Grays drop two to Braves

​7/18/14

By: Anna Dunlavey

Returning to the Nationals Youth Academy from the three day All-Star break, the DC Grays lost both ends of a doubleheader to the Herndon Braves on Friday night, losing 4-2 and 7-1. The losses put the Grays’ record at 10-22 on the season.

The Braves began piling up runs in the second inning of game one. They scored three runs off of Grays’ starting pitcher Joe Kinee (40). Caleb Evans (Liberty) replaced Kinee on the mound in the next inning, and gave up one run. Andre Wilson (Grambling State) pitched a scoreless the fifth inning, and Arnie Capute (Williams) pitched a scoreless sixth.

The Grays saved their rally attempt for the final inning of the game, the top of the seventh, when they were down 4-0. Trae Sweeting (Georgia State) doubled, and Eric Urry (BYU) walked. They both advanced to third on a single from Webb Bobo (Southeast Louisiana), and Sweeting scored on a sacrifice fly from Jay Graham. Desmond Stegall (Savannah State) then drove in Urry with a fielders choice. However, both the rally and the game ended there.

The Grays took the lead in the second game of the double header. In the bottom of the first inning, Austin Sanders (University of Alabama-Hunstville) doubled, and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from Drew Reid (Harvard). Bobo scored Sanders on a single up the middle. The Braves responded with a run of their own in the next half inningoff of starting pitcher Colin Kelly (Catholic), and continued scoring in almost every inning after, foiling Kelly and Sherman Graves (Grambling State).

On Saturday, the Grays will travel to James Madison High School to face the Vienna River Dogs for the final time this season. Tyler Shamas (Mitchell) is the expected starting pitcher for the Grays.