Big Train falls 6-2 to red-hot Senators

by Calvin Kaplan

WALDORF, Md. — In a hard-fought battle between two Cal Ripken League heavyweights, the Bethesda Big Train suffered a tough 6-2 loss to the Southern Maryland Senators on Monday.

The team was led by three-hit games from shortstop Brennon Wright (South Alabama), left fielder Matt Westley (Undecided) and right fielder Brett Ott (Sacramento State). The Big Train outhit the Senators 12 to 10 overall, but it was snakebitten with 14 runners left on base and three escapes from bases-loaded jams by the Southern Maryland pitching staff.

“They’re a good team,” Big Train head coach Sal Colangelo said. “Outhitting them is one thing, but it’s like in soccer: you can outshoot them and still lose the game.”

To begin the contest, the Big Train loaded the bases in the top of the first, bolstered by a double from first baseman Emilio Gonzalez (Florida Atlantic). However, the team couldn’t quite bring across the game’s opening run.

In the bottom of the inning, the Senators brought home a trio of runs, taking an early 3-0 lead. Left-hander Drew Bellis (Central Florida) escaped a bases-loaded jam to avert further damage, picking up a popout and a pair of strikeouts to end the frame.

The Big Train responded immediately in the second inning, scoring Westley on a successful double-steal to cut the Senators’ lead to 3-1. In the latter half, Bellis went back to his dominant ways, striking out two batters and holding the Senators scoreless.

Gonzalez threatened again with a long fly ball that fell just short of the warning track in the third. Taking a 3-1 deficit into the bottom of the frame, Bellis picked up his fifth strikeout and a 6-4-3 double play to ensure a clean inning.

In the fourth, the Big Train began to threaten again with a single from Westley and a double from Ott. No runs crossed, and the Senators tacked on one run against left-hander Lucas Marrero (Lynchburg). With runners on the corners, the inning ended promptly on an impressive leaping catch by Gonzalez.

The Big Train went scoreless in the top of the fifth, but the bottom of the inning featured an incredible 6-5-4 double play on a diving stop from Wright. With the score still at 4-1 entering the sixth, third baseman Logan Ponnett (North Carolina Charlotte) flared a leadoff single into left field.

After Westley reached on an error and Ott laid down a perfect bunt for an infield single, the bases were loaded. Wright managed to walk in a run, reducing the Senators’ lead to 4-2. After another no-run frame from Marrero, the score remained the same heading into the seventh.

Gonzalez began the inning with a walk, and Ponnett was hit by a pitch shortly after. A third hit from Westley loaded the bases, but once again, the Big Train fell just short of a run after a hot start to the frame.

“We hit well, but we just couldn’t capitalize when we needed to,” Gonzalez said.

For the bottom of the seventh, right-hander Trevor Orth (Roanoke) replaced Marrero after the latter’s three-inning, one-run outing. Orth allowed a two-run home run from designated hitter Chet Bowling, but he bounced back nicely, forcing a pair of flyouts and a groundout to bring the teams into the eighth.

Wright got to base with a one-out single, but the Senators ultimately held the Big Train without a run in the top of the inning. Orth fired a scoreless latter half of the frame, giving the team a slim chance. However, after being unable to score in the ninth, the Big Train ultimately fell 6-2.

Next up, the Big Train will take on the Metro SoCo Braves today at 7 p.m. Although the former is technically the away team, that matchup will take place at Shirley Povich Field due to a heat-related countywide field closure affecting South County High School. The Big Train’s next official home game is currently set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. against the Gaithersburg Giants.