By Chris Damond

Saturday at noon, the Alexandria Aces will have a chance to make history. After downing the Metropolitan Braves, 11-2, at South County High School in seven innings on Friday night, the Aces are just one win away from their first ever regular season title.  

Alexandria is a half game back from the Bethesda Big Train for the top spot in the Cal Ripken League standings with one game left in the regular season. If the Aces win on Saturday against the Gaithersburg Giants at Frank Mann Field, they’ll have the same record as their first-place rivals. But Alexandria owns the tiebreaker, with a 4-2 head-to-head record versus Bethesda.  

Entering Friday, the Aces knew they controlled their own destiny – win out, and first place is theirs. They got right to business.  

Alexandria put up two runs in the first, and then had a nine-run inning for the second game in a row to lead 11-0 after three. Once again, Eddie Hacopian (Maryland) led the hitting onslaught, with a team-high four hits, which included a solo home run.  

Cade Sullivan (Western Michigan) had a three-run shot as well, and Qingyang Feng notched his first RBI of the season.  

Dylan Koontz (Campbell) had three RBI thanks to a double and a groundout, which was tied with Sullivan for the most on Alexandria.  

Ben Koomey (RPI), a Yorktown High School graduate, pitched four solid innings, striking out four and allowing just two runs. Alexandria native Ryan Osinski (Bucknell) closed out the game with two scoreless frames of his own.