It is a great time to be a Southern Maryland Senators fan. 

 

The Senators have the best record in the Cal Ripken League and have increased their win streak to seven with a victory over the Alexandria Aces on June 12th. Over the past two weeks, the Senators hold a 7-1 record, with their only loss coming against the Metro South County Braves on opening day. Since then, the Senators have outscored their opponents 59-27. 

 

Between all the returners and new players, Head Coach Scott Middleton has put together quite the team in an effort to win this year’s Cal Ripken League championship.

 

Starting their season on the road with an 11-8 loss, everything seemed to click once the Senators returned home to Regency Furniture Stadium. Southern Maryland's first home game stretch brought quite a few surprises to those around the league. 

 

Last year, it took the Senators over a month into the season before the team was able to win back-to-back games. However, this year was a completely different story. The Senators won their first game at home this season against the Gaithersburg Giants 9-5, and the next day they beat their former playoff opponent, the Alexandria Aces, 7-3. 

 

“It feels good to know that this team will fight no matter what,” Middleton said when asked about winning two in a row early in the season. “We will continue to play hard and see what happens. I believe in this team, and there is something special about them.”

 

The last game of the three-game home stretch for the Senators ended with them beating the Metro South County Braves 8-3 for their third win. This was the first time in Southern Maryland Senators' history that the team won three straight in the regular season. 

 

Back on the road, the Senators collected their fourth consecutive win against the D.C. Grays 8-5 due to a very productive three innings.

 

Nonetheless, the Senators returned home on June 9th to face the Giants for the second time this season. Once more, Southern Maryland was victorious against Gaithersburg, winning 9-3. After scoring three runs, a “Little League home run” by Jack Euart (Wofford) gave the Senators a 6-1 lead in just the first inning. Euart would then go on to score two of the three additional runs the Senators put up in later innings. Strong pitching performances by the Senators' bullpen kept the Giants scoreless after the second inning and helped Southern Maryland earn their fifth win.  

 

With five wins under their belt, the Senators had no intention of letting off the gas pedal, as two days later they faced the North Division Leader at the time, the Olney Cropdusters. That did not seem to faze the team whatsoever. They held the Cropdusters scoreless and piled on nine runs to secure the victory. 

 

Logan Bingham (Middle Tennessee) pitched five innings and allowed zero runs and zero hits. Bruce Wadiak (Iona) came in from the bullpen, and he would not allow a hit until the eighth inning when Ahmaad Duff hit a double. That runner would be stranded at second when Wadiak finished the eighth by striking out the next batter. To finish the game off, Kyle Hard (Iona) came into the ninth, getting out of a bases-loaded jam to end the game, leaving the Olney Cropdusters scoreless for the first time this season.

 

Pitching wasn't the only thing on fire that game against the Cropdusters, as the bats were too. Centerfielder Adam Troch (Duke) went 3-4 with three RBIs, two walks, and a solo home run. Similarly, Lucas Grantham (Georgia State) went 3-4 as well, scoring two of the Senators' nine runs. Danny Surowiec (Boston College) also hit a solo home run, giving the Senators the lead in what would become a five-run second inning. MJ Phillips (Towson), also had quite a productive day at the plate, walking three times and getting one hit. He scored three out of the four times he reached base. 

 

Southern Maryland seemed to be on complete cruise control, winning six games in a row with at least a three-run differential. However, the rematch against the Alexandria Aces was a different story. 

 

After the Aces scored three runs in the first inning, the Senators battled back, keeping the game within two runs, even gaining the lead in the top of the sixth before Alexandria would tie it in the bottom of the frame. It wasn't until the seventh inning that the Aces took back the lead thanks to a single from Toby Hueber and a double from Trip Capers. Morale seemed low for the Senators. This was the first time they had faced a three-run deficit since they lost opening day. The deficit decreased to two when one run was scored in the eighth when Logan Tribble (Wofford), one of the Senators' many returners, singled, scoring Euart. 

 

In the ninth, the Senators were down to their final out, on the verge of losing their first game since June 3, the opening day.

 

Then the star-studded returner Carter Groen (UConn) stepped into the batter's box with Steven Kraus (Binghamton) on first. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Groen sent one flying over the left field wall at Frank Mann Field, tying the game at eight. Next, it was Jax Nichols (Motlow State) turn, and when he was down to his last strike, he blasted a home run. The back-to-back home runs gave the Senators a one-run lead late in the game.

 

Tyler Mitchell (Norfolk State) entered the ninth inning to close out the game, trying to earn the save and extend the Senators' win streak to seven.

 

With their 9-8 win over the Alexandria Aces, the Senators currently have a win streak of seven games in a row. Their 7-1 record has them at the top of the South Division.

 

The Senators' bats have been hot all around, and pitching has been astonishing; it truly has been a team effort. Nonetheless, a few outstanding players have significantly contributed to the team’s success. 

 

Tribble is one of the nine returners for Middleton. After spending most of the 2024 season leading off, Tribble has hit in the nine spot every game this year. However, that seems to be working out. Tribble has reached base in seven out of the eight games the Senators have played, and he had a six-game on-base streak leading up to the game against the Cropdusters. The outfielder has a .516 on-base percentage (OBP) and a 1.040 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS), both leading the team. 

 

Troch is one of the many newer players for this Southern Maryland team and has been making a huge impact. He has had five multi-hit games and maintained a hit streak from the beginning of the season until the June 12th game against Alexandria. Even then, Troch has reached base in all eight games. Leading the team with thirteen hits, Troch has a .406 batting average. Troch not only leads the team, but he is second in the Cal Ripken League for average. 

 

Offense hasn't been the sole reason for the Senators' success, though. Pitching has also been a highlight this year after it was one of the team's weakest points in 2024. Returner Griffin Seibel (Quinnipiac) and new player Bruce Wadiak are the two leaders in innings pitched, and each has a 0.00 ERA (earned run average). Wadiak leads the team in strikeouts with eight, while Seibel is right behind him with seven.

 

So far, the Southern Maryland Senators have had a historic season, and Middleton only expects things to get better as time passes. 

 

In response to being asked about what has made this team so successful thus far in the young season, Middleton said, “How the team has bonded so well, and the chemistry is there. They have been working hard since day one.”