead.
In the bottom of the frame, the Big Train got their first two batters to reach base. With two outs, Jordan Crosland (Maryland) and Williamson delivered hits to score three runs, cutting their deficit to one run.
The Giants continued to put strong swings on the ball in the third, as the middle of the order delivered back-to-back singles before a hit batter set Martin up with bases loaded. Martin, who extended his hitting streak to eight games in his first at bat, got a pitch over the middle of the plate and drove it for a grand slam.
“[Martin] is really seeing the ball well,” Brockway said. “The grand slam was definitely a good boost to the team, [and it] started the fires up a little bit more.”
Down 8-3, the Big Train responded by loading the bases in the third. But with two outs, Jai Sample (Undecided) induced a flyout to center field to pitch out of the jam.
In the fourth, the Giants first two batters reached base and they added a run on an error, extending their lead to 9-4.
As Sample’s pitch count reached 74 in the fourth inning, Gaithersburg went to the bullpen. Williamson laid down a bunt single which started a one out rally for the Big Train. Davin Whitaker (East Carolina) followed with a double to score Williamson.
Bethesda’s next batter drew a walk and Matt Westley (Virginia Tech) roped a three-run home run to left field cutting the Giants lead to 9-7.
Bethesda brought the game to one run in the fifth inning on a Williamson RBI double. But following the hit, the Big Train struggled to find momentum against the Giants relief pitching.
After being held hitless in the sixth and seventh, the Big Train threatened in the eighth inning, loading the bases. The Giants, who had already used two pitchers in the inning, brought Tanner Sanderoff (East Stroudsburg) in with two outs and he delivered a strikeout to end the inning.
“When we see our bullpen coming in and shoving, and we already [got a lead] with the bats, it's just really helpful,” Martin said.
Gaithersburg received an insurance run in the sixth inning as Wyatt singled in a run to make it 10-8. Again in the ninth, Sanderoff faced the minimum three batters to record the save. The victory gives Gaithersburg a one-game lead for first place while Bethesda falls to third place in the North Division.
The Giants take on the Thunderbolts at Montgomery Blair Stadium Thursday while the Big Train host the Cropdusters Thursday at Shirley Povich Field.
