​The DC Grays finished of the regular season with their second straight win and arguably their most impressive two days all year.  After beating the 24-win Alexandria Aces on the road, the Grays traveled to Olney on Tuesday in a big game for both teams.  The Cropdusters are fighting for first- place in the North division, while the Grays are fighting for their playoff lives.  The Grays did just that improving their slim chances of making the playoffs with a 14-7 win in Olney on Tuesday.  With the Grays posing as the home team, (makeup game from July 1st) the Cropdusters scored one in the first and two in the second off of Kimani Davis (Xavier University of LA).  That would be the last time the Cropdusters were in the game.
            In the bottom of the second, the Grays tallied 12 runs on six hits and eight walks off of three different Olney pitchers.  Olney starter, Rece Ritchey, walked the first two batters before Aaron Thomas (Wofford) singled home Michael Mallas (Lafayette College).  That wasn’t the last of Thomas either.  Thomas recorded six RBI on the day as he went 3-5 with two runs scored as well.  With the bases loaded, Braeden Mondeau (BYU) walked bringing the third run home.  Miles Newsome (Brown University) followed with a two RBI single giving the Grays the lead.  Next batter, Evan Bouldin, hit a Rithcey pitch to the right field wall that was dropped by Olney’s right fielder allowing Mondeau and Newsome to cross the plate with runs six and seven.  Later in the inning, Myles Sargeant (University of Maine) came to the plate with the bases loaded and promptly drilled a 1-0 pitch down the left field line bringing two more runs home.  Aaron Thomas one-upped Sargeant skying a three-run homerun over the left field wall.  The final run of the never-ending inning scored on Newsome’s second single of the inning driving home Justin Grech (Lafayette College).  Thomas capped off his day and regular season with a two RBI single to left in the sixth, giving the Grays a 14-4 lead.
            Lucky Perrotto (Catholic University of America) relieved Davis for two innings after Davis went the first four of the ballgame.  Elliot Eaton (Princeton) finished off the game for the Grays despite allowing three runs in the ninth.
            The Grays still need some help from the other teams in the league if they are going to make the Cal Ripken Collegiate League Playoffs starting on Saturday.  Should they get there they would most likely take on this exact team that they dominated on Tuesday in the first round.

​After a season of close games that repeatedly favored Alexandria, the DC Grays finally toppled the league-leading Aces in a nail biting 8-7 win on Monday night at Frank Mann Field.
 
The Grays managed seven hits on the night, including two from leadoff hitter Derek Wood (George Mason) and three RBI’s from Myles Sargeant (Maine).  After a back and forth battle all evening, pinch hitter Joe Marini (Catholic) and Henry Zipay (Nebraska-Omaha) drove in the key runs in the eighth inning to give DC the lead.
 
Eddie Kaftan (Mitchell) started on the mound for the Grays, the right-hander pitched for four innings, allowing six hits and three runs, striking out three. Kaftan was relieved by Geroge Mason's Jake Roberti, who pitched four innings. Roberti allowed seven hits and four runs, striking out four. Lucky Perrotto (Catholic) took the mound for the final inning of the contest. He wobbled a bit, giving up two hits, but left both runners stranded and earned the save. 
 
Graeme Carroll of Bucknell University was handed the loss, Carroll threw for two thirds of an inning, allowing three hits and one run. The Aces loss wasted a strong start from pitcher Ethan Houghtaling (Western Michigan). The right-hander pitched five innings, allowing two hits and three runs. 
 
The moved the Grays to 13-22 with one game to play in the regular season.  The playoffs are still possible for DC, as six of eight teams in the Ripken League qualify for the post-season.  The Grays take the field next against the Cropdusters at Olney Boys and Girls Club Tuesday afternoon at 5 p.m. It is the regular season finale for the Grays.

​The DC Grays (12-22) fell to the Gaithersburg Giants (11-22) in a high scoring affair at Kelly Park on Sunday afternoon. Despite ten hits for DC, the Grays fell short, losing 14-9. 
 
Evan Bouldin (Delaware State) and Connor Larson (Wofford) each had two hits for the Grays. Bouldin broke out of a brief slump by going two-for-five.
 
