Grays, Braves split doubleheader in D.C.

By Dominic Varela

Good pitching was the order of the day Monday at the Nationals Youth Academy, as the DC Grays and Metro South County Braves split a rainy-day doubleheader.  DC defeated South County 5-1 in Game 1 before falling 2-1 in Game 2.

Mitchell righty Eddie Kaftan got the start for the Grays in the 4 p.m. opener.  Just like his eight-inning performance on June 6, Kaftan was dominant, tossing six strong innings with four strikeouts while yielding only one earned run.

D.C. held onto a 1-0 lead until the bottom of the fifth when BYU’s Braeden Mondeau sent a two-run shot over the center field wall. Later in the inning, an RBI double off the bat of Wofford’s Connor Larson knocked Metro South County pitcher DJ Muirhead (Marymount) out of the game.

The teams were then hit with a slight rain delay, but the action resumed about 10 minutes later. Following the delay, Kaftan flashed his only sign of weakness, allowing an RBI single in the top of the sixth.

“I definitely didn’t feel quite as lively,” Kaftan said. “I think Coach could tell and figured it was a good time to sit me down.”

Wofford southpaw Sam Stratton finished off the match for the Grays, striking out six Braves over the final three frames. Powered by strong pitching and Larson’s four hits, D.C. took Game 1 of the twin bill.

The Grays handed North Carolina A&T righty Diego Barrett the ball for Game 2. Like earlier in the day, D.C. struck early, as Delaware State’s Evan Bouldin scored on a bases-loaded walk to Maine's Myles Sargeant in the bottom of the first.

From there, the Gray offense stalled, failing to register a run for the rest of the ballgame. The Braves tied the game in the fifth before taking the lead on a bases-loaded balk by Barrett in the seventh.