South All Stars hold on to lead, Morley wins derby

The HR Derby was delayed by a little sprinkle, but was played in full.
In the 1st round (of 2) Jordan Poole (Redbirds) hit bombs, I think he hit 8, I dont remember because I was in the field catching them. But it was him and Jacob Morley, who I think had 4 HRs. Morley won. Again i'm sorry I don't have all of the details, you can probably find them on the Big Trains e-mail, you can sign up for it at bigtrain.org on the right side of the page.

In the actual game, Matt Bowman started, he threw one inning, allowing a walk and no runs.
Martin Agosta pitched in the 2nd with a perfect inning with 2 k's.
Austin Poretz (Nationals) pitched in the 3rd allowing 2 hits and a walk but no runs. Alex Hudak saved him with an awesome throw to Hunter Renfroe from left field to nail the runner at the plate by a mile.
Kelly Secrest (4th inning) and Tucker Donahue (6th inning) also pitched perfect innings.
Mike Aldrete came in to pitch in the 8th with 2 outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd. The runner on 2nd was the game tying run. He pitched out of it and pitched the 9th perfect as well.

Big Train Hitters

Alex Hudak 2-4 Run
Adam Barry 0-4
Hunter Renfroe 0-3 K
Brenden Kalfus 1-2 Run
Michael Bass 1-3 HBP

MVP : Alex Hudak (Game saving throw in the 3rd, 2-4 run)
Runner-up / My honorable mention :  Ryan Dietrich 2-2, 2 RBI, 2 Doubles
And you can't forget to mention Chris Bzozowski's bomb to center field over the scoreboard in the 8th!
And during scouting day, earlier in the day, Big Train's catcher Hunter Renfroe threw 98 MPH off of the mound. 98!!!!!!

Big Train move to 7th in the nation

After Monday's All-Star Game in Vienna, Perfect Game USA ranked Bethesda #7 in the nation, moving above the Harrisonburg Turks, the team who plays at the all star game field. Bethesda is now 29-7, 7 games up on the 2nd place Nationals. The Nationals will come here today on a 3 game losing streak.
Now going back in time to Monday's Mid Atlantic Classic:
Bethesda had Hunter Renfroe and Adam Barry starting. Neither of them had hit or got on base.
Mike Aldrete and Martin Agosta pitched later in the game, allowing 0 runs.
The Cal Ripken league won 6-3 and out hit the Valley league 10-3.
Joey Cujas from Vienna was the only batter with more than 1 hit on the night.
 The Home Run Derby was short and uneventful, as 10 players had 4 outs each, then the top 2 went to the championship round. Mike Mandarino (SOMD) vs. the other valley league dude whose name i do not know. And it was 1-0. Hunter Renfroe only hit one home run. Why? Because the pitcher was Rockville's coach. He hit 2 batters during the derby.

July 13th vs Baltimore Redbirds
Baltimore came into the game after beating the Nationals the night before 14-4. After a quick first 3 innings, the Redbirds scored one run in both the 4th and 5th. But behing David Wayne Russo and Josh Schneider's pitching, Bethesda was able to tie the game at 3 after 7.
7th Inning :
Error by 2nd baseman, allows Hudak to get to 1st.
Norris and Wise popout.
Quiery walks.
Morioka doubles scoring both runners.
Bass popout.
By that error, Bethesda not only tied it but later won the game in the bottom of the 9th inning.
With 2 outs and nobody on, Matt Bowman and Michael Bass walked back to back.
And Mike Aldrete brought home Matt Bowman with a single to walk-off!

