Grays Stun No. 1 Big Train 14-12 in Season-Defining Thriller

For the first time since last June, the Grays would defeat the Bethesda Big Train in 14-12 thriller that will go down as the most impressive outing for D.C. this season.

Andrew Hoffman (USC Beaufort) would start on the mound and not allow any runs in the opening frame to get the Grays off to a good start. The Grays would draw first blood in the opening inning, scoring Beny Bikar Jr. (Southern) on a bases loaded walk from Joey Chitla (William & Mary).

With the bases still loaded, Jackson Loomis (Denison) would hit a huge 3 RBI double to right field to score Joey Chitla (William & Mary), Xavier Bradley (Southern), and Amari Allen (Chatahooche Valley Community) to go up to a quick 4 run lead with all the momentum.

The top ranked Big Train would quickly cut into the early lead, tacking on 2 runs in the 2nd and another in the 3rd. The Grays would retake momentum in the bottom of the 3rd in quick fashion, starting off with a Peyton Ford (Cal of Penn) 3 run homer to score Jackson Loomis (Denison), Xavier Bradley (Southern), and himself.

Ethan Fox-Fernandez (Vassar) would be next, scoring on an error. Hartley Rahman (Catawba) would end the 5 run inning off by scoring on a bases loaded walk from Amari Allen (Chattahoochee Valley Community). The Big Train would score a run in the 4th, though the Grays' offensive onslaught would continue with Jackson Loomis (Denison) scoring Joey Chitla (William & Mary) on a single and Peyton Ford (Cal of Penn) hitting his second bomb of the game to score himself and Loomis (Denison) to go up 12-4 early.

The Big Train wouldn't go down easy, as they would begin a comeback by scoring 2 runs in the 6th frame and 4 in the 7th to tie the game at 12 going into clutch time. The Grays' offense would retake the lead in chaotic fashion in the 8th inning, scoring Joey Chitla (William & Mary) on an error by 1st base throwing to home plate after a failed pick attempt and a wild pitch swinging strikeout that scored Peyton Ford (Cal of Penn).

After going up 14-12, it would be up to reliever Jackson Loomis (Denison) to secure the win for the Grays. He'd only allow 1 hit and no runs to get the huge upset win for D.C. and their first victory in over a year against the Big Train. It was a remarkable game for their offense, with the 14 runs being the most they've scored in a game all season.

Peyton Ford (Cal of Penn) would without a doubt be the player of the game for the Grays, hitting 2-4, scoring 3 runs, and driving in 5 RBIs via the two home runs. Jackson Loomis (Denison) would also play phenomenal on both sides of the ball, hitting 2-3, scoring 2 runs, and driving in 4 RBIs while pitching 2.1 scoreless innings on the mound to end the game and secure the upset win for the Grays.

The Grays will have their final regular season game 7/22 at Robert J. Talbot Field in a 7PM matchup against the Braves.

(Photo courtesy of Alex Ouzts)