Aces Blast Orioles 12-2

Aces blitz O’s in weather shortened game

ABERDEEN, MD – by Lukas Favale – Thursday night’s game between the Alexandria Aces and the Youse’s Orioles was a must win for the Aces, and that showed on the field.  They built an early, insurmountable lead, then hurried the game along to complete five innings just ahead of a fast approaching storm.  And with that, the Aces blew away the Orioles 12-2 in a crucial game for the Aces playoff chances.

The Aces wasted absolutely no time jumping out in front.  Adam Forrer lined the first pitch of the game into right field for a single.  Anthony Papio then hit into a fielder’s choice, but an errant throw by second baseman Mikal Hill allowed Forrer to reach second safely.  Alex Buccilli walked to load the bases with no outs.

Mac Gill, the Orioles starter, threw a wild pitch, scoring Forrer, before Chris Sweeney hit an RBI single for a 2-0 lead.  Kevin Francke then smashed a 3-run home run right down the right field line to put the Aces up 5-0.  The next batter, Jacob Stockton, followed with a solo home run to give the Aces a 6-0 lead.In the 2nd, the Aces drove Gill out of the game with two more hits.  Then Chris Sweeney greeted reliever Mark McCoy with a RBI single to score Anthony Papio.  Papio actually ran into the arm of catcher Zach Fisher, and as the ball squirted free Alex Buccilli raced home to give the Aces an 8-0 lead.

Finally in the 3rd, the Aces tact on 4 more runs.  The big blow in the inning was Kevin Francke’s bases clearing 3-run double, giving him 6 RBIs on the game, in what will certainly be his final regular season game in his Aces career.  The inning left the Aces with an 12-1 lead with the skies beginning to darken.

Brian O’Neill got the start for the Aces and he allowed just 2 runs over 5 innings, but more importantly he was able to work quickly to get the games in the books as official.  No sooner had the last out of the 5th inning been recorded than a flash of lightning delayed the game, and eventually forced the game to be called.

Notes: WP – Brian O’Neill (1-4); LP – Mac Gill (2-3); Box Score