Pictures from this game are HERE

Josh Schneider Pitching in the 8th
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

Brandon Bouxdreaux's amazing catch
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

July 14th vs Herndon Braves

9-1. Thats not the final score. Thats the score after the 3rd inning. Bethesda rocked Herndon's pitcher Chris Shaklee in the 1.2 innings he pitched, giving up 2 runs in the first and 5 in the 2nd. Herndon's 2nd pitcher, also names Chris, calmed things down a little bit, but he still allowed a run. Bethesda's starter Ryan Garton left earlier than Herndon's starter, after only throwing for 1 inning. Garton didn't show up at Povich yesterday. Patrick Keane came on to throw 5 innings allowing only 2 runs. And by the time he was done, Bethesda had already added 5 more runs to the previous 9. 6 Big Train players had multi-hit nights! Leadoff hitter Michael Bass was 3-4 with 4 runs, a walk, and his 16th stolen base on the season. Alex Hudak was 3-3 with 2 RBI. Adam Barry had 2 hits and 4 RBI. Hunter Renfroe had 2 hits, 2 RBI, and a run before Mason Morioka came in to pinch-hit. Brenden Kalfus had 2 hits. At last but not least Daryl Norris was 3-5 with 2 doubles and 3 runs. Matt Bowman also crossed the plate 3 times. Drew Farber had a mentionable play when he broke his bat, and the barrel went flying into the stands, barely missing some fans by hitting off of the rail and over the stands. Final 14-3. 17 Hits for Bethesda. 5 errors for Herndon.

July 15th vs Youse's Orioles

Hit Parade!...again.

This game didn't start off very well as a 2-run home run was hit in the first inning by Dennis Mitchell off of Matt Bowman. But that was it until the 9th as Bowman shut them down from then until the 8th when he was relieved. He recorded 8 strikeouts. Bethesda didn't start their run explosion until the 3rd when Mike Aldrete and Michael Bass hit back to back triples. They added 3 more in the 3rd. And 4 more in the 6th including a bases clearing triple by Adam Barry! They didn't stop in the 8th and 9th as 3 runs came in, in both of those innings. Alex Hudak hit a towering drive off of the center field wall in the 8th that would have been a home run without the wall. All 3 runs in the 9th were unearned because of an error by the 2nd baseman. Tucker Donahue allowed 2 runs and left the bases loaded in the 9th. But it wouldn't have mattered anyway considering they still won by 11 runs. All Big Train players got hits in the game, 5 with multi-hit nights. Bass, Barry, and Aldrete had triples. Alex Hudak and Tucker Tobin had doubles. Tobin came in as a defensive replacement for Hunter Renfroe, and only had 1 at-bat, and still managed to get 2 RBI's. Michael Bass had 3 hits and 4 runs just like the night before. Aldrete, Renfroe, Barry, and Hudak also had multi-hit nights.

Extra inning victory

The Big Train got off to a good start in Calvert Hall on Thursday as they went ahead 2-0 after 4 and a half innings. But the game quickly turned around after that as Baltimore scored 3 quick runs in the 5th and 6th to take the lead. Alot of zeros were put up from then until a clutch 2 out RBI hit from Brennan Middleton tied it in the 9th scoring Brenden Kalfus who doubled to lead off the inning. Josh Schneider came in to pitch and shut down the Redbirds allowing Adam Barry to score Mike Aldrete on an RBI single in the 10th inning. Aldrete hit a 2-out triple to get on base. Mike also came on to get the save in the bottom of the 10th. A very questionable call in left field ended the game as Tim Wise made a nice catch but the Redbirds did not think he caught the ball, but the game was over. Bethesda improves to 14-3 and #21 in the nation.

Opener vs. Redbirds

New pitcher from NC-Wilmington Kelly Secrest made an impressive first start for the Big Train earlier today pitching 6 full innings allowing only 3 hits and allowing no runs. He also recored 7 strikeouts over the six innings. David Wayne Russo returning this season, pitched 3 innings to finish the game also allowing no runs and get a strikeout to shutout Baltimore. All of the hits came from the top of the Redbirds line-up (Winter, Jensen (2), Gardner). Josh Leemhuis walked twice and got 2 hits for Bethesda. Drew Farber knocked in 2 RBI's.



Redbirds #11 Cory Jensen tags up at 1st

Shoutout to Cory Jensen and his family! Thanks for reading my blog!

View more pictures on flickr HERE

Worst game ever!

