Although I
had purchased a season pass several months ago for the Bethesda Big Train’s
2014 summer season of collegiate baseball, this actually wound up being the
first game I attended. The week saw a lot of rain both Tuesday evening, forcing
the postponement of the Nats-Orioles game at Nationals Park, and Thursday
evening, Wednesday produced no rain and comfortable temperatures. Pregame and
between-innings entertainment featured the Mariachi Los Mensajeros del Sur band
and Ethiopian shoulder dancing, in addition to the usual (mascot race, musical
chairs, etc.). I grabbed a cheeseburger (OK, not exactly one of my healthier
choices) and an Honest Ade Orange Mango prior to the game. I wound up sitting
in the front row just beyond the T-Bolts dugout on the first-base side, joining
most of the other Metropolitan Washington Ear volunteers (we were one of the “nonprofits
of the night”), so had to pay close attention. Fortunately no line drives came
into our section, although there was a shot directly into the dugout.
The Big
Train struck first, scoring two runs in the bottom of the second on a
bases-loaded single by Cody Manzella. The T-Bolts cut the lead in half in the
top of the sixth, but the Big Train came back to score 3 in the bottom of the
inning, keyed by Stephen Alemais’s two-run double. Alemais, Manzella, and Kevin
Tatum each had a single and a double to lead the Big Train attack.
The Big
Train pitchers – starter and winner Sean Labsan, Ray Lambert, and Tim Yandel –
effectively stifled the Silver Spring-Takoma offense throughout, giving up only
4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 10.
We learned
during the game from the mother of one of the T-Bolts players that their
starting pitcher, Brandon Holsworth, is deaf. The Gazette just ran a feature article on his baseball experiences.
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