Grays Fall in High-Scoring Battle Against Big Train
June 10, 2025
The DC Grays dropped their third straight game in a slugfest against the visiting Bethesda Big Train on Monday night, falling 21–8 at Woodbridge High School. Despite a promising rally in the middle innings, the Big Train's early offensive surge and late-inning insurance runs proved too much for the Grays to overcome.
Drew Norton (Dickinson College) got the start on the mound for the Grays and worked a quick 1-2-3 first inning, capped by a strikeout. The Grays responded with a single from Ryan Soong (Washington University), but were unable to score in the opening frame.
Bethesda opened things up in the second inning with an RBI groundout and a string of hits to take a 1–0 lead. The Grays answered in the bottom half after Andy Rivera (Holy Family) was hit by a pitch and stole two bases. A bases-loaded walk to Noel Rivera (Marist) tied the game at 1–1, followed by two more walks to give the Grays an early 3–1 advantage.
However, the Big Train's offense exploded in the third inning. A pair of RBI groundouts and a towering three-run home run by Parker Corbin (Maryland) put Bethesda on top 8–3. Dean Qira (Stevens Institute of Technology) entered in relief and helped the Grays escape further damage.
In the bottom of the third, DC chipped away as Andy Rivera singled and later scored on an infield hit from Eli Owens (Washington & Jefferson), cutting the deficit to 8–4. But Bethesda kept piling on, scoring two more in the fourth and another in the fifth, extending their lead to 11–4.
That momentum was short-lived. The Big Train responded with another run in the sixth, and then broke the game open again in the seventh. Errors, wild pitches, and timely Big Train hitting added up to six runs in the inning. Colin Casey (Randolph-Macon) came on to stop the bleeding, ending the frame with a strikeout, but the damage was done. From there, the Grays' bats went quiet. Despite loading the bases in the bottom of the ninth, a 6-4-3 double play ended the game.
The loss drops the Grays to 2–3 on the season. They'll look to bounce back on the road against the Olney Cropdusters on Tuesday, June 10, with first pitch scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at First Responder Field.