Did you know the league actually did a home run derby? It was on Friday July 30th. The Baltimore Redbirds faced off against the Bethesda Big Train in the championship game after the Redbirds creamed the Orioles. REALLY BAD.
Thanks to whoever did the live game tracker. Actually whoever didnt do the game tracker because now i have no stats. Something is suspicious but i dont want to post it here. Apperantley the game is in the 6th inning. http://crcbl.bbstats.pointstreak.com/flash/index.html?gameid=22387. But the Big Train did get crushed and early too as the Redbirds got their 2nd 7 run inning of the day in the 3rd inning. They scored 3 runs the inning before to give them a 10-0 lead going into the bottom of the 3rd. The Redbirds also by then had 3 home runs off the bats of Seth Baldwin, Frank Florio, and Nate Woods. But Danny Stienstra had an answer to those 3 home runs.

The Big Train scored 1 run the next inning and 2 in the 5th. But the Redbirds added 2 more runs to hold up a 6 run victory. Since the Redbirds played a doubleheader they would be tired for the championship game #2.

Best game ever!

The Baltimore Redbirds beat the Big Train 4 out of 6 times in the regular season. With the a 10-game winning streak earlier in the season the took 2 seed. The game started off with a bang. After 5 pitches there was a man on 3rd. Ben Winter hit a triple on a 2-2 count. It was the only extra base hit of the whole game! He ended up to be the only run of the inning. Alex Fredrick scored a run in the 2nd to give Baltimore a 2-0 lead. Turns out that those were the only runs they would score as Cody Allen, David Wayne Russo, and Bryan Hamilton shut the door after the 2nd. Nothing barely happened until the 7th when Connor Bernatz sacrificed to score Nick Scheeberger who singled, advanced on a wild pitch and then advanced on a ground out to first. The score was 2-1 after the 7th and nobody had any ideas to leave at that point. And for a good reason. In the top of the 8th Danny Stienstra lead off and drew a walk. Jarrod Parks sacrificed to move him to 2nd base with 1 out. Then the right fielder Ryan Collins tied the game with a base hit to score Danny Stienstra. Austin Harclerode walked and Ryan Collins advanced on a wild pitch earlier in the at-bat. The Redbirds changed pitchers then Mason Morioka walked to load the bases. Nick Schneeberger grounded the ball to 2nd where Cory Jensen made the play got Morioka at 2nd but couldn't get the hustling Schneeberger at 1st. So the Big Train had the lead for the 1st time in the playoffs. Then Matt Bowman lined out to Jensen to end the 8th. The Redbirds left a runner on 1st in the bottom half of the 8th. Then the Big Train loaded the bases again in the 9th with no outs. But Jarrod Parks struck out and Ryan Collins did this:

In the bottom of the 9th Bryan Hamilton came on to protect a 1 run lead. And he delivered as he struck out the first 2 batters. And with 2 strikes he was 1 strike away from striking out the side, but Nate Woods had other plans.

And with the league leader in home runs up to bat this could only mean 1 thing:

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STRIKEOUT BABY!!!!!!!!

Tonight's 3 Stars:

#1 David Wayne Russo

4 Innings Pitched, 0 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts.

#2 Ryan Collins

2 for 5 with the game winning run and the game tying RBI

#3 Bryan Hamilton

1 Inning Pitched, 3 strikeouts, 1 hit, save

Other notes:

The Big Train won the game on 4 hits, the Redbirds had 8.

The Redbirds made 4 errors

UP NEXT: Youse's Orioles

Big Train fall to Redbirds

Matt Bowman gave up 5 runs in the 2nd inning to add up to 7 runs in 5 innings. Only 2 runs were earned.

Bryan Hamilton and Patrick Keane play catch before Tuesday's game

The standings have tightened again as the Big Train lose and the Redbirds win. The 5 spot that the Redbirds put up in the 2nd inning held the Redbirds to victory as they won by 5 9-4. Ben Winter went 4-5 with 2 runs and 3 RBIs for the Redbirds. Danny Stienstra got another hit extending his on base streak to 15 games. Jarrod Parks and Austin Harclerode each doubled and scored. Nick Vickerson walked twice, was hit by a pitch, stole 2 bases, and struck out. (Video Below) The Big Train will play the Braves tomorrow. One of the 2 teams fighting to get the 4th and final spot in the playoffs. The Braves have the worst pitching staff in the league posting a 4.34 ERA and allowed 15 home runs.