Sam Stratton (Wofford) started on the mound for DC.  The lefty threw three innings, allowing eight hits with three strikeouts. Ryan Wheeler (Alvernia) relieved Stratton in the fourth, and allowed seven hits over three innings and took the loss. The final two innings went to Caleb Causey (Mississippi Valley), who allowed two hits. 
 
The winning pitcher was Tyler Russo (Towson), who pitched for less than an inning, allowing only one hit. 
 
The loss keeps the Grays at the last spot in the Cal Ripken Senior League southern division, but are mere percentage points behind the Giants. 
 
The Grays play again on Monday at 6:30 against the Alexandria Aces at Frank Mann Field.

​In their third meeting of the season, the DC Grays and Alexandria Aces played a tight game at the Nationals Baseball Youth Academy. Close games between these two teams are nothing new, but the Grays are yet to best Alexandria, falling 5-3 on Saturday night. 
 
Both teams knocked out seven hits in the contest.  DC got two apiece from both Myles Sargeant (Maine) and Henry Zipay (Nebraska-Omaha). Sargeant has been swinging a hot bat as of late, and the third baseman drove in two more runs. 
 
Evan Bouldin (Delaware State) turned in another solid start for the Grays, pitching for four innings and allowing just one hit.  Bouldin punched out seven batters and walked only two. Left-hander Elliot Eaton (Princeton) relieved Bouldin in the fifth inning and was roughed up by the Aces.  He pitched three-plus innings, allowing six hits and five runs on his outing. Kai Cummings (Cabrini) closed out the game for D.C, allowing no hits over the final three innings. Eaton took the loss.
 
The winning pitcher was Thomas Lamar (Lehigh), who allowed no runs or hits in the eighth inning. The save went to Josh Rivera (Maryland Baltimore). The Aces went five deep into their bullpen, and struck out eight Grays batters. 
 
The Grays (12-21) remain in the last spot of the Southern Division of the Cal Ripken Senior League, where the Aces stand at first with a 25-3 mark.  The Grays are percentage points ahead of the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts for the sixth and final playoff spot with three games left to play.
 
DC takes the field again Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. against the Gaithersburg Giants at Kelly Field.

​By William Franciscus
 
Friday’s game between the DC and the Southern Maryland Senators started with rain and ended with fireworks.  After a late start, the Grays won a back-and-forth contest 13-12 against the Senators at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy on a walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth to keep DC’s playoff hopes alive.
 
The game was delayed more than hour due to rain and lightning, and the Grays offense came alive in the second inning (thanks in part to some Senator’s miscues).  Derrick Wood (George Mason) walked scoring Aaron Thomas (Wofford) and then Connor Larson (Wofford) got hit by a pitch scoring another run. Joe Marini (Catholic) walked and then Justin Grech (Lafayette) singled in a run and the lead expanded to 4-0. Thomas game up for the second time in the inning and laced a bases clearing double that gave DC a 7-0 lead.
 
Southern Maryland started a comeback right away.  Kenneth McKinley (Middle Tennessee St) hit a two-run homer in the top of the third that cut the lead to five. Ty Stecko (Mt St. Mary’s) singled cutting deeper into the lead, and the Grays walked in a run making it 7-4 heading to the bottom of the third.
 
Parker Goff (BYU) singled in Larson and the Grays add to their lead making 8-4, and again the Senators answered back.  Sam Griffith (Oakland) had an RBI double making 8-5. Then Southern Maryland scored again in the fifth as Luke Gaffney (Purdue) scored and the Grays lead shrunk to just 2.
 
In the homer half of the fifth, Evan Bouldin (Delaware State) drove in Larson with a ground out, putting the Grays up by three again making it a 9-6 ballgame. In the sixth inning Gaffney brought in two runs, making it a one run game.
 
In the top of the seventh the Senators stormed to their first lead of the game of a triple by McKinley making a 10-9 Southern Maryland lead.  The Senators had come all the way back from an early seven-run deficit.

Bouldin was able to single in Larson and DC tied to game up at 10. The Grays were then able to score two more runs as Thomas and Myles Sargent (Maine) walked and the DC stormed back and took a 12-10 lead.
 
