Bellis, Ponnett Propel Big Train to 9-7 Win over Giants

by Alex Rubinson

Emilio Gonzalez returning to the dugout by Andrew Weitzel

ROCKVILLE, Md. - In the top of the fourth inning, the Bethesda Big Train found themselves down 2-1 to the Gaithersburg Giants. Drew Bellis (University of Central Florida) took the mound for his fourth frame of work and walked Nate Hawton-Henley to start off the inning. With a runner on first and nobody out, Hawton-Henley took off way too early. Bellis stepped off the rubber, but his throw sailed wide of Emilio Gonzalez (Florida Atlantic University) at first. Suddenly, the Giants had an insurance run 90 feet away. Needing to keep the deficit at one, Bellis went to work. He struck out Ryan Maxey swinging. The left-handed hurler then forced Cade Hentz to hit a shallow fly ball to right field. Hawton-Henly took a few false steps towards the plate, but the flyout was not nearly deep enough for him to tag up. Bellis was one pitch away from getting out of the jam. On the 1-1 delivery, Bellis got Aaron Babaev to hit a ground ball to John Martinez (Florida Atlantic University) at shortstop, who fired to first for the final out of the inning. Bellis bent, but he refused to break.

“Just to lower his pulse and relax,” Manager Sal Colangelo said of Bellis getting through the fourth-inning jam. “Don’t get too emotional or too hot.”

After falling behind early, the Big Train outlasted the Giants 9-7 on Saturday.

“The in-between starts what I’ve been doing has been working,” Bellis said. “I’ve been feeling really good.”

Drew Bellis by Andrew Weitzel

The Big Train’s offense responded to Bellis’ resilient fourth inning. Josh Skowronski (Winthrop University) led off the bottom of the fourth with a walk before Logan Ponnett (University of North Carolina Charlotte) singled for his second hit of the night. Ponnett had hit an RBI double earlier in the contest to get the Big Train on the board. After both runners advanced on a passed ball, Parker Corbin (University of Maryland) pulled the Big Train even with a sacrifice fly. Later in the frame, the ball got away from Giants catcher Collin Hughes, which allowed Ponnett to touch the plate and give the Big Train a 3-2 lead.

“He got his confidence back,” Colangelo said of Ponnett. “He hit the ball hard. He saw it really well. Hit mistakes and good things happen.”

The Big Train continued to add on. One inning later, Brennon Wright (University of South Alabama) extended his on-base streak to 22 consecutive games with a single. Three batters later, the Big Train had two runners on base, which set the stage for Skowronski. The left fielder laced one down the first base line. Wright scored easily, and Gonzalez came in right behind him on the two-run triple. Ponnett then continued his stellar night at the dish. The third baseman singled home Skowronski for his second RBI of the contest.

Josh Skowronski by Andrew Weitzel

“I found my rhythm last night against the Cropdusters,” Ponnett said. “I was working with the way I set my hands up with my stance.”

On the pitching side, Bellis settled in. The UCF Knight preserved the Big Train’s narrow lead in the fifth before the offense exploded for four insurance runs. The southpaw finished with five innings pitched. He allowed two runs on three hits. Even with the Giants showing signs of life, Bellis still notched seven strikeouts in his outing.

“He sets the tone,” Colangelo said. “He was working on some things [during the game], so he had to battle through it.”

Bellis attributed one of his secondary pitches as the key to why he racked up so many strikeouts.

“[My] slider was working really well,” Bellis said. “I had a really good feel for it early on and just put guys away [with it], and I had a lot of confidence with it today."

Jordan Capuano (Youngstown State) had his strongest outing of the season. The junior tossed three hitless innings and had two strikeouts in his relief appearance. In addition to extending his on-base streak, Wright also flashed the leather. With two runners on, the second baseman made a sliding stop and a nice throw to save a run and help Capuano get through a scoreless sixth inning.

In the top of the eighth, Giants Manager TJ Brockway was ejected from the game after Hawton-Henley was ruled out at first after the umpires said there was runner’s interference at the second base bag. What initially appeared to be a fielder’s choice turned into a double play.

The Giants would not go down without a fight. They rallied to score five runs in the top of the ninth inning. After a two-run single put the tying run on base, Colangelo brought in Tyler Brashear (Eckerd College) in what was suddenly a save situation. After he fell behind in the count 3-0, Brashear worked his way back and forced Aidan Marino to fly out to Peyton Steele (University of Alabama) to close out the win.

Ponnett was the star of the night on offense. After he added another run-scoring hit in the sixth inning, the North Carolina native recorded four hits and a walk with three RBIs. He also scored two runs for an all-around night in the batter’s box and on the basepaths.

Logan Ponnett by Andrew Weitzel

[Giants starting pitcher Alexander Angelidis] was throwing a lot of fastballs,” Ponnett said. “I got a fastball 0-0, probably was a bit up, but I put a good swing on it. My approach is dead set on the fastball. I’m usually good enough to adjust to whatever.”

The Big Train will be right back in action tomorrow. Colangelo’s team will host a doubleheader against the D.C. Grays with game one starting at 10 a.m.

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