Written by Erin Hughes

The Metro South County Braves ended their nine-game losing streak with a commanding 20-9 win over the Gaithersburg Giants on Saturday night in South County.

The Giants quickly found the bases loaded in the top of the first after a leadoff single from Brady Powell (Radford), a walk to Andrew Holub (Iowa), and Zach White (Louisiana Monroe) was hit by a pitch. Braves pitcher Kyndall Cassidy (Ouachita Baptist) used two flyouts to end the scoring threat and leave the bases loaded. 

A one out single from JW Kohlmeyer (VMI) put a runner on early for the Braves and Tony DiChiara (Monmouth) knocked a double off the left-center wall to score Kohlmeyer.

With a 1-0 lead behind him, Cassidy went three up, three down in the top of the second and third before Sam Grube (Mt St. Mary’s) was hit by a pitch to start the home half of the third. Franklin Gomez Jr. (Fairleigh Dickinson) crushed a two-run homer to left field to put the Braves ahed 3-0 with just one out. The next batter flew out to right field before Charlie Magoulick (Rider) and Nich Francuzenko (Towson) walked to put runners on with two outs. Trent Adelman (VCU) doubled them both home, and Connor Doherty (Delaware) and Sawyer McElhattan walked to join him on the bases. Grube walked in his second at bat of the inning to plate Adelman and extend the Braves lead 6-0.

New Giants pitcher Alex Cromwell (Towson) pitched around a leadoff single from Gomez Jr. in the bottom of the fourth to sit down the next three batters he faced. 

After another scoreless top half of the inning from Cassidy, McElhattan was hit by a pitch to get on base with two outs. Grube doubled and McElhattan scored from first to add the Braves’ seventh run of the game. Despite giving up a run, Cromwell fanned two batters in the inning.

Holub hit a double to start off the sixth for the Giants and Bryce Rudisill (Mt St. Mary’s) was hit by a pitch to join him on the basepaths. White knocked a double to left field to score Holub for the Giants first run of the game. The next batter struck out swinging before a fielder’s choice scored Rudisill and moved White to third. Joey Nicholson (Gaston) added another double to score White. Ryan Maxey (St. Johns River State) walked and Powell was hit to load the bases. Orr singled in Nicholson, and Maxey attempted to score but was thrown out at home by Braves left fielder Adelman. 

With the lead now cut down the three, Giants lefty Hudson Green (Bucknell) was able to strand runners on second and third to prevent another Braves run in the bottom of the sixth.

Holub and Rudisill led off the seventh inning with back to back singles before White was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Brady Ruiz-Weiss (Yale) made it to first on an error that scored Holub and Rudisill and put White on third. Ruiz-Weiss advanced to second on a fielder’s choice, before Nicholson crushed a three-run home run to right field to take the lead for the Giants 9-7.

Matt Hollar (Emory & Henry) entered in the top of the eighth for the Braves with the bases loaded and only one out. Some great defense by the Braves ended the inning with a 3-6-1 double play to leave the bases jammed and bring the Braves back to the plate.

In the bottom of the frame, the Braves were walked 10 times, four batters were hit by a pitch, and Ryan Santangelo (Bryant) launched a pinch-hit three-run double to cap off a 13 run half inning. Hollar closed out the win with a clean top of the ninth to set the final score at 20-9.