Again the Senators countered.  Reed Farrell (U Penn) closed the gap as he had an RBI single making it 12-11 heading to the ninth. With one out in the ninth inning Kyan Lodice (Kansas St) blasted a solo shot tying the game at twelve.
 
Just as it seemed that the momentum had shifted in the Senators favor, the Grays proved they had one last rally in them.  Bouldin led off the bottom of the ninth with a big double. Then Grech reached on a sac bunt and Thomas was intentionally walked. This left the bases loaded for Sargent. On the second pitch of the at bat Sargent hit a single up the middle and Miles Newsome (Brown), who was running for Bouldin, came home and scored the winning run as the Grays won 13-12 in an absolute thriller.
 
Caleb Causey (Miss Valley State) pitched two innings in relief and was the winning pitcher for the Grays while Justin Naylor (Cal U-PA) picked up the loss for the Senators.
 
The win improved the Grays to 12-20, still in the mix for the sixth and final playoff spot in the Ripken League.
 
DC will be back in action Saturday against the league leading Alexandria Aces at 7:00pm at the Washington Nationals Youth Academy for their last home game of the season.

The DC Grays (11-20) once again struggled at the plate in their Thursday evening contest against the South County Braves (12-18) at South County High School.  The Grays lost 8-1, after a late grand slam by South County turned a close game into a rout.
 
The Grays managed just five hits on the night, featuring two from outfielder Henry Zipay (Nebraska Omaha). The only RBI of the night went to Braeden Mondeau (BYU), who scored Connor Larson (Wofford) on a walk. 
 
Diego Barrett (North Carolina A&T) started on the mound for DC, allowing only two runs over his five innings, with one walk and one strikeout. Jake Roberti (Louisburg) relieved Barrett on the mound, eventually giving up the grand slam that would be the nail in the coffin for DC. Despite his strong start, Barrett took a hard-luck loss. 
 
The winning pitcher was Seth Claybourne (Dayton), who had two strikeouts and allowed no runs over his two innings of relief. The Braves featured five pitchers in the contest, none of whom pitched for over three innings. 
 
The loss kept the Grays in last place of the Cal Ripken Collegiate League Southern Division, where the Braves sit in third. With the regular season winding down, these two teams continue to battle for the final playoff spot. 
 
The Grays are back in action Friday evening to host the Southern Maryland Senators at Nationals Baseball Youth Academy. First pitch at 7 p.m.

​By William Franciscus
 
The Grays lost a hard-fought battle Wednesday night, as they were beaten 9-5 by the league-leading Alexandria Aces at Frank Mann Field.
 
DC’s offense started off right where it left off after Tuesday’s 11-run explosion in South County. In the opening frame on Wednesday, Connor Larson (Wofford) started the scoring with an RBI single and the Mike Mallas (Lafayette) added a 2-run double that gave the Grays a 3-0 lead. The Aces answered back quickly, with two runs in the bottom of the first.  Cory Taylor (Eastern Michigan) singled in a run and then Jonah Oster (Campbell) hit into a fielder’s choice scoring another run making it a 3-2 DC lead.
 
In the second inning Larson walked with the bases loaded, scoring Derrick Mayes (Maryland Eastern Shore) and expanded the Grays lead to 4-2. Alexandria’s offense exploded in the bottom of the second as RJ Hamilton (Vanderbilt) blasted a two run RBI double and then Tim Nicholson (George Washington) scored on error making it 5-4. The Aces added two more runs in the inning on Oster’s single, as they ended the second leading 7-4.
 
After a rough second inning Grays starter Eddie Kaftan (Mitchell) settled down and pitched three straight scoreless innings. The Grays were able to claw into the Aces lead in the fifth as Derrick Wood (George Mason) singled in Justin Grech (Lafayette) cutting the Alexandria lead to 7-5
 
Oster continued producing for Alexandria as he singled in a run, then Dylan Grego (Ball St) was hit by a pitch scoring Nicholson and DC went into the ninth trailing 9-5. The Grays couldn’t get anything going in the ninth as they would go on to lose 9-5.
 
