Big Train Steams Past Senators 20-5 En Route to Championship Series

BETHESDA, Md – The No. 2 Bethesda Big Train bounced back in a big way on Monday night, blowing past the No. 3 Southern Maryland Senators 20-5 in seven innings in a win-or-go-home game in the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League semifinals. 

The victory sets up a rematch of the final game of the regular season against the No. 1 Olney Cropdusters, where the Big Train will look to get revenge for its 11-8 loss that saw it fall to second place in the standings.

The offense took the forefront on Monday night, going off for 23 hits and 20 runs – both season highs – when it mattered most. On top of that, every batter that started the game recorded a hit and a run, showcasing the team-wide talent in Bethesda.

Outfielder Zachary Malvasio (University of Central Florida) led the way for the Big Train, powering two home runs and a triple to bring his season home run total to 11, a league high. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida native also drove in three RBIs and scored three runs of his own as the Big Train took the lead early and never looked back.

“People thought they had the book on him [Malvasio], he’s such a great player,” Head Coach Sal Colangelo said. “The main thing I tell him is ‘relax, just use your God-given ability, square the ball up and hit it 108 miles an hour’.”

The onslaught started in the bottom of the first inning, when the Big Train hit through the order and put six runs on the board on seven hits, setting the tone for the rest of the evening. Infielders Logan Ponnett (George Mason University), Cal Johnson (University of Maryland), Casey Carpenter (UNC Wilmington) and outfielders Ryan Foscolo (University of Kentucky) and Will Haacke (James Madison University) got their evenings started with consecutive RBIs.

Foscolo in particular would end his evening three-for-four with five RBIs and a home run of his own – a 403-foot, three-RBI rocket in the bottom of the fourth inning. 

First baseman Emilio Gonzalez (Nova Southeastern University), the 2025 Triple Crown winner, showcased his talent in the matchup with a three-RBI night during which he also knocked out a home run 407 feet in the bottom of the second – the furthest of any Big Train player this season.

Infielder Brennon Wright (University of South Alabama) came away with a season-high four-for-four evening, paired with a walk, an RBI and three runs for the Starkville, Mississippi native.

By the bottom of the second inning, the Big Train had run away with a 9-0 lead thanks to Gonzalez and Malvasio’s back-to-back home runs. The Senators would rally three runs back in the top of the third as three runners got home with the bases loaded and two outs, but Foscolo would respond with a homer in the bottom of the fourth that gave the Big Train an insurmountable 12-3 lead.

After Southern Maryland would earn another two runs in the top of the fifth, Bethesda responded in the only way they knew how – an eight-hit, seven-run bottom of the fifth where the team would once again hit through the order.

Although catcher TJ Gramesty (Florida Atlantic University) would leave the game with an injury after going one-for-two with a run, Jack Gagen would step up, also going one-for-two and adding an RBI to his season total of 15.

The final run of the evening came on a fitting 402-foot home Malvasio run, cementing the Big Train’s place in the Championship as it searches for its fourth-straight title in the Ripken League.

Looking ahead for the Big Train, the team will play away against the Cropdusters on Tuesday evening, with the first pitch set for 6 p.m. The return game at Shirley Povich Field is scheduled for Wednesday evening in what could be a championship-deciding matchup.

“I came back knowing that this is what we were gonna come to,” Wright said. “I’m really excited to represent this community and this team, it means the world to me.”

If necessary, Game 3 of the series would be held in Olney on Thursday, July 30.

Tickets for Wednesday night’s game can be purchased on the Big Train website.