Giants Win Fourth in a Row, Defeat Redbirds 7-6

by John Vittas

The Gaithersburg Giants knocked off the Baltimore Redbirds, 7-6 Thursday night at Calvert Hall College High School in Towson.

The Giants clubbed at least 11 hits for the second straight night, including eight off Redbirds' starter Brandon Casas.

"We've stayed focused on having a quality at bat and helping the team win and that mindset has really carried throughout the whole lineup," Giants' left fielder Collin Shaw said. "We show up to the yard no matter who we're playing with the same attitude and the results just take care of themselves."

Shaw went 2-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored and three stolen bases. He now has 12 steals on the summer, second in the league behind the man who plays next to him in the Giants' outfield, Chris Kashangaki.

"I found some good counts and had the green light from coach so I just took advantage of that," Shaw said in regards to the running game.

The Giants scored two in the first and three in the second off Casas, before tacking on runs in the fourth and eighth off Baltimore's bullpen. Josh Ingham and Brandon Grove each drove in a pair of runs.

Grove is now 9 for his last 13 at bats, raising his average 91 points over that span and up over .300 for the first time this season.

"That's who Brandon Grove is and that's why he's on this team," head coach Jeff Rabberman said."I think he'd been struggling because he was pressing. Tonight he was very relaxed and he's been starting to see the ball better. It's the right time for him to start getting hot."

Starting pitcher Jesse Frawley picked up the win after allowing three runs over five innings.

Kyle Colgain earned the save afte striking out Redbirds' shortstop Jimmy Redovian with the tying and winning runs on base.

"I threw him a 1-1 curveball that put me ahead so I thought I had him guessing," Colgain said. "The fastball felt real good so I just reached back and threw it as hard as I could and it was a good spot."

Colgain is usually a starter for the Giants but has now pitched two scoreless outings of relief.

"I haven't closed in a while so I didn't make any changes," Colgain said. "I just came in at a different time in the game. There's a little more pressure but it worked out."

Giants' RHP Kyle Colgain picked up his first save of the season Thursday night

The Giants have won four consecutive games, knocking off three of the league's five best teams in the process.

"It's been a good three days for the Gaithersburg Giants," Rabberman said. "Coming off two emotional wins, you kind of wondered what we had left in the tank. We found a way to win and that's what good teams do."

The Giants (19-11) will head to Vienna tomorrow to take on the River Dogs (11-15), as they go for their fifth straight victory.


To hear the full broadcast of tonight's game, click here

To hear John Vittas' post-game interviews with Kyle Colgain, Collin Shaw and head coach Jeff Rabberman, click here