Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
2019 CRCBL Pitcher of the Year -- Chase Lee
Date:08/13/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen Chase Lee was a shortstop when he arrived at Alabama and played on the club team. He tried out for the varsity team but was given a surprising recommendation. He was told to pitch, and pitch with a sidearm delivery. His newfound pitching ability earned him a roster spot with the Crimson Tide. He’s still learning how to pitch, he’s still learning to in...
2019 CRCBL Offensive Player of the Year -- Kobe Kato
Date:08/13/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen Kobe Kato doesn’t look at his stats. He thinks it’s bad luck. A Hawaii native, Kato hadn’t been as far east in the United States as Bethesda. He hadn’t been to the east coast before traveling with his Arizona team to play Penn State. As he adjusted to living just outside of a big city, Kato got off to a hot start on the field with the Big ...
Matt Thomas sparks Bethesda comeback as it wins fourth straight CRCBL title, eighth overall
Date:07/31/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen BETHESDA, Md. – Matt Thomas (William & Mary) spoke to injured Bethesda Big Train catcher Jacob Southern (Jacksonville) before game three, the decisive game for the 2019 championship. Southern was the leader of the Bethesda lineup, both with his experience from being with the Big Train last summer as well as his offensive production this summer. But in f...
Big Train bounce back, extend series to winner-take-all game three
Date:07/30/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen SILVER SPRING, Md. – The Bethesda Big Train took the field in a position it hadn’t been in 2019. Bethesda had its back against the wall. It was a loss away from elimination. And it had its back against the wall in the middle of the series’ second game. After jumping out to an early three run lead, the T-Bolts came back and tied the game as Brady Pear...
Nick Charleson pitches T-Bolts to LCS opening shutout victory, one win from CRCBL crown
Date:07/29/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen BETHESDA, Md. – Nicholas Charleson (Queen University of Charlotte) got a text from his head coach Sunday night. Doug Remer asked Charleson if he wanted game one. “Heck yeah, I’ll take it,” Charleson texted in response. Charleson prepared like any other game, listening to music and shagged balls during batting practice. He was s...
"I knew that was game": Walk off error gives T-Bolts 1-0 series lead over Grays
Date:07/26/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen SILVER SPRING, Md. – It didn’t matter whether the ball was fielded cleanly. Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts head coach Doug Remer thought his leadoff hitter would be safe. The winning run stood 90 feet away from home plate with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Corey Rosier (Chipola College) was at the plate and hit a routine groundball to D.C. Grays sh...
D.C. Grays earn team’s first playoff win, advance to play Silver Spring-Takoma T-Bolts
Date:07/25/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen GAITHERSBURG, Md. – Reggie Terry is accustomed to winning. He spent time as an assistant with the Bethesda Big Train where deep playoff runs and championships are the norm. But Terry wanted a new challenge. He left the Big Train to take the head coach job with the DC Grays, an organization without the glamour and resources littered around Shirly Povi...
Cal Ripken League Playoff Preview
Date:07/25/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen The playoffs are set to start Thursday, July 25 with playoff games between the Braves and Aces as well as the Grays and Giants. It’s the culmination of a 40 game season (well, slightly less than that) where one team set itself above the rest. That team is the Bethesda Big Train. For the third straight year and the seventh time since 2009, the Big Train won ...
Chase Lee, Cal Ripken League pitchers shine in 2-1 loss to Southern League
Date:07/16/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen Cary, N.C. – Chase Lee wasn’t a pitcher a year ago. He hadn’t learned his sidearm delivery. He hadn’t found his slider. Now Lee is striking out batters at one of the highest rates in the Cal Ripken League, and he’s doing it front of scouts. “It’s awesome, a bunch of scouts there, but I try not to worry about it,” Le...
Cal Ripken League cruise past Sunbelt League 13-5 in showcase opener
Date:07/15/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen CARY, N.C. – Jared Lyons played for the first time on a field he’d seen hundreds before. He’s seen pictures of the USA Baseball National Training Complex before, following USA Baseball on Instagram and Twitter. Greeting him at the gate was a sign of all the USA Baseball alumni selected in the first round of the 2019 MLB Draft. As he walked into the fa...
Max Romero and TJ McKenzie were first teammates at nine years old. A decade later they’re teammates again.
