Big Train Stellar Pitching Not Enough in Tough 2-1 Loss to Giants

by Alex Rubinson

Russell Petersen (left) and JJ Hand (right) by Mark Thalman

ROCKVILLE, Md. - The Bethesda Big Train’s offense had struggled to get anything going. They hadn’t had many opportunities throughout the night. Even when they did get a runner to third with fewer than two outs, they weren’t able to find that timely hit to get on the scoreboard. In the bottom of the eighth, they were down 1-0. Brennon Wright (University of South Alabama) tried to jumpstart the offense and worked his second walk of the contest. The shortstop got one of the better jumps you will ever see to steal second. He advanced to third on a grounder by Brett Ott (Sacramento State). He was 90 feet away and trying to manufacture a run all by himself. With Emilio Gonzalez (Nova Southeastern University), at the plate, the ball skipped past the Gaithersburg Giants catcher. Wright touched home plate and let out a loud scream to tie it all up at one.

"I saw that [Evan Cerretani] was really quick with his timing when he was coming set," Wright said of his stolen base. "Once I saw the first three [pitches], I knew just shuffle into it and go....Once I saw the ball in the dirt, I was full steam ahead."

Despite the late-game heroics, the Big Train fell 2-1 to the Giants on Tuesday. Both teams played a clean game, but the Big Train were not able to generate enough offense outside of Wright’s base running instincts.

"[Wright] is a bulldog," Manager Sal Colangelo said. "He plays the game with fire."

Brennon Wright by Mark Thalman

For the first time all season, Owen Stewart (George Mason University) looked human on the mound. He hadn’t allowed a single run all season coming into the night. With two outs in the eighth, Giants first baseman Bryce Rudisill hit a towering home run over the right field fence. After the Big Train battled back to tie the game, Stewart came out of the dugout for his second inning of work. He surrendered a walk and a weak single to center. After Stewart got a deep fly ball out, he was one pitch away from sending the game to the home half of the ninth with the score still tied. Brady Powell had other ideas. He hit a ground ball that was just out of the reach of third baseman Logan Ponnett (University of North Carolina Charlotte) to give the Giants the lead for good.

Russell Petersen (Whitman College) got the start for the Big Train and turned in one of his best outings of the season. On a night when the offense couldn’t string together many hits, Petersen matched Giants starter Brady Fox zero for zero. The righty finished with four shutout innings. He didn’t rack up the punchouts like some of his teammates, but he only allowed one hit and two walks in his appearance.

"He mixes it up and works ahead," Colangelo said.

Petersen was in cruise control until the fourth frame. In his final inning, Petersen gave up a walk and a base hit. In-between those two plate appearances, the Giants got a baserunner via catcher’s interference. All of a sudden the Oregon native was in a bases loaded jam with fewer than two outs. He forced Cade Hentz to hit a fly ball to Peyton Steele (University of Alabama). The outfielder has already shown he has a cannon of a right arm. Steele fired a bullet to the plate to prevent the runner at third from even trying to tag up. With two outs, Petersen retired Ryan Maxey on a routine ground ball to second to get out of the jam with no damage and end his night.

"I had to finish the inning, and I knew it was on me," Petersen said. "Just living in the zone."

Russell Petersen by Mark Thalman

In the very next frame, Tanner Kaler (University of North Carolina Charlotte) found himself in a jam. He allowed a single and a double to put two runners in scoring position with only one out. The southpaw got a ground out before he struck out Andrew Holub to retire the side and keep the scoreless tie intact.

Jordan Capuano (Frederick Community College), Kaler and Petersen combined for seven shutout frames. The trio only allowed three total hits and three total walks in their collective outing.

Wright tallied two walks on the night. He now sits one game away from stretching his on-base streak to 30 games on the season. The middle infielder is always a tough out and does a great job working into deep counts that result in long plate appearances.

"I try to keep my strike zone as small as I can," Wright said. "I'm only looking for one or two pitches. You just got to keep seeing pitches."

The Big Train will look to get back into the win column later today when they host the Olney Cropdusters at 7 p.m.

Read HERE for the full recap!