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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Big Train Drop Lightning Shortened Game 4-1

Big Train Drop Lightning Shortened Game 4-1 

 
The Big Train entered Wednesday's road game riding a three-game win streak, and were looking to make it four straight against the DC Grays. Due to lightning delays and anticipated darkness, the game would last just seven innings. | Box Score
Zach Morris (Maryland) got the start for the Big Train, and gave up just four hits and a walk over five innings. However, Morris would give up four runs, including three in the first inning.
The Big Train would rally in the fifth to bring the score closer. After back-to-back hits by Tyler France (San Diego State) and Tim Yandel (Tulane),Ryne Willard (Tallahassee CC) would hit a groundball to score France and make the score 4-1.
Will Resnik (High Point) gave the Big Train two shutout innings out of the bullpen, keeping the team in the game. However, the offense failed to score a run in the final two innings, and the Big Train went on to lose 4-1.
Despite the loss, the Big Train still boast a 12-4 record, good for a 2.5-game lead over the second-place Southern Maryland Nationals. They'll look to build on that lead on Thursday, as they host the Nationals at Povich Field at 7:30 PM.  

Don't let cancer kill your bank account

Treating Cancer Is FINANCIALLY Toxic!

    The diagnosis is devastating... the treatments doctors recommend can be traumatic...

    ... and when the bills start rolling in—you quickly realize that the cost of curing cancer is just about as bad as the disease! Here's what cancer does to your bank account, and what you can do about it...

Continued below...

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    Lose weight... improve muscle tone and skin elasticity... and recover your youthful physique.

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    A recent study1 indicates that cancer patients are three times more likely to declare bankruptcy than people without the disease.

    According to a June 2013 study from the Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research in Washington, younger people with cancer were five times more likely to declare bankruptcy compared to older patients.

    Those odds are alarming when you consider that tough economic times have driven bankruptcies sky high for people who aren't dealing with a cancer diagnosis!

    Study co-author Karma Kreizenbeck says that while their paper shows how cancer causes patients to run up medical debts that can lead to bankruptcy, "it could also mean people have to take second jobs, end up with lower credit scores or have to make other decisions."

    If you're wondering about the numbers, consider this estimate from the National Cancer Institute (NCI)2 ...

    According to their research, cancer costs in 2010 reached a staggering $124 billion in the United States. And you can bet these numbers will continue their upward trend, with some estimates of cancer costs reaching at least $158 billion by 2020.

    If you're already emotionally and physically exhausted from dealing with disease, the last thing you need is the stress of worrying about how to pay for treatments.

    But that's the unfortunate reality for thousands of sick cancer patients. Let's take a look at some of the costs you can expect to face…
A surefire way to drain your bank account
    Cancer.net, a website of cancer information from American Society of Clinical Oncology, breaks down some of the common costs associated with cancer. These include:
  • Doctor appointments—Even when you have medical insurance, you typically are responsible for a co-payment for each visit. The amount of the co-pay is set by the insurance company and can really add up when visits are frequent. What's more, you'll often be on the hook for separate charges associated with each laboratory test done as part of your appointment.
  • Treatment expenses—These include charges for any medical care, such as radiation and chemotherapy sessions, that you receive during your cancer treatment. A study from Duke University Medical Center and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute3 showed that 215 insured cancer patients reported spending an average of $712 a month in out-of-pocket expenses.

    And even insured women with breast cancer can expect to shell out anywhere from $150-200 weekly for radiology visits if they have high insurance co-pays!

