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After a slower start to the game, with 0 runs from either team in the first 2 innings, Big Train earned 3 runs in the bottom of the third inning, putting them in the lead, a position that they held for the rest of the game. Tyler Reis (Waynesburg University) and Jacob Westerman (University of San Francisco) both scored in the third inning off a double from Ben Martz (Cal State Northridge), who got 2 RBIs off the play. Martz later scored for Big Train a few plays later off a hit from AJ Lee (University of Maryland) deep into left field.

Big Train closed out the game by scoring at least one run in every inning they played, from the fifth inning to the end of the game.

Big Train scored another 3 runs in the fifth inning to increase their lead to 6-0. Andrew Shebloski (St. Mary’s College (CA)) scored off a line drive into left field from John Glenn (California Baptist University), who earned an RBI off the play and made it safely to first base. Up next for Big Train was Alec Burleson (East Carolina University), who hit a booming two-run home run.

The sixth inning saw plenty of offensive threat for Big Train, with 4 runs scored and the team batting around the order. Udie Summerall (Florida Atlantic University) started out the inning for Big Train with a home run, giving Big Train  a 7-0 lead. Tyler Reis, up at bat next, made it to first base on a line drive past the second baseman. With Westerman at bat, Reis stole second base, and Conor McCormack (Erskine College) subbed in for Reis as a pinch runner. Ben Martz, batting next for Big Train, was walked by the Riverdogs pitcher, putting runners on first and second base. Shebloski hit a line drive towards left field, putting him on first, Martz on second base, and McCormack on third. John Glenn then also walked, this time scoring a run. Alec Burleson, up at bat next for Big Train, hit a line drive towards left field. He earned an RBI off the play, with Martz scoring a run off the hit. Carson Taylor (Virginia Tech University), batting next, hit a groundball towards left field, scoring Andrew Shebliski.

Big Train continued to finish their game strong, as Martz hit a homerun in the seventh inning, his first of the summer league season.

The eighth inning brought three more runs from Big Train, bringing the final score of the game to 14-0. AJ Lee got on first base with a groundball towards second base to start out the inning. A few pitches later, Alec Burleson hit a homerun for the Train, his second of the game. Burleson got 2 RBIs off the hit, bringing his total number of RBIs for the game to 5 and 17 total on the season, a number which leads the CRCBL. Udei Summerall closed out the game for Big Train with another homerun, bringing the final score of the game to 14-0.

Summerall has proven himself to be an offensive threat for Big Train, with a grand slam against the Express last night and his two homeruns tonight. “I had been trying to pull the ball too much lately before [the last two games], so I’d been grounding out and hitting weak balls and breaking a lot of bats,” Summerall said after the game. “Today and yesterday I’ve just been trying to go to the opposite field and trust everything to work, and it’s been working.” Summerall’s approach in these past two games was instrumental in his power at bat for Big Train.

Carter Bach (Wake Forest University), the starting pitcher for Big Train in this evening matchup, played a key role in the team shutting out the Riverdogs. In four innings, Bach had 7 strikeouts and only gave up two hits, setting the tone for the rest of the game. Going into the game tonight, Bach knew it was important for him to “keep pounding the zone and getting ahead of hitters, and if they do get a hit I think, with their disadvantage being using a wooden bat, I could just pitch to contact, and we got some strikeouts because of it.”

Big Train’s coaching staff was happy with the team’s performance tonight. “The kids came out, and played. I thought we played well. We got off to a slow start, but we started swinging well towards the end,” Coach Galvin Morris remarked after the game. Morris, as well as the entire team, was quite excited during and after the game when talking about the offensive threat of Big Train, particularly the amazing amount of homeruns in the game.

Big Train remains at home to take on the Baltimore Redbirds on Wednesday, June 20th. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Box Score