Brent Herrmann (Allegheny) picked up the win for the Aces, while Kaftan was saddled with the loss. Alexandria moves to 24-2 while DC falls to 11-19.
 
Miles Newsome (Brown) and Justin Grech had big nights at the plate as they both recorded three hits for the Grays. Connor Larson and Mike Mallas also added two RBI’s apiece for DC.
 
The Grays will travel back to South County High School tomorrow for a pivotal game against the South County Braves with major playoff implications on the line.

​After getting shutout Monday night, the Grays’ bats woke up and powered DC to a  much-needed 11-5 road win over the South County Braves in Lorton. 
 
The win moved the Grays to 11-18, as they crept ahead of the Braves in the tightly packed Ripken League standings.
 
The Grays decided to go unconventional on Monday when they elected to start lefty Sam Stratton (Wofford) on the mound. Stratton, who has been a bullpen mainstay, seemed more than up to the task early getting two batters to strike out in the first. Stratton’s poise and calmness on the mound was a much needed presence in a must win game for the Grays.
 
The two teams remained deadlocked as Braves starter DJ Muirhead (Marymount) and Stratton were both sharp early on. Stratton didn’t even give up a hit until his fourth inning of work and only allowed one more after that before getting pulled in the sixth.
 
Muirhead was not as fortunate. In the fifth inning with the score still tied, the Grays got going. An Aaron Thomas (Wofford) single got things started, and the Grays were looking to strike. A balk by Muirhead put Thomas on second with Derek Wood (George Mason) at the plate. The leadoff man roped a triple that got past the outfielders and rolled to the wall. Wood sped around the bases before making a headfirst slide into third which electrified the bench. Wood scored on a wild pitch from Muirhead and the Grays took the 2-0 lead.
 
But that wasn’t all the damage that was done by the Grays who put up a five spot in the top half of the sixth. Muirhead walked two batters and hit Mike Mallas (Lafayette) with a pitch. Muirhead surrendered another walk allowing a runner to score without allowing a hit. Thomas continued his great night at the plate when he hit a double that scored two, giving the Grays a 5-0 lead. Two more runs scored in the inning and the Grays took a 7-0 lead and never looked back.
 
South County did manage to put five runs on the board including a two run home run but it was too little too late as the Grays already had the game in hand as they put up a double digit run total.  Henry Zipay (Nebraska-Omaha) lead the DC attack with four hits.  Wood had three hits, and Thomas had two.  Myles Sargent (maine) drove in two runs in a balanced performance by the Grays’ offense.
 
After Ryan Wheeler (Alvernia) and Lucky Perotto (Catholic) came on in relief of Stratton, Caleb Causey (Mississippi Valley State) closed out the ninth for DC.  The game ended on a pretty double-play by the Grays’ infield. 
 
The Grays will travel to Alexandria to play the Aces on Wednesday at Frank Mann Field as they continue their playoff push.  First pitch is at 6:30pm.

The DC Grays were once again on the wrong side of a close decision on Monday night– losing 3-0 to the Southern Maryland Senators.  The game was played at Frank Mann Field in Alexandria, since the Senators usual home field (Regency Furniture Field) was unavailable.
 
The Grays managed just two hits on the night – scattered singles by Connor Larson and Aaron Thomas (both of Wofford).  DC was unable to take advantage of some sloppy play by Southern Maryland – the Senators committed three errors but never paid a price.
 
The loss wasted a good performance by Grays starter Evan Bouldin (Delaware State), who gave up just one run on four hits over five innings.  He struck out eight and walked just one.  Elliot Eaton (Princeton) came on in relief and was effective for two innings before surrendering a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth, which sealed the game for the Senators.
 
Caleb Peterson (Middle Tenn State) started and got the win for Southern Maryland, throwing 6.1 innings of shutout ball.  He was supported by spotless relief pitching from John Gray (Wofford) and Jake Ferreti (Golden West College).
 
The loss drops the Grays to 10-18, percentage points behind the South County Braves for the final Ripken League playoff spot.  The two teams square off tonight at South County High School in Lorton at 7pm.