Big Train notches first win at Silver Spring home-opener

Big Train 3, Thunderbolts 1

Box Score │ Season Stats

The Bethesda Big Train defeated the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts 3-1 at Blair Stadium to spoil the T'Bolts' Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League home opener Saturday night. A crowd of 325 witnessed a very entertaining game on a breezy and overcast night. The first two Big Train batters singled and scored, but the game remained in doubt down to the last batter as the T'Bolts stranded runners at second and third in both the sixth and eighth innings.

Centerfielder Jonnie Knoble (San Francisco) led off the game with a sharp single. Shortstop Ken Beamer (Findlay) beat out a bunt. Knoble scored on a double steal when the catcher threw the ball into centerfield. First baseman Rhett Teller crushed a ball to the fence in left-center to score Beamer.

Big Train starting pitcher Dustin Pease (Mount St. Mary's) retired 7 of the first 8 batters he faced before walking Sam Boone (UMass/Amherst) in the third inning. Boone, a Blair HS graduate, reached third on an errant pick-off throw by Pease and scored on a sacrifice fly by Andrew Greene (Furman). Pease retired 7 of the next 9 batters, and the score stood at 2-1 going into the bottom of the sixth with the heart of the Silver Spring order coming to bat. Third baseman Andrew Smith (San Francisco) made an outstanding bare-handed play on a bunt to retire the first batter, but then Pease walked Matt Capece (Bucknell). Capece raced to third on a single by Justin McClanahan (Northwest Shoals). McClanahan stole second to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Pease got out of the jam by striking out the next batter with a nasty slider and getting the third out on a grounder.

In the top of the eighth, designated hitter Drew Carson (Southern Mississippi) was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a passed ball, and scored on a single by his college teammate Trey Cuevas (Southern Mississippi). Robby Smithson (Lipscomb) took over from Pease in the top of the eighth. The T'Bolts loaded the bases on two Bethesda errors and a walk. Two strikeouts and a disputed force-out call at second ended the Silver Spring threat. Tag-team relievers Derek Caldwell (Rider) and Wyatt Stewart (Richmond) struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to preserve the 3-1 win.

Jonnie Knoble led the Big Train hit parade with 3. Ken Beamer, Rhett Teller, Trey Cuevas, and Nick Cleckler (Jacksonville State) each had two. Pease, a left-handed side-armer, got the win, allowing four hits and one unearned run while striking out 8 over 7 innings. Stewart struck out the two batters he faced and got the save. The losing pitcher was Matt Peterson (Salisbury) who allowed 8 hits and two earned runs in four plus innings of work. Justin McClanahan had two of the Thunderbolts' four hits.

Bethesda Big Train (1-1) 200 000 010 - 3 12 3
SS-T Thunderbolts (0-1) 001 000 000 - 1 4 4

WP: Pease (1-0); LP: Peterson (0-1); Save: Stewart (1)
2B: Teller (BT), Beamer (BT)
Attendance: 325
Time: 2 hours and 38 minutes

Big Train notes: The Big Train left at least one runner on base in each inning Saturday night and a total of 11. The T'Bolts stranded 8... Outfielder Marcus Jones (Landon/NC State) will return to play for the Big Train next week after participating in the high school All-American games.

Fans packed Blair Stadium for the Thunderbolts' Opening Night