NEWS

By Tim Wilcox

Entering Saturday, the Aces (15-7) held a perfect 9-0 home record. In came the Grays (11-12), posing a threat to the South Division leader’s streak.

Through three innings, the Aces’ record at Frank Mann Field looked strong. Alexandria tallied a run in the first and retired the first nine Grays. But in the fourth, D.C. found their bats and took the lead. The Grays led by as many as three runs and held off a late rally by the Aces to pull off a gritty 5-4 win and end Alexandria’s home-winning streak. D.C. was propelled by James Layman’s (Wofford) big day at the plate: 3-for-5 with one run and one RBI.

Early on, the Aces picked up where they left off after a 14-2 thumping of the Braves on Friday. In the first inning, Alexandria got runners on the corners and Jamie Quinn-Irons (George Mason) hit into a fielder's choice to bring the first run across.

Aces starter Ty Goodson (Liberty) worked smoothly in his first time through the order. But, with one out in the fourth inning, D.C. knocked back-to-back hits. That set the table for Michael Lavanga (William & Mary), the Grays’ team leader in RBIs, who grounded out to tie the game.

The Grays rally continued after drawing a two-out walk and Anthony Ruocco (Winthrop) singled in the go-ahead run to take a 2-1 lead.

In response, the Aces Riley DeCandido (VCU) and Kevin Milewski (Seton Hall) singled in the top of the fourth. On the base hit by Milewski, the Grays were ready, completing a relay from right field to catch DeCandido running to third. The out proved costly for the Aces as they failed to score in the frame.

D.C. kept barreling baseballs in the fifth inning as three straight batters singled to load the bases for Matt Colella (Lafayette). He grounded out to extend the Grays’ 3-1 lead.

After allowing a run in the first, Grays starter Michael Sills (Wofford) settled in and held the Aces potent offense scoreless for four straight innings.

In the sixth, Jeremiah Jenkins (Maine) ended a streak of five-straight outs in the Aces lineup. Alexandria’s first baseman clobbered a home run 425 feet to right field to cut the Aces deficit to one.

The next inning, the top of the Grays lineup continued its onslaught. Greg Marmo (George Washington) doubled and Layman, who joined the Grays a week into the season, hit a two-bagger to drive him in, increasing D.C.’s lead to 4-2.

“[Layman] came in right away and hit and he's just been getting better and better,” Grays head coach Maurice Bankston said.

The Grays manufactured an insurance run in the eighth inning using a sacrifice bunt to move a runner into scoring position. With two outs, Ellis Reed (North Carolina A&T) knocked an RBI single to extend the Grays lead to 5-2.

But, the Aces offense did not fall silent. After a leadoff walk in the bottom of the frame, Brendan Harrity (Western Michigan) hit an RBI double and Alexandria added a second run on an error to cut the score to one.

Bankston kept reliever Derek Desmarais (Tufts), who pitched the seventh and eighth, on the mound for the ninth. The right-hander got two quick outs before issuing a walk, but came back to get the last batter out and complete a three-inning save.

“[Desmarais] just competes,” Bankston said. “He's a little guy but he thinks he's the best guy out there.”

The Grays host the Braves at Prince George’s Community College Sunday while the Aces take on the Senators at Frank Mann Field Sunday.