    Because cancer treatment can take anywhere from a few days to months or years—you'll need a doctor or nurse to help you determine how often and for how long you may incur these out-of-pocket costs.
  • Medication costs—It's likely your share of the cost of cancer drugs will be high. So count on shelling out B-I-G bucks for chemotherapy plus other medicines to help relieve side effects.
  • Transportation—Don't overlook gas and other expenses you may have when traveling to and from your treatment facility. And if you're seeking treatment outside of your home state, you'll have to foot the travel costs for tickets, lodging and food while you're away.
  • Family and living expenses—You may incur costs related to running your household during your cancer treatment. These could include childcare or elder care expenses.
  • Caregiving, at-home care, and long-term care—Cancer patients may require extensive assistance during treatment, such as fixing meals or transportation to medical appointments. Some patients even require long-term nursing care.
  • Employment, legal, and financial issues—A cancer patient may incur costs for professional guidance to help address loss of wages for the patient or caregiver, to help sort out the tax implications of medical expenses, or to help write a will.
    This is just a snapshot of some of the costs you may incur. But it should be more than enough to show that fighting cancer is truly a financial burden.

    So is there any help available?
Some resources to help ease your burden...
    Of course, some of the most effective treatments are natural foods and supplements that don't cost very much at all. I firmly believe, based on the people we've interviewed during the last eight years, that patients can beat cancer on their own at home or by working with an alternative doctor on an outpatient basis.

    Particularly for late-stage cancer patients, I believe the conventional treatments are almost worthless and you're better off with alternatives. Don't waste your last dollar on the chemo treatment that's supposed to give you two more months (it probably won't). Try the kinds of things Bill Henderson recommends in How to Cure Almost Any Cancer at Home for $5.15 or Day, or that Ty Bollinger recommends in The 31-Day Home Cancer Cure.

    These are proven, validated cancer protocols that work for a lot of people. They don't work for 100 percent of patients — that's not realistic -- but I'm convinced they have a MUCH higher success rate for late-stage cancer than do conventional treatments.

    But if you're an early-stage cancer patient you may decide to roll the dice on conventional treatments, or maybe you want to combine conventional and alternative therapies. Or perhaps you have a family member with cancer who won't consider alternatives.

    In that case, you may need to brace yourself for a financial shock. In Issue #268, we covered a variety of resources that are available to people in the mainstream medical system and — sometimes — to patients undergoing alternative treatments. I suggest you take a look at that issue, and make sure you aren't missing any help that might available.

    There are many non-profit organizations that provide assistance with medications, lodging, transportation, cleaning and other services for cancer patients.

    And "Obamacare" -- the new federal law officially known as The Affordable Care Act -- is supposed to make healthcare more affordable and available to people diagnosed with cancer and other grave diseases. We'll see.

    My wish is that the half million cancer patients diagnosed each year find the financial, emotional and medical support they need!

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Footnotes:
1Ramsey, S. et al. 2013. Washington state cancer patients found to be at greater risk for bankruptcy than people without a cancer diagnosis. Health Affairs. Published online before print May 2013, doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2012.1263. Available at
http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/32/6/1143

2National Cancer Institute. (2011, January 11). Cancer prevalence and cost of care projections. Retrieved from
http://costprojections.cancer.gov/expenditures.html

3Duke Medicine News and Communications. 2011, June 6. Medical bills force cancer patients to skimp on care andnecessities.DukeHealth.org website. Available online at
http://www.dukehealth.org/health_library/news/medical-bills-force-cancer-patients-to-skimp-on-care-and-necessities
Addtional Resources:
American Cancer Society. 2012. Health insurance and financial assistance for the cancer patient. Available at
http://www.cancer.org/treatment/findingandpayingfortreatment/managinginsuranceissues/
healthinsuranceandfinancialassistanceforthecancerpatient/health-insurance-and-
financial-assistance-options-for-uninsured


American Cancer Society. 2011. The Affordable Care Act: How it helps people with cancer and their families. Available at
http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@editorial/documents/document/acspc-026864.pdf

Grens, K. 2011. Cancer costs highest for individually insured. Fox News. Available at
http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/06/01/cancer-costs-highest-individually-insured/

Lacoma, T. 2013. The average cost of chemotherapy. Available on the eHow website at
http://www.ehow.com/about_5591219_average-cost-chemotherapy.html

National Cancer Institute. 2013. Coping with cancer: Financial, legal and insurance information. Available at
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/coping/financial-legal

Health Disclaimer: The information provided above is not intended as personal medical advice or instructions. You should not take any action affecting your health without consulting a qualified health professional. The authors and publishers of the information above are not doctors or health-caregivers. The authors and publishers believe the information to be accurate but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. There is some risk associated with ANY cancer treatment, and the reader should not act on the information above unless he or she is willing to assume the full risk.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Big Train Sweep Monday Doubleheader

Big Train (12-3) Sweep Monday Doubleheader  

After a brief road trip to Herndon on Sunday, the Big Train returned home to Povich Field on Monday to host the Vienna Riverdogs in a doubleheader. Due to the nature of the doubleheader, each game was seven innings long. 
 
