By Evan Berkowitz | eberkowitz@alextimes.com
Six Alexandria Aces and coach David DeSilva made key contributions as their team tossed a shutout en route to winning the Cal Ripken League all-star game on Monday.
The league’s South Division toppled its northern rivals, 3-0, under DeSilva’s management at Shirley Povich Field in Bethesda, Maryland.
“It was a lot of fun,” DeSilva said in a Ripken League press release. “We threw the guys out there and let them show their ability.”
Described in the release as a “bona fide pitchers’ duel,” the game saw key production in the bottom of the third from Aces infielder Max Schuemann (Eastern Michigan University), whose sacrifice fly drove in the only run through 8.5 innings, according to the release.
To maximize time in front of baseball scouts, the teams play a bottom ninth even if it’s not needed. The South tacked on two more runs in this final frame. Aces pitchers Dom Masullo (Morehead State University) and Dan Buratto (Santa Barbara City College) both pitched scoreless innings, with two and three strikeouts, respectively.
Catcher Nick Slaughter (University of Houston), first baseman Ethan Cady (Lipscomb University) and infielder Ray Zuberer (Western Kentucky University) also represented the Aces in Bethesda.
In all, the league selected 56 players from its ten teams for the honor, the release said, and 29 baseball scouts were in attendance.
“It’s a great reflection of both the Aces organization and our recruiting efforts, and the guys that we brought in and how they’ve performed early on,” DeSilva said in an interview before the break. “Our record speaks for itself, but some of these guys specifically … have performed extremely well.”
Cady led the Aces in batting average into the break, at .372, while Schuemann led the team in at-bats and hits at that juncture.
Masullo posted the Aces’ best earned run average entering the all-star game, just 0.56 through 16 innings pitched.
DeSilva said before the break that he had been involved with the all-star game as an assistant and third base coach for five years, but looked forward to his first midseason outing as division manager.
DeSilva said before the game that while the players may be rivals when they sit in opposite dugouts, that won’t be a problem for the all-star lineup.
“Everybody’s going to know their role and their responsibilities,” he said. “It’s baseball at the end of the day, and all the guys are here for a common goal: to get better, to showcase their abilities [and] to get some exposure to professional baseball scouts.”
