Cropdusters take down DC in sloppy affair
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 13 | 2 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 5 |
The DC Grays dropped a tough one at home on Monday night, falling 14–5 to the Olney Cropdusters at Woodbridge High School. The Grays made four errors and issued nine walks - a bad combination.
The Cropdusters got off to a hot start, scoring three runs in the top of the first. They added one more in the fourth, and after a quiet fifth inning, broke things open with a 3-run sixth to make it 7-0. DC starter Ty Morris (Marist) worked through the early innings, and reliever Owen Basso (Lafayette) kept things close through the middle frames.
The Grays got on the board in the bottom of the sixth, stringing together a pair of singles and walks. Ryan Soong (Washington University) and Ayden Ellis (Rutgers) each came around to score to trim the Olney lead to 7–2.
The visitors tacked on insurance with one run in the seventh and eigth, and then erupted for five more in the top of the ninth to take a commanding 14–2 lead.
DC made some noise again in the bottom of the 8th. Singles by Ellis, Ryan Grace (Lafayette), and Soong loaded things up, and Noel Rivera (Marist) followed with an RBI hit off the fence that was inches from a home run. Andy Rivera (Holy Family) then beat out an infield single to plate two more and give the Grays a jolt of momentum. But the rally stopped there, and the Grays ultimately couldn't close the gap.
Despite the loss, there were flashes of hustle and grit late in the game, highlighted by Grace going 2-for-4 and Soong scoring twice. Defensively, Noel Rivera made several strong plays at short, including turning a double play with Soong in the ninth.
The Grays hit the road next for a July 1 matchup against the Bethesda Big Train at Shirley Povich Field.
