Recap: Big Train wins 11th straight with shutout 8-0 victory

by Calvin Kaplan

James Gladden by Mark Thalman

ROCKVILLE, Md. — The Bethesda Big Train won its 11th consecutive contest Thursday, taking down the Southern Maryland Senators in a shutout 8-0 win at Shirley Povich Field.

The Big Train was led by five sparkling, two-hit innings from left-hander Kide Adetuyi (Florida Atlantic). Right-hander James Beasley (Princeton), left-hander Tanner Kaler (North Carolina Charlotte) and right-hander James Gladden (Maryland) held the Senators hitless the rest of the way, combining for six strikeouts.

Adetuyi was dialed in to start the top of the first, holding the Senators hitless and picking up a strikeout. The teams traded scoreless frames until the bottom of the second, when a double from shortstop John Martinez (Florida Atlantic) and a groundout from catcher Dylan Murphy (Florida Atlantic) brought in three runs.

Neither team scored until left fielder Josh Skowronski (Winthrop) and first baseman Emilio Gonzalez (Undecided) walked in a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth, making the score 5-0. In the top of the fifth, the Senators got a walk but were robbed of a hit by a spectacular line-drive catch from second baseman Parker Corbin (Maryland) to end the inning.

After a scoreless bottom of the fifth, the Big Train brought in Beasley, who fired a 1-2-3 inning that included a strikeout. In the latter half of the sixth, third baseman Logan Ponnett (North Carolina Charlotte) walked to drive in another run, putting the Big Train up 6-0.

Beasley kept the Senators off the scoreboard in the seventh. In the bottom of the frame, substitute left fielder Brett Ott (Sacramento State) and Gonzalez drew bases-loaded walks to extend the Big Train’s lead.

Kaler entered the game in the eighth, holding the Senators scoreless with a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. From there, neither team scored, with Gladden striking out the side in the ninth to clinch the win.

Today, the Big Train will hit the road to face the Alexandria Aces at 6:30 p.m. Its next home game is on Saturday against the Gaithersburg Giants at 7 p.m.