NEWS

By Gavin Dorsey and David Schurter

 

GAME ONE

The Giants got into scoring position early in the first after Josh Wilson (Frederick CC) hit a leadoff double 350 feet to deep center and Wilfredo Mendez Jr. (Delaware State) walked, but three straight swinging strikeouts by Big Train pitcher Patrick Galle (Ole Miss) shut down the potential opportunity.

Bethesda then forced its way into a similar situation, threatening with two outs. Jacob Orr (Maryland) got on base with a single into the left side gap, and two consecutive walks loaded the bases. However, a groundout helped Gaithersburg escape with zeroes on the scoreboard.

Just as the Big Train had just done, the Giants loaded the bases in the second with a single and a pair of walks. They weren’t able to get any farther, though, as a flyout to left field left Gaithersburg’s third, fourth and fifth runners on base.

The Big Train immediately took advantage of the missed opportunity. Facing a 3-1 count, Jason Schiavone (James Madison) smacked a ball deep over the left field wall, crushing a 360-foot homer to put Bethesda up, 1-0.

It took until the fifth inning for Gaithersburg’s abundance of baserunners to finally pay off, thanks to a plethora of Big Train errors. Catcher Bennett Shealor (George Mason) reached first on a dropped popup by the second baseman, then the Yakety Sax music began playing. Big Train pitcher Max Martzolf (Florida Atlantic) attempted to pick off Shealor at first, but his throw went wide and Shealor ran to second. Schiavone’s throw from first was off the mark as well, sailing over second base and allowing Shealor to take third. Two pitches later, Noah Leib (Denison) drove the ball into shallow right field, tying the game at one after Bethesda’s trio of mistakes.

The game didn’t remain even for long. With Orr on base, Jeffery Heard (Sacramento State) hammered the 0-1 pitch far over the right field wall, slugging his league-leading fourth home run of the year. The long ball put Bethesda up 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth.

The train kept chugging in the next two innings, and the Big Train kept the action moving with three consecutive walks and a hit-by-pitch in the sixth. Heard continued the merry-go-round, lacing a single into right field that scored two and gave Bethesda a 6-1 advantage. In the seventh, Orr hit a ball that stayed just fair down the left field line, scoring two runners who had gotten on base from a hit-by-pitch each. Then, Heard tallied his third hit and fifth RBI of the day, singling to bring Orr home and take a 9-1 lead.

Bethesda added one more in the eighth and closer Evan Marcinko (Maryland) earned the final three outs, capping off a 10-1 victory in the first half of the doubleheader.

 

GAME TWO

It was a quick 30 minute turnaround between games as the Gaithersburg Giants and Bethesda Big Train regrouped for game two of their Sunday doubleheader at Shirley Povich Field. This time, the Giants would emerge victorious, defeating the Big Train 3–1 to come out of the doubleheader with a split.

The ball was flying off the Giants’ bats in the heat of the Bethesda afternoon as the scoring began in the top of the third inning on a two out RBI double from third baseman Jake Butler (George Mason). The Giants would not score again in the inning but Gaithersburg starting pitcher Nick Karls (Morehead State) would earn the win, tossing five shutout innings allowing just two hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

The Giants would tack on two more runs in the top of the sixth on an RBI single from Eli Meredith (Chestnut Hill) and a putout at first base from designated hitter Casey Gibbs (Longwood) to make it 3–0 Giants after six innings. The Gaithersburg bullpen would continue to shut down the Big Train’s potent offense through eight innings as Patrick Bauer (Catonsville CC) and Dominic Valis (Towson) combined to back up Karls’ strong start.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Big Train attempted to mount a rally as Teddy Ruffner (UNC Wilmington) and Jack Guerrero (UNC Wilmington) drew back-to-back walks to put runners on first and second with no one out. That allowed pinch hitter Dixon Williams (East Carolina) to hit an RBI double to make the score 3–1 Giants, pushing the tying run to second with only one out.

After the Williams double, Giants pitcher Mason Levin (Harford CC) closed out the game for the Giants, getting the last two outs and putting the Giants into the win column 3–1, splitting the doubleheader on Sunday.

After two more days off for the NACSB Prospect Games, the Giants will travel to Alexandria on Wednesday to play the Aces while the Big Train will travel to Southern Maryland to play the Senators.