Larson’s Three-Hit Night Sparks Aces in 7-2 Win Over Grays

Sometimes baseball doesn’t have to be complicated.

The Alexandria Aces proved that Wednesday night, taking advantage of their opportunities and getting another strong pitching performance in a 7-2 victory over the D.C. Grays at Robert J. Talbot Field on the campus of The Catholic University of America.

Brad Larson (Rhodes College) sparked the offense with three hits, scored a run and drove in another as the Aces improved to 10-9. The Grays fell to 7-10.

The Aces didn’t need a big offensive night. They simply made the most of the chances they were given. Two Grays errors, a balk and a wild pitch contributed to five unearned runs, while Alexandria’s pitching staff held D.C. to five hits.

Alexandria grabbed the lead in the second inning and never looked back.

Larson crossed the plate on a balk for the game’s first run. Later in the inning, Jackson Sgro (Haverford College) reached on a throwing error that allowed Kory Barbier and Liam Irving (Allegheny College) to score, giving the Aces a 3-0 lead.

The Grays answered with a sacrifice fly later in the inning to make it 3-1, but they never got any closer.

Jackson Mariano (Eastern Mennonite University) earned his first victory of the season with five solid innings. The Grays put runners on base throughout the night, but Mariano kept working out of trouble. He allowed three hits and one run, walked six and struck out two.

Luke Pierce followed with a scoreless sixth inning, striking out two, before Jack Rucker handled the final three innings. Rucker allowed one run on two hits and struck out four to finish off the victory.

The sixth inning gave the Aces some breathing room.

Elijah Grant (Presbyterian College) and Sgro scored after Daniel McGinnis (Eastern Mennonite University) reached on a throwing error and advanced to third. Larson followed with an RBI single to right field, scoring Matthew Pazak (University of Pennsylvania) and stretching Alexandria’s lead to 6-1.

The Grays scored once in the seventh, but the Aces answered in the eighth when Pazak crossed the plate on a wild pitch to complete the scoring.

The Rhodes College outfielder finished 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. McGinnis added two hits, while Grant, Hunter White (University of Pennsylvania), Pazak and Irving each contributed one. Grant and Noah Harvey (University of Richmond) also stole bases as Alexandria drew eight walks and kept the pressure on the Grays throughout the night.

The win was built on timely hitting, steady pitching and taking advantage of D.C.’s mistakes. It moved the Aces back above .500 and marked another positive step under first-year Head Coach Brian Wirth, who also serves as an assistant baseball coach at Frostburg State University.

Now the Alexandria Aces return to Frank Mann Field with a chance to build on that momentum against one of the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League’s top teams.

Up Next

The Aces host the Bethesda Big Train on Thursday, June 25, at 6:30 p.m. at Frank Mann Field before welcoming the South County Metro Braves on Friday, June 26, also at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for children. Fans can purchase tickets in advance at alexandriaaces.org/tickets and save time at the gate.

I’ll see you at The Frank, where legends begin.