Archive

Nine games into the season, one thing is absolutely certain about the Big Train: win or lose, they never go down without a fight.

A ninth-inning rally came up short as the Big Train dropped their second game of the season to the Baltimore Dodgers.

Down nine runs in the bottom of the ninth, Matt Green (St. Mary’s) led off the inning with a walk. Logan Driscoll (George Mason) promptly drove him home with a long home run to left field, his first of the year. The next batter, Tanner Allen (Mississippi State), ripped a single to keep the Big Train line moving. James Outman (Sacramento State) hit the Big Train’s second homer of the inning, a fly ball to right that just cleared the fence.

Though the Big Train nearly slashed the deficit in half, there were simply too few outs left, and the result was a 10-5 loss.

“It always feels good [to hit a homer],” Driscoll said. “It was just a little too late.”

For the first eight innings, the Big Train offense struggled to figure out Dodgers pitcher Josh Hejka, mustering only one run on three hits. Despite a disappointing night, the Big Train know the secret to turning the page and getting back into a winning mindset.  

“Not think about [the loss],” Outman said. “We’ve been playing good baseball, so just go back to what we’ve been doing, not stress out at all.”

The Big Train showed a similar fighting spirit on Monday, when they rallied for eight runs in the final three innings to upset the Loudon Riverdogs, 11-10. Though they didn’t come out on top tonight, the Big Train know that they will always compete until the last out.

“That’s a big thing when you’re down, to still fight tooth and nail,” Outman said. “It never feels good to lose, even [with] how well we do, but at least you can look at whether you went down fighting or not.”

The Big Train will have the opportunity to quickly start another winning streak tomorrow night. They face off against the Herndon Braves in their second meeting of the season. On Opening Day, June 6, the Big Train secured an easy 6-1 victory, and they hope to replicate that result. The first pitch at Shirley Povich Field is at 7 pm. The game will be live-Tweeted (@gobigtrain) and broadcast by Max Wolpoff and P.J. Glasser (mixlr.com/big-train).