Bethesda breaks all-time wins record

Bethesda already had 1st place locked up, but they still played hard, trying for the record setting win. Bethesda started off with runs in the first 4 innings. Making the score 5-0 going into the bottom of the 4th where Elliot Waterman got into trouble allowing 2 runs. He also allowed 2 runners on base the next inning before an out was recorded. Patrick Keane came in to relieve Waterman but both runners scored. Ben Carson scored next inning to make it 5-5. But Keane was solid from there on until he was relieved with 2 outs in the 8th for David Wayne Russo who pitched the last 4 outs. Bethesda started off the 9th with Adam Barry and Tucker Tobin drawing walks. Brenden Kalfus layed down a perfect bunt to move up the runners. Brennan Middleton came in to pinch hit for Daryl Norris and walked to load the bases. Mason Morioka hit a single to left field scoring Barry and Tobin for the game winning runs.

Notable Performances :
Adam Barry (2-4) 2 Runs, 2 RBI, Walk, 2 Doubles
Mason Morioka (2-4) Run, 3 RBI, Walk

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 go into final week on fire

Bethesda has won 31 games now this season tying their all time high, by beating the Nationals twice. The Big Train have clinched 1st place, and are trying to break their wins record tonight in Silver Spring.
Saturday, the Big Train put on another talent show by lighting up all of the 4 Nationals pitchers for 11 runs and shutting out the Nationals and only allowing 3 hits. Martin Agosta pitched 6 solid innings with 9 strikeouts, no walks, and only 3 hits. Mike Frank pitched the last 3 perfect, recording 3 k's. Daryl Norris hit a sac fly in the 2nd to start the scoring.  Brenden Kalfus doubled in the 3rd scoring Adam Barry. Mike Aldrete hit a 2-run homer plating Daryl Norris. The scoring held off until the 7th when Bethesda scored 4 runs on 3 hits including a homer from Brenden Kalfus scoring Adam Barry and Hunter Renfroe. And in the 8th, 5 straight hits added 3 more runs. Hits from Middleton, Hudak, Barry, Tobin (PH for Renfroe), and Kalfus.
Player of the game : Brenden Kalfus (4-5, 5 RBI, 2 Runs, 3-run HR, 2B)

Monday, Bethesda went to Waldorf to play the Nationals again were they were down after the first inning 2-1. But they fought back in the 4th with 3 runs all with 2 outs with Mississippi State's Daryl Norris starting the rally with a double, followed by a double from Brennan Middleton to tie it. Drew Farber walked. The a balk by the pitcher moved both runners into scoring position for Matt Bowman as he hit a single that scored 1 run. Another unearned run by the Nationals in the 5th but the only 1 run behind, but they were shut down the rest of the game by Cameron Love and Mike Kent. Love went 7 long innings facing 29 batters and striking out 6. Only 1 run against him was earned due to errors by Adam Barry (3B) and Drew Farber (C). Bethesda got an insurance run in the 7th on Brenden Kalfus' RBI single, but it didn't matter as Bethesda won by 2.
Player of the game : Daryl Norris (2-4, with a double and a run, and he triggered the rally in the 4th inning to lead the Big Train to victory.)

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.

6th inning victory

Braves pitcher Daniel Thorpe had things going for him through the first 5 innings of the game as the Braves were leading 2-1. At that point it seemed like a low scoring pitchers duel. The only runs scored in the game came on RBI singles and a wild pitch. But Bethesda's bats woke up in the 6th inning with 5 hits. Mike Aldrete lead off. Tim Quiery laid down a sacrafice bunt, but 3rd baseman Jordon Smucker made an error, so Quiery got on base. Adam Barry then got a single to load the bases with no outs. Then Hunter Renfroe got an RBI single, and the bases remained loaded. Brenden Kalfus then singled scoring 2 runs. So 5 straight batter reached base in the inning. Hunter Renfroe scored later on a fielders choice. Alex Hudak later scored as well. After Hudak scored, the starter Thorpe was pulled. He only allowed 3 earned runs and only got 1 out in that inning. They batted around but Mike Aldrete flyed out stranding Matt Bowman on third. Mike Frank had already had taken over on the mound, Ryan Garton started allowing only 1 run in 4 innings. Frank pitched until the 7th when Patrick Keane took over to allow no baserunners in the 8th and 9th. Matt Bowman scored in the 9th to make the final 7-2 over Herndon. Notable Performances (Alex Hudak who tripled, Patrick Keane who threw 2 perfect innings, and Adam Barry who had 2 hits.) Tim Quiery was the only player on the team who didnt get a hit in the game.

