NEWS

By Marc Goldstein

The game was moving along slowly for the Alexandria Aces through the first five and a half innings Sunday night. Despite scoring nine runs thus far, it felt like the Ripken Sr. League’s top regular season team hadn’t truly flexed their muscles yet. Then, they plated another nine runs in the sixth inning alone, taking down the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts 18-4 to go up 1-0 in the best-of-three semifinal series.

The 18-4 final tells a story: this was a strong statement made by the Aces. The game did not appear to be headed the way of a romp given the way it started. The Thunderbolts were able to fend off the Metro SoCo Braves the night prior and used that momentum to get a fast start in the first inning against the Aces.

Facing the regular season champions and top overall seed, the Thunderbolts got a leadoff single from Quincy Via (Marymount) before he stole second and would later score on a sacrifice fly from Amani Jones (Stevenson). This was a bit of deja vu for the Thunderbolts as they also saw Via single, steal second and then get driven in by Jones in the first inning Saturday night.

However, like most great teams, the Aces were able to right the ship when they got their opportunity in the bottom of the frame. That chance came very soon as a leadoff single by Tim Nicholson (George Washington) was followed up by a run-scoring double by RJ Hamilton (Vanderbilt) down the left field line. Hamilton would swipe third base and then end up scoring on an RBI groundout by Gavin Miller (Auburn) to give the Aces the lead very quickly against Thunderbolts starter Beck Urofsky (Cornell).

In the second inning, starter Ryan Reich (Seton Hall) put up a zero while working around a two-out double by Justin Costanzo (Widener). Reich watched as his offense again flexed its muscles against Urofsky. Matt Ossenfort (Vanderbilt) reached on a dropped popup to short and would later score on a single by Dylan Grego (Ball State).

Two batters later, Nicholson drove in two more runs with a single before Hamilton got his second RBI of the game with an RBI single of his own to make the score 6-1 after two frames. The Aces were able to force Urofsky out of the game after only retiring three batters.

After another sacrifice fly from Grego, the Aces led 7-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth. Gavin Miller stepped up to the plate. The three-hole hitter tallied 11 doubles in the regular season, but was yet to go yard this summer. That fact would change as he cleared not only the wall in left field, but also the scoreboard as well for a tape-measure shot. The lead for the Aces increased to 8-1 after four frames. The home run impressed everyone, including manager Chris Berset, who has been watching him work on his swing tirelessly.

“We have spent some long hours in Primetime, my facility,” Berset said of Miller. “Cory (Taylor) (Eastern Michigan), Gavin and I all got together and kind of just worked on it a little bit to get his swing right… So great to see him hit that one tonight.”

In the top of the next inning, the Thunderbolts showed their first signs of life offensively since the first inning, getting an RBI double from Jones, scoring Via once again to make it a six-run deficit. Reich would work out of the inning, finishing his night with five innings and two runs allowed on seven hits.

“He definitely did not have his A+ stuff by any means,” Berset said. “But I mean at the end of the day, five innings with two earned runs is something we will take all day. It is just a testament to his coaching, both here and at Seton Hall. In Game 1, you never know what you’re going to get, so for him to be able to grind it out was awesome.”

The Aces scored again in the bottom of the fifth to make the score 9-2. The Thunderbolts would again look to close the gap a little bit as they greeted the new pitcher, Tucker Narkinsky (Tallahassee CC) with a double and a two-run home run by Justin Taylor (Millersville). Narkinsky would recover to finish the inning with the score sitting at 9-4, Aces.

Since Urofsky left the game in the second, Loy Hickmon (Longwood) had been pitching in relief. While not giving a spotless outing by any means, he limited the damage for the Aces to one run per inning. In the sixth, that was not the case whatsoever. A walk to Hamilton and a single by Miller set the stage for Jonah Oster (Campbell) to hit a big two-run double to left-center field, knocking Hickmon out of the game.

The new pitcher, Eric Elliott (Maryland Eastern Shore), had no answers for the Aces offensive attack. After the first two batters reached, another error at shortstop led to a run scoring. Alex Wade (Auburn) drove in another run. Then, Nicholson reached on an infield single, but a late throw to first after he had crossed the base went awry and allowed a second run to score on the play. Hamilton would then walk, but ball four got away from the catcher, allowing not only the runner from third to score, but gave time for a hustling Nicholson to dive in safely to make the score 17-4. Miller would later drive in Hamilton, who got to second on the previous play, and extend the lead to 18-4.

The final frame was rather quiet as the Aces wrapped up the win in just seven innings after a wild sixth inning. Not only did they pick up a win that moved them within one game of the LCS Finals, they sent a message to the entire league that they are a force to be reckoned with. Now, the series shifts to Montgomery Blair Stadium on Monday at 7 p.m. The Thunderbolts will look to force a pivotal Game 3 back in Alexandria, while the reigning champion Aces will look to sweep and return to the championship series.