Check out photos of your favorite Ripken Sr. League players and teams in action! Visit Brenda Dunham's Eye on the Ball Photography.
Hums, Almeda Lead the Way for Aces in 14-2 Win
Aces infielder Derek Almeda drove in six runs in Monday's win.
Written by Jack Stashower | Photo by Maya Brichacek
The Alexandria Aces beat the Olney Cropdusters on Monday via a run rule walk-off at Frank Mann Field on Monday.
The Cropdusters came into this game with a 7-7 record. Their last game was an 8-4 loss to the Bethesda Big Train at Shirley Povich Field. The Aces came into this contest with a 5-6 record, coming off of a thrilling 8-7 win versus South Division leaders the Southern Maryland Senators.
Andrew Kell (Salisbury) started the game off with a leadoff single for the Cropdusters. Kell would score on an errant throw by the Aces shortstop after a groundball hit by Zakye Hawkins (Utah). With runners on the corners, Angel Santiago Cruz (Richmond) hit an infield single, bringing home Will Henson (VCU) to bring the lead to 2-0.
Momentum was with the Cropdusters early on in the game, but that all changed in the bottom of the third. The inning started with a single by Brayden Huebner (Ball State), followed by a Trip Capers walk. On the next at bat, Cooper Hums (Western Michigan) tripled to right field, easily scoring both runners to tie the game.
John Colligan (Ball State) continued the rally with a single, bringing home Hums to give the Aces a 3-2 lead. The Aces, not satisfied with just one three-bagger in the inning, got another as Derek Almeda (Chaffy) hit a triple down the right field line to increase the lead to two. A sacrifice fly by Ernie Echevarria (Penn) brought home Almeda and brought the lead to 5-2.
Huebner continued his great day at the plate with a leadoff double to start the bottom of the fourth. He scored on a single to left by Hums to increase the lead to four. After walks from Colligan and Capers loaded the bases, a single up the middle by Almeda brought home two runners to make the score 8-2. Gavin Degnan’s sacrifice fly brought Colligan home to increase the lead to 9-2.
Aces starter Adan Longoria (South Florida) was electric in his five innings of work on the mound, earning seven strikeouts, walking just two batters, and giving up no earned runs.
The Aces started off the bottom of the fifth with three consecutive walks to load the bases. Hums collected his fourth RBI of the night on a sacrifice fly to left, bringing in Will Twomey (Michigan) and the Aces 10th run. After another walk loaded up the bases for a second time, Almeda singled to left-center bringing home Huebner and Capers, giving the Aces a staggering 10 run lead, 12-2.
Needing to score just two more runs to win the game on the run rule, the Aces did just that in the bottom of the seventh. A double to right field by Hums brought home Capers to make the score 13-2. With Hums on third, Almeda hit a ground ball hit to short, easily scoring Hums to give the Aces a 14-2 lead and the win. Hums and Almeda finished the night with five and six RBIs respectively.
With Monday’s win, the Aces have won three straight and are now sitting at 6-6 after a slow start to the season. Aces Head Coach Chris Berset credited the team for their resilience over the last week in their efforts of getting back into the divisional race.
“We’re finding out what type of team we really are,” Berset said after the game. “Obviously the Dusters are a great team, they took it to us when we went up there [to Olney], but we just grinded today.”
The Cropdusters return home on Tuesday with hopes of getting back in the win column against the DC Grays. The Aces look to extend their winning streak to four as the Gaithersburg Giants travel to Frank Mann Field.
