VIENNA, VA—The Senators showed their toughness and determination in gutting out an extra- inning 7-6 win over the visiting Herndon Braves at Waters Field on Saturday night. The win was the Senator’s third in a row, which gives them their longest winning streak of the year.
The Braves struck in the top of the first inning when Joe Palumbo singled in Ryan Considine, who had reached earlier in the inning on an infield single. Senator pitcher Caleb Barton then got Brave second baseman Joe Lake to ground into an inning ending double play to end the Brave’s first.
The Senators answered the Braves in the bottom of the first when Wes Schirtzinger, who had walked to lead off the game , scored on a Donald Brown groundout. Schirtzinger’s run made the score 1-1.
In the Herndon half of the third inning, Kellen Kulbacki reached on a fielder’s choice and then stole second to move into scoring position. He scored on an errant throw by the Senator second baseman, making the score 2-1. Barton halted any momentum that Herndon had built up by forcing TJ Cataldo to groundout to the third baseman.
In the fifth inning, the Senators put together a rally by showing patience at the plate. Schirtzinger began the inning by reaching on a bunt single. He then advanced to second on a wild pitch by the Brave’s pitcher. Matt Lesyk reached base on a catcher’s interference call. Donald Brown then drew a walk, loading the bases. Justin Bunkis followed by drawing another walk to drive in Schirtzinger. Designated hitter AJ Lamonda then hit into a fielder’s choice, driving in Lesyk. Guillermo Martinez finished off the Senator scoring in the inning by hitting a sacrifice fly to right field, allowing Brown to score. Brown’s run extended the Senator’s lead to 4-2.
In the Herndon seventh, Considine began the inning by taking a pitch in the back. Nate Parks followed with a walk, advancing Considine to second. Considine and Parks then stole second and third, collectively. Kellen Kulbacki grounded out to second to drive in Considine, making the score 4-3.
The Senators extended their lead to 5-3 in the seventh when AJ Lamonda drove in Matt Lesyk with an RBI single. The Senators had some breathing room, but the Braves were not done.
In the top of the eighth, Herndon tallied a run to make the score 5-4. The run was scored when Lake doubled to start the inning and was driven in by a Cataldo single.
The Senators followed with a run of their own in the eighth, making the score 6-4. Kevin Hansen bunted for a single to start the inning. Will Bussey followed with another bunt single, moving Hansen to second. Schirtzinger moved Hansen over to third on a fielder’s choice. Hansen scored on a passed ball to give the Senators a comfortable two run lead. The Braves were not ready to go home, though.
In the ninth, the Braves mounted a rally and scored two runs to send the game into extra innings. Parks started the rally by bunting for a single off of Senator pitcher Joe Hughes. Kulbacki followed with a single, advancing Parks to second. Both runners moved up when Hughes was called for a balk. With runners on second and third, Joe Palumbo singled, driving in both men to tie the game. The Senators brought in John Adams for Hughes to try and halt the rally. Adams did his job and the game went into extra innings.
In the tenth inning, the Senators showed their guts by sparking a rally after having given up the lead. Kevin Hansen started the inning with a single. He moved to second when Will Bussey bunted for a single, putting men on first and second. Schirtzinger struck out looking to record the first out of the inning, but the Senators were determined to win. Both runners moved up on the same balk call that had haunted the Senators in the previous inning. With runners on second and third, the Braves intentionally walked Matt Lesyk to load the bases. Donald Brown followed by hitting a groundball, but the throw home was too late to get Hansen, giving the Senator’s an exciting 7-6 win.
Adams, who had his third consecutive strong outing, got the win for the Senators. AJ Lamonda and Donald Brown each finished with two RBIs for the Senators.
The Senators are at home again on Sunday afternoon when they take on the Reston Hawks for the third time this week at Waters Field. The game is scheduled for 3 pm.