BOX SCORES: GAME 1, W 4-0 | GAME 2, W 3-1 | VIDEO: Post Game Interviews (Derby, Colangleo, Cole)

Bubba Derby (San Diego State) started Game 1 for the Big Train, and pitched a near-perfect game. Derby pitched a complete-game shutout for Bethesda, giving up just two hits and a walk over his seven innings of work while striking out six. Derby was also able to work very quickly, as the game lasted just one hour and 27 minutes.

The Big Train offense was present to give Derby run support in Game 1, managing to push across four runs. Two RBIs from Tucker Tobin (George Mason) and multi-hit games from Kyle Wernicki (Virginia Tech) and Ricky Santiago (Florida Atlantic) paved the way for the Big Train offense, as the team scored four runs in their 4-0 victory.

Luis Collazo (Virginia Tech) took the mound for Bethesda in Game 2, and also gave the team a high-quality start. Collazo went 4.2 innings, also giving up just two hits and a walk. He would have a chance to pitch with an early lead, as an RBI single by Tim Yandel (Tulane) in the first inning gave the Big Train a 1-0 lead.

However, Collazo would yield the tying run in the fifth inning, and Cody Mizelle (Florida Atlantic) would work the final 2.1 frames for the Big Train.Mizelle gave Bethesda exactly what they needed out of the bullpen, putting together a perfect line (0 R, 0 H, 0 BB) in his 2.1 innings of work. The offense would reward Mizelle for his efforts, as Yandel and Johnny Cole (Coastal Carolina) scored in the bottom of the sixth to give the Big Train the 3-1 lead. The lead would stand, and Mizelle picked up his second win of the season. In five appearances thus far, Mizelle has not given up a single run.

With the two-game sweep, the Big Train now find themselves in first place with a three-game lead in the CRCBL Standings. Having won eight out of their last 12 games, the Big Train are now 12-3, with three more wins than any other team in the league.

The Big Train will finally get a day of rest on Tuesday after playing 11 games in 11 days. The Big Train will then travel to the nation's capitol on Wednesday to take on the D.C. Grays before returning home on Thursdayto take on the Southern Maryland Nationals at Povich Field. 
 
Thursday will be Carnival Night, so come on out and enjoy the rides, Petting Zoo and Pony Rides available for kids in the parking lot before the game! Kids will also have the opportunity to run the bases after the game. Tickets to the game can be purchased here or at the gate! 

Monday, June 24, 2013

Big Train Get Revenge, Best Braves 10-4

Big Train Get Revenge, Best Braves 10-4  

The Big Train sought to avenge Saturday's loss on Sunday, as they played the Herndon Braves in the second half of a weekend home-and-home series.

Michael Boyle (Radford) got the start for the Big Train, and gave the team six shutout innings. Boyle gave up just two hits and a walk while striking out seven. | Box Score

The scoring would get going for the Big Train in the second inning. After the team loaded the bases with one out, Ricky Santiago (Florida Atlantic) hit an RBI single and Parker Guinn (Washington) followed with a sacrifice fly to put the Big Train up 2-0.

An RBI groundout by Ryne Willard (Tallahassee CC) in the sixth broughtTim Yandel (Tulane) home for the second time and the lead extended to 3-0.

Most of the Big Train lineup reached base during the seventh inning. The Big Train were able to plate four of those runners thanks to a wild pitch, a fielder's choice, and a passed ball to increase the lead to 7-0.

