Grays come up short in Father’s day loss to Aces

​By: Duncan Weigand 
 
Washington D.C- The DC Grays (4-8)  dropped their second straight game on Sunday, falling to the Alexandria Aces (9-2) by a score of 5-3. A combination of timely hits and solid relief work by the Aces pitchers allowed Alexandria to prevail in the Sunday matinee.  
 
The Grays quickly found themselves in a 2-0 hole after three innings.  In the fourth inning however, the Grays started to dig themselves out with a Miles Newsome (Brown) single. Parker Goff (BYU) then took advantage of an Aces fielding error when he popped up the fifth pitch he saw to shallow left. The Aces left fielder Nate Polo (University of Pennsylvania) charged in hard as the ball continued to fall. What seemed to be such a routine play became anything but as Polo failed to make the grab as he watched the ball go in and out of his glove. That seemed to be the catalyst of things to come as the Grays managed to plate three runs in the inning to take the 3-2 lead.  
 
The lead didn’t last for long however as DC’s bullpen faltered in the sixth.  Lucky Perotto (Catholic) replaced the starter Diego Barrett (WVU Potomac State) - and soon a couple hits, a wild pitch, and a walk put ducks on the pond for the Aces with no outs. Perrotto managed to limit the damage in an inning that could have been disastrous, but the Aces plated two and regained the lead. Alexandria never looked back and one more insurance run in the eighth proved to be too much to overcome.  
 
D.C made it interesting in the bottom of the ninth when they managed to put two runners on with one out. Two batters came to the plate representing the winning run and both struck out as Aces closer Michael Gillen (Seton Hall) managed to shut the door leaving no room for fanfare or dramatics.  
 
The Grays look to get back in the win column as they welcome theSilver Spring Takoma Thunderbolts to the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy at 7 p.m. for the last game of the Pride Weekend homestand.