By Katherine Hapgood | khapgood@alextimes.com

The Alexandria Aces beat the Silver Spring Thunderbolts in both games played during the Cal Ripken Collegiate League semi-final this past week. The championship best of three series against Bethesda Big Train kicks off today at 7 p.m. at Shirley Povich Field, and the Aces will host the second game on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Frank Mann Field.

The Aces play in the Cal Ripken Collegiate League, which includes six teams total in the region. The Aces were in second place in the league, behind Big Train, going into the playoffs, with a regular season record of 20-15. The Aces and Big Train both have playoff records of 2-0 going into the championship series.