RED HOT ROCKVILLE EXPRESS STALL IN BIG TRAIN STATION Box Score

The red hot Rockville Express pulled into Big Train Station Thursday night with a chance to gain a tie for first place as the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League moves into the next-to-last weekend of the 2006 regular season. The Express had won six straight, including a convincing 5-1 win over Bethesda Tuesday night at Knights Field, to pull with in a single run of Bethesda. For a good while, it looked like the Express might just win number seven in a row and move to the top of the Cal Senior standings. But it was not to be as a gritty Big Train team pulled out a 4-3 win in ten innings.


Cory Lane (UNC-Charlotte) got the Big Train on the board in the bottom of the first by hitting a single, advancing on a bunt single by Nick Cleckler (Jacksonville State), stealing third, and scoring on an RBI groundout by Matt Long (Santa Clara). Quentin Cate (Cal Poly) responded for the Express in the top of the second with a lead-off home run to tie the game at one. Brian Dozier (Southern Mississippi) doubled to lead-off the third and scored on a two-out single by Long. The Express tied the score again in the top of the fifth on back-to-back doubles by Mike Murphy (Maryland) and Cate. Murphy led off the seventh with a single, stole second, and scored on a throwing error on a dropped third strike. Chris Cullen (Michigan State) relieved in the eighth inning and retired eight straight batters. Long led off the eighth for Bethesda and drew a walk. An error, a sacrifice, a single, and an RBI groundout by Luke Adkins (Southern Mississippi) scored Long. Express reliever Daniel Kennedy (Georgetown) loaded the bases in the ninth with two outs before stranding them all with a strikeout. With two outs in the top of the tenth, Cullen allowed a walk and a single before punching out the last batter. Express reliever Michael Kauffman (Spartanburg Methodist) walked the first two batters in the bottom of the tenth before giving up a walk-off single to Dozier for the Big Train victory.


Rockville Express (19-13) 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 -- 3 9 1
Bethesda Big Train (21-11) 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 -- 4 9 4
WP: Cullen (3-0)
LP: Kauffman (0-1)
HR: Cate (RE)
2B: Dozier (BBT), Murphy (RE), Cate (RE)
Attendance: 568
Time: 3 hours, 11 minutes.


Big Train Notes: With victories over the Big Train Tuesday and the Thunderbolts Wednesday, the Express had taken the lead in the competition for the Gazette-sponsored Montgomery Cup. The Big Train's extra inning win on Thursday night put Bethesda back on top. With wins against Rockville July 27 and Silver Spring-Takoma July 29, the Big Train can clinch the Cup... It was Washington Baseball Night featuring Screech of the Nationals and book signings by Hank Thomas, Phil Wood, and Jim Hartley. Baseball Sluggers Commemorative Stamp Ceremony led by DeeDee Willard-Ruffin, Postmaster of Bethesda, featuring a special Big Train Station cancellation of stamps of Roy Campanella, Hank Greenberg, Mickey Mantle, and Mel Ott. Thursday night's game was sponsored by Friedman Billings Ramsey.