2026 Season Recap

The Grays' 2026 season has come to a close with a 1-6 loss in Alexandra, and it was one full of positives and negatives. The Grays had a final record of 14-24 to come fourth in the South division and seventh overall, however this record doesn't fully reflect how well this team battled throughout the year.

D.C. started the year off this season with a huge win on the road against the Senators in a 8-4 contest. They'd have a rocky next couple of weeks to get them at a 3-9 record after their first 12 games, with the team having some troubles finding a lineup that would consistently perform as well as with staying in games against top ranked opponents.

They would have a huge turnaround for the next 4 days, earning 4 straight victories. This streak was highlighted by a masterclass from Simon Corbin (Macalester) in the second game of a doubleheader against Gaithersburg. In a 2-1 win, he'd pitch 6 innings, allow only 3 hits, give up a single run, and deliver 7 strikeouts.

After this hot streak and a short 2 day intermission, the Grays offense would go extremely cold, with a total of 7 runs scored over their next 5 contests and no wins in the timeframe. These games highlighted some of the main issues the team had, with struggling to get hits with runners in scoring position as well as pitchers allowing too many walks being points that needed improvement.

The Grays would indeed show solid improvement over the next few games, including a thriller at Robert J. Talbot where they'd come back down 7 in the 7th and final inning against Alexandria. This game was a perfect example of how teams could never truly count the Grays out in any game. They'd demonstrate this fact again 2 weeks later after going down 4 in the first inning against the Senators at home and winning the game 7-4.

Throughout the season, there were a countless amount of games that were postponed and some cancelled altogether due to a multitude of weather factors in the DMV area. The season also included a large amount of player movement, as key Grays starters such as Jackson Stallworth (Pensacola State), Chris Fortunato (Stevenson), and Evan Wilson (Richmond) would depart from the team before the summer's end.

One thing that really picked up for the Grays in the final few weeks of the season would be their ability to hit home runs, as they'd hit 7 in their final 8 games of the regular season. These missiles would be included in a 11-6 win at the Braves where Ryan Stoddard (Lafayette), Beny Bikar Jr. (Southern), and Evan Wilson (Richmond) would each hit one in the fourth inning.

Without a doubt, the magnum opus of this Grays season was their 14-12 win in the final week against the Bethesda Big Train, being their first victory against them in over a year. Peyton Ford (U Cal Penn) would have a masterpiece game with 2 home runs on his first 2 plate appearances, and Jackson Loomis (Denison) would hit 2-3 to bring in 4 RBIs while also closing out the game on the mound and preventing Bethesda from completing their huge comeback. He'd pitch 2.1 innings, only allow 2 hits, and allow 0 runs to secure the victory for D.C.

While an early exit wasn't the result that the Grays wanted, there was a sizable amount of improvement shown by the team from the beginning of the summer to the end. It never felt like the Grays were out of games, as they proved they could come back from deficits at any time. That toughness and resilience is without a doubt what we'll all be looking forward to next season from D.C.

Thank you to everyone who supported the Grays this season and helped make this summer be an awesome experience for D.C. I'm grateful to have worked with the organization and the intern staff, and am excited to support the Grays even more going forward.

(Photo courtesy of Alex Ouzts)