Express win again

The Big Train continued their slump against the Express on Friday. Elliot Waterman pitched 4 innings allowing 3 runs to start off the game. But the Big Train got right back in the game in the 6th inning when Hunter Renfroe hit another home run! This time, a 2 run home run to bring Bethesda back within a run. David Wayne Russo and Martin Agosta combined to pitch the remainder of the 5 innings scoreless but it wasnt enough as Hunter's home run was the only offense of the night and the Big Train went 3 up, 3 down in the 9th. Stay tuned as I will be giving away a FREE Big Train individual season pass for this 2011 season! (Details soon)

Elliot Waterman pitching

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.

Doubleheader sweep

Bethesda's first doubleheader of the season turned out nicely on Wednesday as they won both games against the struggling Thunderbolts. The first game was a shutout pitched by Matt Bowman who threw a 7 inning complete game. Bowman only allowed 3 baserunners on hits and struck out 8 batters. Adam Barry had a double and a sac fly, and 2 RBI, and Landon Appling had 2 hits.
The second game was owned by Hunter Renfroe who had 3 hits and 3 RBI. Bethesda jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after the first on Adam Barry's RBI single. The T-Bolts scored in the 3rd to tie it. But it wasnt tied for long as Hunter Renfroe hit a 2 RBI single scoring Michael Bass for his 2nd time of the night and Tim Wise. Renfroe added an insurance run in the 6th inning on his 2nd homer of the season. He even came in to pitch in the 7th and recorded the save, he allowed a run and left runners on base, but still managed to get the 3rd out. Bethesda improves to 13-3 on the season.

Big Train 9-2

The Bethesda Big Train are currently in 2nd place after losing today to the Southern Maryland Nationals who are now (11-0). Bethesda has only 3 hits in the last 3 games and are 1-2 in those games. The first of those games, vs the Orioles, the Orioles pitcher Blake Geiger (Richmond) no-hit the Big Train. A hit was given to Brenden Kalfus on the play but it was clearly an error by the catcher. Geiger deserved a no-hitter. The Orioles scored one run in that game (Click for video). The Orioles were held to only 4 hits by Big Train pitcher Matt Bowman (Princeton) who recorded 10 strikeouts in 8 innings.
Yesterdays game against Vienna was pushed back an hour due to pouring rain, then they played five innings until it poured again. The Big Train won 2-1 stranding a runner on 3rd base. Here are some videos from the game, ( HERE , HERE, AND HERE ). Kelly Secrest recorded 7 strikeouts in 4 innings and allowing 0 earned runs. The run was scored on one of Bethesda's 3 errors. The River Dogs also got 3 errors. And all 6 of them came in the first 3 innings of play. A dropped fly ball to center field was scored as a hit for Bethesda so Vienna only got 2 credited errors.
Tonight, 2 more errors were made vs. the SM Nationals made by Mason Morioka and Brennan Middleton. Both errors caused the only 2 runs of the game for the Nationals. Eliott Waterman and David Wayne Russo combined to get 7 strikeouts and only 4 hits. Michael Bass got a 2 out triple but was unable to score. The Big Train will try to catch up with the Nationals after they play the Rockville (2-9)

Mississippi State Walk Off

After losing game 1 to Florida 11-1, the Bulldogs had to win Saturday morning. Down 3-2 going into the bottom of the 9th, Jarrod Parks lead off. He singled down the left field line knocking reliever Nick Maronde out of the game. Steven Rodriguez came on to pitch against another former Big Train player Nick Vickerson. Rodriguez hadnt allowed an earned run in 20 innings until Vickerson crushed the ball into the left-center field bleachers. The play was later featured on Sports Center. The Bulldogs won 4-3 and have to win today at 1 to advance. The game is on ESPN.

Mike Aldrete - Baseball History

Mike Aldrete, not just the Big Trains starting shortstop but Mike Aldrete a player for the 1996 World Champion New York Yankees. Thats right. Mike Aldretes dad played in the MLB. He played 10 seasons in the major leagues with various teams. His best season was in 1987 with the Giants when he hit .325 with 51 RBIs, 50 runs, 116 hits and 18 doubles. He is now currently an assistant hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals in the MLB.