Big Train, Orioles, Redbirds all win again

The race is way too close too call. All teams are within 4 games of each other with only week to go! The Orioles are in first place with a record of 26-10 and have won 9 in a row. The Big Train are in 2nd with a record of 24-12. The Redbirds are in 3rd with a record of 22-14.

Tonight's game:
The Nationals jumped on to a quick 2-0 lead after the 1st inning. But David Wayne Russo only allowed 1 more run in the 6th inning. He was done after 5.1 innings. He allowed 6 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and got 3 strikeouts. Mike Kent pitched 2.2 innings allowing an unearned run. Bryan Hamilton closed out the game and got 2 strikeouts. Bethesda's 1,2,3,and 4 batters all had 3 at-bats and scored 1 run. Jarrod Parks did it all. He had 1 hit, 1 run, 1 RBI, 1 walk, and 1 strikeout, The only thing he didn't do was homer, but he got a triple. The 2 Nicks each doubled. Austin Harclerode and Nick Schneeberger each had 2 hits. Danny Stienstra ended his 6 game hitting streak but continued his 13 game on base streak. He has now reached base safely in 14 straight games. Seth Williams also had a hit and a run in only his 2nd game starting. Carl Travers had 3 hits and 3 RBIs but didn't score for the Nationals.

Redbirds Lose, Big Train take 1st place

The Big Train scored 9 runs again on the Express for the 2nd game in a row. With Cody Freeman leading the offence with 4 hits, 2 runs, and 2 RBIs, and a double. He also hit his 3rd homerun on the season tying him with the team lead with Nick Vickerson his college teammate. Danny Stienstra also had a pair of hits driving in 2 runs and scoring 1. Matt Bowman got a 4 inning save allowing only one baserunner on a hit. His ERA is now 0.87! The Redbirds lost to the struggling Nationals 4-3 to end their 10 game winning streak. The Redbirds and Orioles will square off tomorrow so one of them will lose. Bethesda is now in 1st place tied with the Orioles if they lose tonight then the Big Train own first place with a half game lead over Baltimore. The Big Train will be going up against the Aces and possibly Max Knowles who has 4 wins (LL) , 40 strikeouts (LL) , and a 1.41 ERA (3rd) .
LL- League Leader

Redbirds Rally falls short

Only 228 people came out to Povich to watch the remainder of June 14th's suspended game. The game started in the top of the 2nd with 1 out. Jordan Beistline pitched 5.1 innings allowing 3 hits and 1 run while striking out 4. The Big Train scored 3 runs in the 5th. 2 knocked in by Nick Vickerson and 1 by Cody Freeman. Austin Harclerode came around to score twice in the game. 1 run scored in the 7th off of Jordan Beistline. The other 2 were in the 8th off of Stephen Lumpkins who didn't have a very good night only getting 1 out and surrendering 2 runs. Bryan Hamilton got the save. Jordan Beistline got the win and Kyle Haynes of the Redbirds got the loss.

Injury Update: #6 Markus Melgosa (IF/OF) St. Mary's CA - Out (Back) ------ #8/#24 Jarrod Parks (3B/SS) Mississippi State - Back in lineup. 3-4 w/ 2B in Tuesday's game

Bethesda upsets Baltimore at Calvert Hall

Austin Harclerode's 2 doubles led the Big Train to victory. In a 3-run game three of the Big Train's 5 runs came on passed balls. Each team had 2 RBI's in a 5-2 Big Train win. Cody Freeman from Mississippi State went 0-5 on the day.

Big Train smashed in Opener

The Big Train losts 18-3 to the Baltimore Redbirds in todays game. The Redbirds took a 5-1 lead after the 1st and other multi-run innings slowly kept pulling away until the final out. The nights promotion was Big Train drawstring backpacks courtesy of the Grossberg company. The season got off to a disappointing loss but we'll see if they can rebound tomorrow vs. the Orioles.

NOTE: Jarrod Parks Out 3-5 Weeks (hand surgery)