Two-hit pitching masterclass powers Big Train past Senators

by Calvin Kaplan

Adekide Adetuyi by Mark Thalman

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Exiting the mound after his fifth and final inning of work, left-hander Kide Adetuyi (Florida Atlantic) had no reason to feel anything but satisfied.

Little did he know the Bethesda Big Train would allow no hits the rest of the way.

Powered by excellence from four pitchers, the Big Train took down the visiting Southern Maryland Senators in shutout fashion Thursday, winning 8-0 for its 11th straight victory. Alongside Adetuyi’s five-inning, two-hit performance, the team was led by relief outings from right-hander James Beasley (Princeton), left-hander Tanner Kaler (North Carolina Charlotte) and right-hander James Gladden (Maryland).

“Coach Lopez and Coach Joe [McIntyre] are both great pitching guys,” Big Train head coach Sal Colangelo said. “[The pitchers] are doing the little things with box work, short boxes and bullpens.”

“Honestly, I would say my changeup worked a lot today,” Adetuyi said. “Got a lot of ground balls with it, a good amount of double-play balls, but just getting ahead in the zone was the best part, honestly.”

Adetuyi’s stats are simply eye-popping at this point in the season. Through 24 innings pitched, the lefty has allowed just one run, and he towers over qualified pitchers in ERA (0.38) while ranking second in the league in strikeouts (26). On Thursday, he threw just 66 pitches, managing to go relatively deep into the game while successfully preserving his arm.

Yet the Big Train’s success couldn’t have come without the guys behind Adetuyi, either. The 6-foot-7, hard-throwing Beasley sparkled in two innings of work, striking out three batters and looking dominant in his first Big Train appearance since joining the team midway through the season.

“The fastball felt pretty good,” Beasley said. “First outing this summer. The ball was definitely coming out really good, and it just seems like they couldn’t really hit it.”

Beasley also spoke highly of his experience getting acclimated to the team.

“The team’s a great group of guys,” he said. “They’re all good dudes, all chillers, and I actually really enjoy their company. They’re all really funny, too.”

After Beasley, Kaler and Gladden made sure things were more than taken care of in the eighth and ninth. Kaler generated a flyout and a double play after allowing a leadoff walk, and Gladden shut the Senators down with three devastating strikeouts to close out the game.

“Honestly, it felt like everything [was clicking],” Gladden said. “The slider’s usually there. It was a little iffy from the hit batter, but every other batter, the slider got him. And then last-pitch heater, I knew after throwing ten sliders in a row that he’d be late on the heater, so it worked out for me.”

Gladden said he’s continuing to get more confident as he returns from missing nearly two years due to an injury.

“When I came back first from Tommy John surgery, it was rough,” he said. “There was no confidence, really. All my stuff was out of whack. But the reason why I’m here and playing summer ball is to get more innings under my belt, to get more comfortable, and it feels like every outing, I get more and more comfortable.”

With a combined two-hitter now under its belt, the Big Train pitching staff looks better than ever.

“They’re listening because they’re good kids,” Colangelo said. “You’ve got to be a coachable kid and listen. As long as you do that, you’re going to be successful, and that’s what’s happening.”

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

Click HERE to read the recap of Thursday’s exciting victory!