COUNTING DOWN THE GREATEST GAMES IN BIG TRAIN HISTORY
by Patrick Sanderson, Erin Byard and Noah Ziegler
Top Ten Thursdays is a weekly bigtrain.tv show that highlights the top 10 games in Bethesda Big Train history, as voted on by team historian Bill Hickman, manager Sal Colangelo and founder Bruce Adams. As each game is unveiled, we will bring you a written flashback here on bigtrain.org.
Host Alex Drain, with the help of Colangelo and various guests, will break down each game, as those involved discuss what they remember and the significance of each contest. Each episode will serve as a flashback to classic moments in Big Train history, in lieu of actual games during the 2020 summer.
View the full Top Ten Thursdays series here, and click on each of the Top Ten titles on this page to view that game's episode.
#1 – July 28, 2011: Big Train 5, Southern Maryland Nationals 4
Bullpen locks down victory en route to national title
The final episode of the Top Ten Thursdays countdown takes us back to 2011 for the greatest game in Big Train history. The Big Train took on a formidable Southern Maryland Nationals team at Shirley Povich Field in the second game of the Cal Ripken League Championship. Bethesda bested the Nationals, 5-4, in thrilling, come-from-behind fashion, and would go on to win the league title and earn the top ranking in all of summer baseball.
The 2011 Big Train squad was a championship caliber team from the start, maintaining a core group of players from the previous season, in which they had also won a title. The team proved themselves by claiming the regular season championship, and entered the playoffs as heavy favorites to win it all.
Only two wins away from capturing a third straight title, the Big Train faced their biggest test of their run on July 28 in the second-seeded Nationals.
Bethesda turned to Martin Agosta (St. Mary’s CA) to start the game on the mound. Agosta was able to hold the Nationals offense scoreless in the first three innings, allowing the Big Train to take the early 2-0 lead on RBI singles by Brennan Middleton (Tulane) and Michael Aldrete (San Jose State). Aldrete played a key role in this game at the plate, and was one of the most versatile players on the Big Train squad, also serving as the team’s closer.
“He could play short, he could play second, he could [play] left, he could throw 90 off the bump, he got everything out of his God given ability... he was special,” manager Sal Colangelo said.
In the top of the fourth, the Nationals responded with a pair of RBI singles and a sacrifice fly to take a 3-2 lead over the Big Train. The game went back and forth from there. The Nationals added another run in the following inning, which the Big Train then responded to with a tally of their own, bringing the score to 4-3 in the Nationals favor.
Bethesda rallied though, when Alex Hudak (Florida Atlantic) delivered a big two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the sixth to put the Big Train up 5-4.
Though the Big Train had the lead, there was plenty of drama still to come. The Nationals managed to put a runner in scoring position in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings.
The Big Train first looked to relief pitchers Mike Frank (Bowling Green) and Mike Kent (Clemson) who each put up scoreless innings against the tough Nationals batting order.
Aldrete then stepped onto the mound to finish the game in the ninth, and although Big Train fans were nervous when two runners got aboard, he was able to close out the contest unscathed. The Big Train won the game 5-4, advancing to the championship game where they would face the Baltimore Redbirds.
“Everybody was so talented to begin with, but also pitched really well that summer that they didn’t feel like they had to go out there and throw three or four innings, just by the number of players that you had listed in the box score they only had to throw one inning. They were talented #1 and they didn’t have to throw a lot of innings so they were able to go out and give it everything they had,” Middleton said.
The team won the championship over the Redbirds, which was reason enough to celebrate.
However, the real bonus came in the following days when Perfect Game Baseball named the Big Train number one in the nation among all collegiate summer teams. This stands as the first and only time the Big Train has carried out this feat in franchise history.
“Something about that team felt different from the beginning, it was clicking on all cylinders and winning at a rate that seemed unsustainable yet they were sustaining it. It was so fun to be a part of and bring that energy to the stadium. It just worked all year,” then-general manager Jordan Henry noted.
#2 – July 31, 2019: Big Train 6, Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts 4
Thomas sparks late rally as Big Train wins fourth straight championship
The Big Train had already cemented themselves as a perennial powerhouse after winning three straight league championships, and in late July of 2019, the only thing standing between them and a fourth was the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts. Bethesda was a force to be reckoned with that summer, finishing atop the Cal Ripken regular league standings with an impressive record of 31-7, but claiming the postseason title over T-Bolts would be no easy feat.
“I think if you were going to pick a team you would want to see the Big Train face it would have to be the T-Bolts in that final series,” broadcaster Shaun Salehi said. “You knew it was going to be the best matchup of the two best teams in the league.”
In the first game of the series, the Big Train suffered a stunning 9-0 loss at home. They rallied on the road in game two, beating the T-Bolts 6-3 to even the series and set up a winner-take-all game three at Shirley Povich Field. The Big Train got off to a shaky start, giving up three runs in the first inning. Attempting to limit the damage, Bethesda made a change at the mound, bringing in Ryan Okuda (Virginia Tech). Okuda stepped up to the task, allowing only one additional run across six innings. While Okuda delivered an impressive outing to keep his team in the game, the Big Train offense struggled to get going, remaining scoreless through six frames.