Big Train win over Thunderbolts in extras

The Big Train played their first extra inning and away game of the season in Silver Spring to face the Thunderbolts. The Big Train jumped out to an early lead against T-Bolts pitcher Chris Acker scoring 2 runs in the 1st inning. The T-Bolts later regained those 2 runs with one each in the 2nd and 4th to tie the game. Bethesda had a rally going in the 5th to score 4 runs on 5 hits to give Bethesda a 4 run lead. But the T-Bolts matched them again in the bottom of the 5th also scoring 4 runs, knocking Bethesda's starting pitcher Patrick Keane (SMC) out of the game. Silver Spring's Troy Handza added a walk in that 5th inning to his already impressive night as he was 2-3 with a HR, 2 runs, and 2 walks. The Big Train took the lead again in the 6th as Tim Quiery scored Adam Berry after his double with one out. But the T-Bolts tied it up again in the bottom of the inning. And nobody scored after that until the 11th inning. Josh Schneider and Mike Aldrete pitched 6.2 combined innings allowing 0 earned runs. Matt Grieb's RBI single scoring Josh Leemhuis won the game in 11 innings. All 3 runners in the inning came after 2 outs. Key Players in the game were Drew Farber and Tucker Tobin who both had 4 hits in the game. Bethesda combined to get 17 hits in the game. The T-Bolts got 12 hits. The game lasted 3 hours and 26 minutes. Pictures from the game are HERE. Video from the game is HERE.

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

Pre-season game

A few Big Train players and alot of Braves players vs. Industrial League Senators. I dont know the score. Or any of the players. Except for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Schourek a former major leaguer who played for the Senators #32. I got his autograph after the game. Todays game has been cancelled. Next game on Friday.

2011 Schedule and Prelim roster

Schedule (click link)
Roster (click link)

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.

2nd best game ever!

1st baseman Glynn Davis makes an unassisted out
For the 2nd game in a row the game started of with a bang. At least for the visitors. Glynn Davis hit a home run to left field to give the O's a lead without even an out. They ended up stranding Chris Cook on 2nd after his double which came after the home run. Ryan Collins scored in the 2nd but the O's answered back scoring 2 more of their own in the bottom of the 2nd. But in the 3rd the lead changed again but for the last time. The Big Train scored 4 runs in the 3rd all unearned to pitcher Chris O Grady. The first run came from Ryan Collins who singled with runners on 2nd and 3rd to score Connor Bernatz. Austin Harclerode walked to load the bases for Mason Morioka who launched a ball to center field over the center fielders head for a bases clearing double. Connor Bernatz scored again in the 4th. Austin Harclerode in the 5th. And Jarrod Parks and Austin Harclerode in the 6th. And going into the 6th it was 9 to 3. Hugh Adams came in to relieve Cameron Love and allowed his first 2 earned runs of the 2010 year. He ended up throwing 4 innings allowing 5 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks while striking out 3. Austin Harclerode in the 8th hit the longest home run yet this season as it cleared the scoreboard in left-center by about 5 feet. Mason Morioka later scored that inning. The ball game ended 11-5 in favor of the Big Train.
3 Star selection:

#1 Austin Harclerode
4 AB 4 runs 3 hits 2 RBIs 2 walks 1 HR

#2 Mason Morioka
5 AB 1 run 3 hits 4 RBIs 1 walk

#3 Nick Schneeberger
4 AB 3 hits

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 come back in last 2 innings beat T-Bolts again

After losing their first match up against the T-Bolts the Big Train won 4 straight and Friday they made it 5. After 6 lead changes the Big Train had the lead 6-5 in the ninth. In the 8th Danny Stienstra knocked in Mason Morioka who pinch ran for Seth Williams who singled. And Mason Morioka scored Ryan Collins in the 9th after a single. Ryan Collins had an amazing night with 2 doubles, 2 singles, 2 runs, and an RBI. Austin Harclerode had an expensive one, breaking 2 bats. Danny Stienstra had 3 hits a run and 2 RBIs. But who wins player of the game when Silver Springs designated hitter Fran Whitten had 2 doubles, 2 singles (just like Ryan Collins), 1 run, and 2 RBIs? The answer is Ryan Collins not just because he is a Big Train player but the time where he delivered his hits. He scored 2 of Bethesda's 6 runs and scored the go ahead run in the 9th after singling to lead off the inning.

Cam goes 8 innings, Big Train score one run to win

OF #6 Markus Melgosa caught stealing

5 hits was enough for Bethesda to pull away with the win on Thursday. Drew Farber had the only run of the ball game and a stolen base in his 4th game played on the season. The Aces had 7 hits and the Big Train made 2 errors. [N.Vickerson (14), T. Covington (1)] Markus Melgosa had 2 hits to raise hit batting average to .268. Cameron Love pitched 8 innings allowing only 6 hits and 2 walks. He also struck out 6. Bryan Hamilton got the save. Max Knowles pitched the last 2 outs of the 8th inning allowing nothing.