Recap: Big Train picks up seventh straight win with 9-7 victory over Giants

by Calvin Kaplan

Drew Bellis by Andrew Weitzel

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Backed by rock-solid pitching and some hot bats, the Bethesda Big Train took care of business on Saturday at Shirley Povich Field, defeating the Gaithersburg Giants 9-7 for its seventh consecutive win.

The Big Train was headed by a 4-for-4 day from designated hitter Logan Ponnett (North Carolina Charlotte). First baseman Emilio Gonzalez (Undecided) added on a couple of hits as well, and second baseman Brennon Wright (South Alabama) and left fielder Josh Skowronski (Winthrop) both reached base three times with two walks apiece.

“I kind of found my rhythm last night against the Cropdusters,” Ponnett said. “Really, it was kind of just making sure I was in rhythm with my hands and my stride and whatnot.”

On the mound, the team was led by five sharp innings of two-run ball from left-hander Drew Bellis (Central Florida). Bellis struck out seven, and he was followed by right-hander Jordan Capuano (Youngstown State), who held the Giants hitless over three innings of work.

“I think the slider today was working really well,” Bellis said. “Had a really good feel for it early on.”

Things went smoothly for the Big Train in the top of the first, as Bellis picked up a couple of strikeouts to secure a speedy 1-2-3 inning. In the bottom of the frame, the team went scoreless, but Bellis picked up right where he left off by denying the Giants in the second as well.

In the latter half of the second inning, the Big Train started off the scoring on an RBI double from Ponnett. Gaithersburg responded with a pair of runs in the third, and from there, both teams went without a run until the bottom of the fourth, where third baseman Parker Corbin (Maryland) picked up a sacrifice fly to tie the score at two. After Ponnett came home on a wild pitch, the Big Train retook the lead.

Bellis blanked the Giants again in the top of the fifth, and the Big Train’s offense came alive even more in the bottom half of the frame. Skowronski started the red-hot stretch with a two-RBI triple, and he came home himself on a single from Ponnett. Eventually, Ponnett also scored on an error, giving the team a commanding 7-2 advantage.

“[Ponnett’s] confidence is back,” Big Train head coach Sal Colangelo said. “He had a great game, and it’s not surprising with Logan.”

In the sixth, the Big Train brought in Capuano, who pitched around two walks, recording a couple of strikeouts to keep Gaithersburg off the scoreboard. The Big Train padded its lead in the latter half of the inning, bringing home Wright on an error and Gonzalez on an RBI single from Ponnett.

Capuano put the Giants down in order to start the seventh, and he fired a scoreless eighth as well, helping to maintain the team’s 9-2 lead despite a pair of scoreless Big Train innings. In the top of the ninth, right-hander Jake Titus (Kansas City Kansas CC) came in to face Gaithersburg.

Titus allowed five runs — two earned — as the Giants attempted to rally, and the Big Train brought in right-hander Tyler Brashear (Eckerd) in an attempt to stem the tide. Brashear managed to strand two runners on base with the final out, boosting the team to a 9-7 victory.

Following its seventh straight win, the 18-6 Big Train will take on the D.C. Grays in a home doubleheader today, with the first game taking place at 10 a.m. and the second at 12:30 p.m.