Written by Erin Hughes

After taking down the reigning CRSCBL champions, the Bethesda Big Train, on Wednesday night, the D.C. Grays continued their winning ways with a 7-6 comeback win over the Metro South County Braves on Thursday in Woodbridge. 

With two wins under their belt, Grays head coach Jack Besser said, “Two wins is a great way to start the season…you can’t say it any better than that.” He explained that, “early in the season, you’re just trying to get to know your team, and I really love the energy we have. I think they’re really competitive, playing aggressive…and the results are showing it.”

The first few innings were dominated by the pitchers, with the only run coming on a Grays error in the second inning. The Braves looked poised to strike early with two quick singles to start the game from Franklin Gomez Jr. (Fairleigh Dickinson) and Nich Francuzenko (Towson), but Grays pitcher Kimani Davis (Xavier-Louisiana) got two flyouts to strand the runners.

Braves right-handed pitcher Ben Smallwood (Marymount) went three up, three down in the bottom of the first to blank the Grays. The second inning saw Michael Lavanga (Harford CC) get hit by a pitch to get on base and advance to second on a fielder’s choice. Sawyer McElhattan reached on the error that scored Lavanga for the Braves first run. The next two batters were retired to strand McElhattan and limit the Braves' scoring. 

Both Davis and Smallwood recorded 1-2-3 innings in the third, with Davis fanning two batters and Smallwood getting two groundouts.

The Braves threatened again in the top half of the fourth after loading the bases on two singles and a hit by pitch, but Davis got Sam Grube (Mount St. Mary’s) to ground out to the second baseman to end the inning. 

Franklin Gomez Jr. smacked a leadoff double for the Braves in the top of the fifth, before a single from Francuzenko brought him home. The Braves took a 3-0 lead after a triple from Charlie Magoulick (Rider) scored Francuzenko from first. Davis retired the next two batters via a looking strikeout and a putout to end the inning. 

The Grays were able to bounce back in the home half of the inning that started with Jack McMullan getting hit by a pitch. The next two batters went down, but McMullan advanced to second and third on a failed pickoff attempt. With the first run in scoring position, Andrew Ruggeri (Penn) dropped in a single to bring home McMullan. Ruggeri stole second and Joey Chitla (Wofford) was walked to put two men on. The Grays pulled off the double steal to get runners in scoring position and TJ Addonizio (Richmond) walked to load the bases. A single from Andy Rivera (Holy Family) plated Ruggeri and Chitla to tie the score at 3-3. Rivera stole second but was stranded after a groundout.

Davis started the sixth inning with a swinging strikeout, but subsequently walked Santangelo, who advanced on a fielder’s choice. Gomez Jr. singled to bring in Santangelo and give the lead back to the Braves, 4-3. Davis was relieved by Anders Ahladas (Randolph-Macon) who got a flyout to end the inning.

Braves right-handed pitcher Ben Cogar (Moravian) entered the bottom of the sixth and kept the Grays bats quiet for the inning.

Ahladas led off the top of the seventh by fanning the first two batters he faced. Terrance Rhodes (Norfolk State) broke the ice with a single that was followed up by another hit from Trent Adelman (VCU). With two runners on, Santangelo walked to load the bases with two outs. Grube singled to plate Rhodes to make it 6-3 Braves. Grube was stranded after Ahladas got a groundout to end the inning.

The Braves got two quick outs to start the bottom of the seventh before Addonizio reached on a fielder’s choice. He showed off his speed as he advanced to third on a single from Rivera. A walk to Ryan Grace (Lafayette College) loaded the bases, and Grace’s Lafayette teammate, Luke Caucci, hit a single that drove in Addonizio and Rivera. Caucci advanced on the throw and McMullan knocked a single that scored two more, giving the Grays a 7-6 lead. 

Sam Moseman (NYU) came in to relieve Ahladas in the top of the eighth and sat down three Braves in a row in his first inning of work. The bottom of the eighth saw Braves pitcher Reed Little (Hampden Sydney) prevent the Grays from scoring any more runs. 

Moseman came back out for the top of the ninth and walked the first two batters he faced. However, he made quick work of the next two batters, striking them out looking and swinging, respectively. With two outs, the runners advanced to second and third on a passed ball and looked ready to pounce at any moment. But, Moseman got the last batter to fly out to record the save. 

The Grays stole five bags against the Braves, something Besser was expecting. He said, “Aggressive on the base paths - that’s our game plan. Every time we get on first base, we’re trying to extend - that’s our goal.”