Date:07/15/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen Max Romero and TJ McKenzie met at nine years old. That’s when the sport they love drew them together, becoming teammates on a Miami-based youth baseball team. Romero and McKenzie grew up on opposing sides of the city, 60 miles apart. Now, nearly a decade after that first season side-by-side, the duo are teammates once again -- and they’ll remain as such wel...
Gio Diaz leads Maryland All-Stars to 12-3 win in 2019 CRCBL All-Star Game
Date:07/10/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen BETHESDA -- Gio Diaz (Big Train, St. Mary’s) didn’t take long to start breaking records. On June 30, Diaz set the Big Train record for stolen bases in a single season with 27. It took Diaz just 23 games to set the record. On July 9, Diaz set the Cal Ripken League record for stolen bases with 32. He broke the record with 10 games left to play in t...
All Star selection Brady Pearre plays hero for Silver Spring on a familiar field. Just from a different dugout.
Date:07/05/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen The field at Montgomery Blair High School, the home of the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts, is familiar ground for Brady Pearre (High Point). It’s a field he’s grown up watching baseball on and playing baseball on. But Blair has never been his home field, until this summer. On the field he knows so well, Pearre was the hero driving in three r...
2019 CRCBL All Star Game Roster: Team DC/VA
Date:07/05/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
With no divisions in the 2019 season, the Cal Ripken League All Star Game will take on a new format this year. Instead of North vs South, the All State Game team will be the three teams from Maryland versus the three teams from DC/Virginia. The Grays, in second place as of July 5, lead the DC/VA team with 11 players. The trio of Jordan Wiley, Austin Demming and Noah Searcy have led the Grays offe...
2019 CRCBL All Star Game Roster: Team Maryland
Date:07/05/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen With no divisions in the 2019 season, the Cal Ripken League All Star Game will take on a new format this year. Instead of North vs South, the All State Game team will be the three teams from Maryland versus the three teams from DC/Virginia. The Bethesda Big Train lead the Maryland roster with 14 players selected. It’s a group highlighted by pitchers Dalton Ponce, Ryan O...
Braves strand 16 Aces base runners in 10-4 win
Date:06/30/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen The Herndon Braves are at the bottom of most key statistical categories in the Cal Ripken League. Based on numbers alone, it makes sense why the Braves have struggled. But on Sunday night at Frank Mann Field, everything came together for the Braves as the got just enough on the mound and the plate. The Braves bullpen held off a rally from the Alexandria Aces and the offense p...
Nick Parker throws 6.1 scoreless innings in 3-1 Giants win
Date:06/29/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen Nick Parker doesn’t live with a host family this summer. He doesn’t live in Maryland. Instead, Parker lives in York, Pennsylvania. At home. Parker plays for Coastal Carolina. He became a part of the team’s rotations as the season progressed, and ultimately started an elimination game in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. As a freshman. Playing in Gaithe...
2019 CRCBL Midseason Update
Date:06/29/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen The 2019 CRCBL season has reached its midway point with each team now having played 20 games. In this post I’ll do a quick look at the first half for each of the six teams and take a look at the league award races. All stats and records are as of June 29. Bethesda Big Train It hasn’t taken long for the Big Train to emerge as the best and most complete team ...
Jacob Southern making MVP case at midway point of 2019 CRCBL season
Date:06/27/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen Before playing with the Bethesda Big Train in the summer of 2018, Jacob Southern had never heard of the Cal Ripken League. Southern is from Mount Dora, Florida, and plays for Jacksonville University. He first heard about the league from his catching coach at Jacksonville, Rich Wallace. Wallace is friends with Bethesda Big Train manager Sal Colangelo, and it was Wa...
Ryan Roell's clutch hit leads T-Bolts comeback to walk off Grays 5-4 in 11 innings
Date:06/22/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen SILVER SPRING – Ryan Roell knew he’d face higher caliber pitching in the Cal Ripken League. At Division III Frostburg State, Roell was nearly unstoppable at the plate. He hit .362 with 40 RBIs and a school record 16 home runs this spring. But the success didn’t carry over into the summer. With the Silver Spring-Takoma T-Bolts, Roell started the...
