Big Train falters in morning matchup against Thunderbolts

by Ian Domeika

Andrew Williamson up to bat early in the game against the Thunderbolts (Esther Frances)

ROCKVILLE, Md. — The Bethesda Big Train had a short turnaround from its win over the Gaithersburg Giants Saturday night and couldn't continue its winning ways, as it fell to the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts 8-4.

Bethesda scored in each of the first three innings, capped off by yet another home run from sophomore Andrew Williamson (Central Florida). The standout center fielder out of St. Petersburg, Florida has been on fire since joining the Big Train, hitting .413 with four home runs.

“I’m definitely thankful, we’ve been playing well, and we got up early in this game but they responded and we weren't able to respond back. But we just have to keep on going and get ready for tomorrow,” said Williamson.

The Big Train offense failed to get any substantial momentum going again until the eighth inning when Landon Franklin (Kentucky) drove in Jaden Bastian (Jacksonville) with a line drive to left field that bounced up and out of play for a ground rule double.

“We probably just let the heat get to us, and we probably got complacent which can’t be happening. But you know we just have to move on from it and learn from it,” said Williamson.

On the defensive side, sophomore pitcher Jake Titus (Kentucky) recorded his first start for the Big Train, pitching 3.1 innings while only allowing one run and recording four strikeouts. Later in the day, Titus’ college teammate, Evan Hart (Kentucky) pitched four great innings, only allowing two hits while striking out two.

Pitcher Jake Titus in the game against the Thunderbolts (Esther Francis)

“I feel good, stuff was working pretty well today. A couple of mistakes, but it went well,” said Titus, who was also very complimentary of his teammate Hart, “He looked great today, he was the man. He had his stuff rolling, it was awesome to see.”

This loss drops the Big Train back to .500 on the season, but there is still a positive feeling by the players.

“We just have to do our thing, we have a lot of talent on this team, so we just have to go out there and play our game,” said Williamson.

The Big Train will make the trip to Waldorf, Maryland Monday night to take on the Southern Maryland Senators. The first pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.

LiveStream

Notes: 774 fans attended the game that lasted 3 hours and 3 minutes in sweltering heat…. Sunday morning’s rain led to a one hour delayed start…. Big Train fans were entertained by an exceptional pre-game concert by the children from OnCue Theatre…. The Big Train celebrated Homer's birthday with 100 Homer cake pops presented by our game day sponsor Veterinary Park Potomac…. The first 100 kids received boxes of Big Train chalk…. The first 100 fans were refreshed with a Just Ice Tea…. It was SABR (Society of American Baseball Research) Day at Shirley Povich Field, with a special breakfast talk on the history of Povich Field presented by Bruce Adams, joined by the writers from Stadium Journey…. Our Community Hero group was the Children’s Inn. Kristin Arabian represented Children’s Inn in the pre-game first pitch ceremony, along with Dr. Katie Malehorn of Veterinary Park Potomac, Richard Smith of Stadium Journey, and Louie, the mascot for the Bowie Baysox.