Written by Jack Stashower

The Alexandria Aces walked off the Olney Cropdusters, 10-9, in the 12th inning of Game 1 of the CRSCBL semifinals at Frank Mann Field on Thursday.

The Cropdusters enter the semifinals as the #3 seed after defeating the #7 seed Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts 5-3 in a winner-take-all on Wednesday. The Aces enter as the #2 seed after an impressive 22-14 regular season record clinched them a bye in the playoffs. 

It would be the Cropdusters who struck first in the top of the first. After Zakye Hawkins (Utah) reached base on a hit by pitch, the third year Cropduster Jimmy Kirk (Millersville) hit a deep double to center, easily bringing in the speedy Hawkins to give the Cropdusters a one run lead. 

It wouldn’t take long for the Aces to respond. Cooper Hums (Western Michigan) started off the inning with an infield hit. Hums followed that by reaching second on a sacrifice bunt, then followed that with a stolen base putting him on third with Derek Almeda (Chaffey) up to bat. Almeda’s sacrifice fly to right was deep enough to score Hums and tie the game at one apiece. 

But the Cropdusters struck back in the top of the second. Andrew Kell (Salisbury) led off with a single to left before Ayden Frey (Delaware) hit a single of his own, putting two runners on with no outs. Tyler Cook (Gaston) loaded up the bases on a fielding error by the pitcher, bringing up Brian Scott (Frostburg State) with no outs. Scott walked on four pitches, allowing the Cropdusters to retake the lead 2-1. 

Cade Walter (Jacksonville) continued the scoring in the top of the second with a chop single down the left-field line, scoring Frey and Cook. A sacrifice fly to left by Hawkins brought home Scott and the Cropdusters fifth run, giving the Cropdusters a 5-1 lead.

The Aces added a run to their tally in the bottom half of the inning with a deep double off the center field wall by DJ Scheumann (Ball State), bringing home EJ Hankerson (Maryland) to decrease the deficit to three.

Hums led off the bottom of the third for the Aces with a leadoff double off the right field wall, putting him in scoring position with Almeda up to bat. Almeda delivered, singling to center and easily bringing Hums home to make it 5-3. 

Following that, a double by Ernie Echevarria (UPenn) put runners on second and third for fellow quaker Gavin Degnan (UPenn) with one out. Degnan took full advantage of this opportunity, singling to right and easily bringing home Almeda and Echevarria to tie the game at five apiece. 

The tie game didn’t last long. In the top of the fourth with a runner on first, Walter hit a two-run homer over the right field fence, breaking the tie and making it 7-5 in favor of the Cropdusters. Of the Cropdusters’ nine runs, Walter was responsible for four of them. 

The Aces got one run back in the bottom of the fourth on a wild pitch that brought home Brayden Huebner (Ball State) from third. They tied the game in the bottom of the fifth off an infield single by Hankerson, scoring Degnan to even things at seven apiece.

The score would remain 7-7 into extra innings. The Aces had their first big chance to win the game in the bottom of the 10th. With runners on the corners, John Colligan (Ball State) hit a line drive to left that surely would’ve ended the game for the Aces if not for the efforts of substitute left fielder Koy Swanson (Gaston College). Swanson’s sliding catch sent the Cropdusters dugout into ecstasy and the ballgame into the 11th. 

In the top of the 11th, the Aces showed some incredible fielding of their own to prevent the Cropdusters from scoring. A deep line drive to right by Frey was counteracted with a laser from Degnan in right to the cutoff man to third to catch Frey out at third, sending the game into the bottom of the 11th still tied at seven. 

The Aces would not find runs in the bottom of the 11th due to the efforts of Cropdusters reliever Mac Crismond (Charleston), who completed his sixth inning of relief. In those six innings, Crismond allowed no runs, just five hits, and struck out eight. 

Scott led off the top of the 12th with a hit by pitch and a successful stolen base. After Hawkins reached base on an error, fourth-year Cropduster Kirk came to the plate. He delivered his biggest hit of the year, singling to center and bringing home both Scott and Hawkins to give the Cropdusters a 9-7 lead. 

But the drama wasn’t done. Scheumann led off the bottom of the 12th with a walk for the Aces before being subbed in for pinch-runner Will Twomey (Michigan). A Huebner groundout brought Twomey to second, bringing Hums to the plate as the tying runner. He was hit on the first pitch of the at bat. 

Colligan followed that with a walk, loading the bases for the Aces. The comeback was made easier after a wild pitch brought home Twomey from third, making the score 9-8 and putting the winning runner on second. But the Aces had one final hurdle to clear, and it was up to Echevarria to get the job done. 

On a 3-1 count, he singled to left, bringing home Hums and Colligan, securing the victory for the Aces and sending Frank Mann Field into elation. 

“We knew we were never out of it,” Echevarria said after the game. “We’ve done it multiple times this season. We have a lot of confidence in picking each other up and we think we know how to win.”

A key factor to the Aces victory was their bullpen. Stephen Curry, Aidan Von Zuben, and Steven Svenson (Seton Hall) combined for 8.2 innings of relief, allowing no earned runs and striking out 10. 

The series heads to First Responder Field on Friday where the Cropdusters must win to stay alive in the Cal Ripken Sr. League playoffs. If the Cropdusters win, a winner-take-all will be held on Saturday at Frank Mann Field. If the Aces win, they advance to the LCS Finals for the fourth time in five seasons.