Diaz, Big Train Teammates Star in All-Star Game Victory
In the CRCBL All-Star game, team Maryland defeated team D.C. & Virginia by a score of 12-3. The Bethesda Big Train's league-leading amount of All-Stars played for that Maryland team, of course, and they enjoyed a sizable victory. Several Big Train players had great days in front of the scouts, including Gio Diaz (St. Mary's CA) who walked away with All-Star Game MVP honors.
Pitching wise, Chase Lee (Alabama), who started, and Jack Weeks (Georgetown) each threw no-hit, no-run innings. Elliot Zoellner (Maryland) also appeared in the game for an inning and looked strong. Additionally, other Big Train pitchers were qualified to appear in this game and also could have performed well on the grand stage, but with so many games in so few days, rest was certainly needed.
Offensively, the Big Train's players put on a show. Gio Diaz especially took the honors, hitting the game's only home run and going 4-for-6, finishing a triple short of the cycle, with four RBIs and three runs. A day after he set the CRCBL single-season stolen base record, it was Diaz who took home the game's MVP honors, continuing the tear he's been on.
"I mean, I'm very proud of myself, and I really didn't think this would ever happen," he said of both winning the All-Star MVP and setting the stolen base record. "I set goals before coming here, and it's cool to reach those goals and go beyond them."
Given the timeliness of his performance, Diaz was asked if he'd been playing with the scouts in mind.
"Not really. I always go through the game and don't try to think about the scouts. I really just focus on the game."
Here's some other Big Train offensive contributors: Kobe Kato (Arizona) had a hit in the All-Star game. Jacob Southern (Jacksonville) also had an RBI double on a ball hit hard and deep to right-center off the tall wall. Matt Thomas (William and Mary) had a hit and walked once, and Tate Soderstrom (Arizona) walked in his only plate appearance.
The Big Train's next game will be in Gaithersburg on Thuesday, and all of the players from the All-Star game will be back in green (technically black) for the Big Train. You can see the CRCBL's first place team at 7 p.m., so come on out!