The Big Train turned to reliever Greer Holston (Ole Miss), who held the T-Bolts scoreless through the seventh and eighth innings. While Holston kept the Silver Spring offense at bay, the Big Train bats were running out of time to mount their comeback. Momentum finally began to build for Bethesda when two runners got aboard in the bottom of the eighth inning, setting the stage for Matt Thomas (William & Mary). He came up huge, cracking a three-run homer – his first of the summer – over the scoreboard in left-center.
“What our offense was missing that day was one big spark, we had a couple base runners here and there but nothing that was really gonna change the momentum of the game... [the pitcher] left it right over the plate and I didn’t try to do too much, I just took a good swing and it ended up going over the fence,” noted Thomas.
The home run completely changed the momentum of the game, electrifying Big Train fans and giving the players the confidence they needed. With two outs and a runner on in the eighth, the T-Bolts pitcher walked two Big Train batters, bringing Gio Diaz (St. Mary’s CA) to the plate with the bases loaded. Every eye in Povich Field was locked on Diaz, and he did not disappoint, lining a single up the middle to score two runners giving Bethesda the lead for the first time in the game.
Christian Jayne (East Carolina) doubled to drive in another, giving his team a 6-4 lead heading into the ninth inning. Big Train manager Sal Colangelo turned to closer Chase Lee (Alabama) to seal the deal. The sidewinding right-hander delivered, and the Big Train’s thrilling comeback was complete as the team won its fourth consecutive Cal Ripken League championship.
#3 – June 4, 1999: Big Train 7, Arlington Senators 2
Big Train wins first game in team history
When the Bethesda Big Train began its journey as a new-born franchise, it needed to start off on the right foot to set the tone for years to come. The result of its first game would foreshadow the winning mentality that the Big Train carries to this day.
An early June 1999 matchup saw the work of team founder Bruce Adams and many others come to fruition. Bethesda joined the Clark Griffith Collegiate Baseball League, where it would debut its team and Shirley Povich Field.
Its first opponent would be the Arlington Senators, who were the reigning Clark Griffith League champions and three-time AAABA champions. It would be a tough task for the Big Train, but a good measuring stick to see where the team stood as it began its early stages of development.
“June 4, 1999, was just such an exciting day,” Adams said. “We had worked for two years. We created the Bethesda Community Baseball Club. We had gotten permission to put a team — the Bethesda Big Train — into the Clark Griffith League … Everything was so perfect.”
For Sal Colangelo, now the Big Train’s manager, the opportunity to be on the team’s initial coaching staff came by chance. While walking around the Westfield Montgomery mall, near Povich Field, he ran into soon-to-be manager Derek Hacopian. After a brief conversation where Hacopian discussed a new baseball team being formed, he offered Colangelo the opportunity to coach. He’d take the offer, and after ingraining himself in the organization and sharing the same goals for the franchise as Adams, Colangelo would become a cornerstone in Bethesda’s operation.
What was important for the Big Train starting successfully was forming a team that would compete from the start. One player that sought the opportunity of being a part of the inaugural squad was Matt Swope (Maryland), whose interest rose at the thought of remaining in his home state for the summer.
“I was just interested in kind of, at least at that point, in staying at home,” Swope said. “I love the area. My parents actually just moved 10 minutes from the field … I just thought it was a great opportunity, and one of my best friends on the team who was actually a really good player was Chuck Easter … We were absolutely loaded on that team.”
Swope said the rivalry with the Senators began with that first game, and it was an immediate battle from the first pitch. In front of a packed Shirley Povich Field, the Bethesda community came in support to see its new team make a name for itself in commanding fashion.
“That night, it was a sell-out crowd. In fact, it was a standing-room only crowd that whole season,” Big Train fan and volunteer John Daniel said. “There was so much excitement about having a summer team right there in Bethesda. There were plenty of games where we were sold out.”
The game began with temperatures in the mid-80s, but the Bethesda bats came out just as hot. Hacopian’s team plated five runs in the bottom of the first, immediately stunning one of the best teams in the country. The Senators pulled its starting pitcher after two outs, showing how much pressure the Big Train put on the star-studded team from northern Virginia.
Pitching wasn’t an issue for the Big Train as Kyle Sparkman (Middle Tennessee State) tossed eight innings and gave up just two runs. In the late innings, Bethesda increased its lead to 7-2, which would finish as the final score, and the first victory in Big Train history.
The win let fans and players know that the Big Train were serious contenders, but the impressive debut would also prove to be a glimpse for the future of the franchise. Since then, Bethesda has earned 11 regular season championships, nine league championships and one national championship.
The night was special. It was the beginning of Bethesda’s home team — one that the community could rally around and support. It was an aura that was felt by those present at Shirley Povich Field that night, and it hasn’t gone away since then.
“I was just playing catch in front of the dugout and there were over 1,000 people there, I think that in itself made me feel special and some type of way when I was 18 years old,” Swope, who is now an assistant coach at Maryland, said. “I did realize in that moment how special it was. The fanfare and just the community aspect was something I probably will never forget.”
Baltimore would go on to win game two by a 3-1 score, and due to rain, game three was never played, meaning the teams were crowned co-champions of the LCS.
