Written by Jack Stashower

The Bethesda Big Train beat the Alexandria Aces 6-5 on Monday at Shirley Povich Field, extending the team’s winning streak to an even 10 in a row. 

The Aces came into Monday’s contest with a 14-9 record, the best in the South Division. Their last wins came against the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts on Sunday, winning both games of the doubleheader at Blair Stadium.

The Big Train came into Monday’s contest with a league best 20-6 record. Like the Aces, the Big Train had just come off a doubleheader sweep, beating the Grays twice on Sunday at home. 

It was the Aces who got off to a quick start in the top of the first. A groundball hit by Ernie Echevarria (UPenn) brought home Toby Hueber (George Mason), giving the Aces an early one run lead. Fellow quaker Gavin Degnan (UPenn) extended the lead with an infield single, bringing home Derek Almeda (Chaffey) and extending the lead to two. 

Cooper Hums (Western Michigan) increased the lead in the top of the second with a single up the middle, scoring John Colligan (Ball State), giving the Aces a 3-0 lead.

It would take until the bottom of the fifth for the Big Train to get some runs of their own. A single to right off the bat of Brennon Wright (South Alabama) brought home Dylan Murphy (Florida Atlantic) to give the Big Train their first run of the game. Josh Skowronski (Winthrop) followed that with a single to right, scoring Alex Peltier (East Carolina), making it 3-2. The inning ended on a laser throw from Degnan in right to catch Wright at third. 

In the top of the sixth, Hums collected his second RBI of the game with a deep double to right, scoring Colligan and increasing the Aces lead to two. 

The Big Train would collect another run in the bottom of the seventh off of a Peltier sacrifice fly to right, bringing home Logan Ponnett (UNC Charlotte) and making it 4-3. 

With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, Peltier’s infield single brought in Matthew Westley to tie the game. A smart play from Almeda at short caught the go-ahead runner between third and home, preventing more damage from being done. 

The Aces would respond by loading up the bases themselves in the top of the ninth. A Degnan sacrifice fly was all they could muster up, bringing home Hueber to give them a shallow one run lead heading into the bottom of the ninth. 

The bottom of the ninth started with a leadoff walk, putting Wright on first. Emilio Gonzalez (Florida Atlantic) followed that up with a single to center, putting runners on the corners. An infield single by Westley brought home Wright, knotting the game up at five apiece. 

With two outs and the bases loaded, Parker Corbin (Maryland) faced a full count. With the remaining fans at Shirley Povich Field on their feet, Corbin let the 3-2 pitch hit the dirt, bringing home the winning run and the Big Train’s tenth straight victory.

Both teams will be back on the field on Tuesday. The Aces return home to Frank Mann Field to play the Southern Maryland Senators in a clash between the top two teams of the South Division. The Big Train take a trip to First Responder Field to face the Olney Cropdusters with hopes of extending their already impressive winning streak.