Big Train score seven runs in two innings to come back and beat the Braves 7-5
Date:06/19/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen Big Train hitting coach Sam Bender pulled the team aside outside the dugout early in the game. His team had struggled defensively, and had taken bad approaches at the plate. Bethesda came out looking flat according to manager Sal Colangelo, as it fell behind by three by the third inning. “You got to stay on them when you win a lot of games, or you pound people,&r...
Big Train toss second combined no-hitter in eight games with 10-0 win over Giants
Date:06/15/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen BETHESDA – The Bethesa Big Train last threw a no-hitter in 2005. In the first eight games of the 2019 season, the Big Train have thrown two. On June 6, the second game of the year and the home opener for the Big Train, the staff combined for an unconventional no-hitter. A play scored as a hit was changed to an error the morning after the game, turning an 8-0 win ...
Cade Doughty passes on MLB Draft, joins LSU pipeline in Gaithersburg
Date:06/10/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen Cade Doughty made up his mind Sunday. The 2019 MLB Draft was 24 hours away. As one of the top high school players in the nation, Doughty had a decision to make. He had been receiving projections as high as the second round of the Draft, a chance to become a professional baseball player right out of high school. Or he could stay home. It is just 18 miles from Denham Sp...
Giants move to first place in CRCBL standings after comeback win over T-Bolts
Date:06/09/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen GAITHERSBURG – Despite being only five games into the season, Gaithersburg Giants manager Jeff Rabberman knows he has a special group. “It’s there,” Rabberman said to his team after the game. “I’m telling you it's there.” After scoring just six runs over the first two games of the season, the Giants lineup continued to upgr...
D.C. Grays remain undefeated, hanging on for 4-3 win over Bethesda Big Train
Date:06/08/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen BETHESDA -- As the Bethesda Big Train threatened to take the lead in the late innings, D.C. Grays manager Reggie Terry felt something he hadn’t before – he wasn’t nervous. “Not with this team,” Terry said. “I had complete confidence that we would take care of it.” Terry said in past years he didn’t have the pit...
Ryan Okuda, early offense lead Big Train to 10-1 season opening win over T-Bolts
Date:06/05/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen Bethesda Big Train starting pitcher Ryan Okuda (Virginia Tech) already had a lead to work with before he touched the ball for the first time. Big Train manager Sal Colangelo used three total pitchers, and none ever threw a pitch with their team trailing. “Anytime you're pitching with the lead, pitchers are going to go out there, especially first game of ...
Gaithersburg Giants take no-hitter into the eighth inning in 3-1 opening night victory over Herndon Braves
Date:06/04/2019 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
By Matt Cohen Gaithersburg Giants Head Coach Jeff Rabberman didn't realize it was happening until the pitch before it ended. After the seventh inning ended with a groundout, Rabberman walked back to the dugout from the third base coaches box. When he stepped back inside, he quickly became aware of what his pitchers were doing. "I looked up and I realized," Rabber...
2018 All League Team
Date:09/04/2018 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
Congratulations to the following players for being selected to the 2018 All League Teams. 1st Team Catcher - Matt Thomas - Loudoun Riverdogs (College of William and Mary) 1B - Joe Zirolli - Baltimore Redbirds (West Chester University) 2B - Fox Semones - Bethesda Big Train (James Madison University) SS - Anthony Servideo - Baltimore Redbirds (Univer...
CRCBL Shines at Sunbelt Classic
Date:07/18/2018 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
The Cal Ripken team went 2-0 at the Sunbelt Classic Prospect Tournament which was held at Wingate University in North Carolina. In game one our team defeated the Southern Collegiate baseball team 10-1. The offense was led by Fox Semones (JMU) with a 2 run homerun. Carl Gindhl (U. of Mississippi), Tyler Villaroman (U of San Francisco) and Justin Wylie (U of Ari...
DC Grays join with MLB to salute Josh Gibson
Date:07/12/2018 Source:Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
On Thursday, the DC Grays joined with Major League Baseball to salute legendary Homestead Grays catcher Josh Gibson, one of the greatest sluggers to ever pick up a bat. MLB unveiled a mural of Gibson on the side of the Lincoln Theater, across from the original Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street NW. DC Grays players Jawan McAllister (Longwood University) and Ryan Shaw (University of ...
