NEWS

Written by Jack Stashower

 

The Southern Maryland Senators defeated the DC Grays 8-5 in Woodbridge, Virginia on Saturday, improving their record to a league best 4-1 on the season. 

 

Early offensive surges carried the Senators through the entire game. In the first inning, a single from Steven Kraus (Binghamton) brought home Adam Troch (Duke) giving the Senators a quick one run lead. A fielder's choice in the next at-bat brought home Carter Groen (UConn) to increase the lead to two. A double from Danny Surowiec (Boston College) increased the lead to 3-0 before the end of the inning. 

 

The Senators added one more run to their lead in the top of the second with a sacrifice fly from Troch bringing home Dawson Smail (Xavier) to make it 4-0. The Grays would cut away at the lead in the bottom of the second with Carter Jenkins (Nicholls St) coming home after an error by the third baseman. 

 

The Senators added four more runs to their lead in the top of the third. Their first two runs came off of wild pitches, bringing home Surowiec and Calvin Cook (Middle Tennessee State) to make it 6-1. An error by the left fielder brought home Smail and a double from Troch increased the lead to 8-1. Those would be the final runs the Senators would score in this game. 

 

Senators starter Vincent Luther (Binghamton) pitched wonderfully in his four innings on the bump, striking out three and only allowing three hits to the 17 batters he faced. 

 

The Grays would start to climb back into the game in the bottom of the fifth. Noel Rivera (Marist) hit a solo home run to decrease the deficit to six. Rivera’s homer was the team's first all season. 

 

In the bottom of the sixth, the Grays had the bases loaded with Noel Rivera up to bat with two outs. However, Senators pitcher Colin Scherer (Monmouth) picked off the runner at first to leave Southern Maryland unscathed. 

 

Despite last inning's setback, the Grays showed no quit. A single from Andy Rivera (Holy Family) brought in Noel Rivera, making the score 8-3. The Grays would find themselves with the bases loaded with one out but Senators pitcher Michael Walsh (VCU) struck out the next two batters he faced to end the inning. 

 

Faced with only three outs to play with in the bottom of the ninth, the Grays once again added runs to the board. A ground out from Jenkins brought home Ryan Soong (Washington U), decreasing the deficit to four. A wild pitch would then bring home Andy Rivera to make it 8-5, but that was all the Grays were able to produce. The Grays stranded a total of 10 runners on base. 

 

“They’re pumped, they’re excited. These guys are working hard,” Senators Head Coach Scott Middleton said after the game. “It’s a grind, we’ll learn from this and hopefully go out for a win tomorrow.” 

 

The red-hot Senators return home on Sunday to face the 2-2 Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts. The Grays will head to First Responder Field on Sunday with hopes of getting back in the win column against the 3-1 Olney Cropdusters.