After forcing a pitching change, the Big Train would add two more runs, after Ty France (San Diego St.) laced a single. That made the lead 9-0, but the Braves would rally in the bottom half of the inning, scoring four runs.

However, the Big Train would add an insurance run in the ninth to cap the 10-4 victory.

With the victory, the Big Train are the first team in the CRCBL to ten wins and hold a 2.5-game lead for first place in the standings.

The Big Train will look to build on their 2.5-game lead on Monday, as they host the Vienna Riverdogs for a doubleheader at Povich Field. The games are scheduled for 5:00 PM and 7:30 PM, respectively, and it's Shirley Povich Bobblehead Night!

Come out to Povich Field and receive a bobblehead of the stadium's namesake if you're one of the first 500 fans!

The TRUTH about whole grains

Diana Keuilian's profile photo Diana Keuilian 



Let's sit down together and have the uncomfortable talk about grains...
I'm gonna say some stuff here that you may not want to hear, stuff that goes against what you've been made to believe is healthy. 
However, if you read the following with an open mind then you're going to come away with a life changing truth about truly healthy eating that will transform your body. It has certainly transformed mine.
A few weeks ago I posted the quote below from Mark Sisson, author of The Primal Blueprint, on my facebook page that raised many questions. 
"There are no requirements in human nutrition for carbohydrates. Grains are totally unnecessary." 
So if we aren't supposed to be eating grains then why are 'whole grains' said to be so healthy for us? Why do whole grain bread product have a heart healthy stamp on them? Why does the doctor tell us to eat plenty of whole grains to help lower our cholesterol and increase our fiber intake?Here is the argument against the consumption of grains: 
  • When looking at the span of human existence, grains have been apart of our diet for only a short time.
  • "For better or for worse, we are no longer hunter-gatherers. However, our genetic makeup is still that of a paleolithic hunter-gatherer, a species whose nutritional requirements are optimally adapted to wild meats, fruits and vegetables, not cereal grains. There is a significant body of evidence which suggests that cereal grains are less than optimal foods for humans and that the human genetic makeup and physiology may not be fully adapted to high levels of cereal grain consumption." Loren Cordain, Ph.D., author of The Paleo Diet 
  • Grains contain plentiful calories, however they also contain "antinutrients" (compounds that interfere with the absorption of beneficial nutrients), are high in carbs, and have grain protein which are foreign to the human digestive process.
  • A diet high in grains puts stress on the body's insulin regulation mechanism which leaves you susceptible for weight gain and diabetes.
  • Certain grain proteins (ever heard of gluten?) trigger an immune response when ingested. According to researchers, as many as one third of us are gluten-intolerant or gluten-sensitive. Over time this can lead to dermatitis, joint pain, reproductive problems, acid reflux, other digestive conditions, autoimmune disorders, and celiac disease.
  • "For the purpose of weight control and preventing disease, a gram of carb from a whole grain is no better than a gram of carb from a refined grain. I'm not suggesting you choose refined grains over whole grains; I'm suggesting that you ditch all grains. " Mark Sisson, Primal Blueprint
I don't know why grains are still considered a health food darling while the research against gluten and processed carbohydrates piles up.
I too have spent years being duped into thinking that brown rice and whole grain bread was benefiting my body, when in fact it was responsible for the weight I couldn't lose and the indigestion I felt. The day that I stopped eating grains my body naturally began to shed off extra pounds.
The good news is that eating fewer grains is easier than you think... 
Here are some painless ways to replace grains:
-       Bake a loaf of Almond Bread to replace wheat bread.
-       Wrap your sandwich in large lettuce leaves.
-       Eat Kale chips rather than traditional chips.
-       Bake some Caveman Granola rather than regular cereal.
-       Swap out regular flour for almond flour in your favorite baking recipe.
-       Make noodles with a vegetable peeler and a zucchini, or use spaghetti squash.
-       Try my recipe for Real Healthy Rice, using cauliflower rather than traditional rice.

Make grain-free rice --> Real Healthy Rice 
Happy cooking :) 
Diana Keuilian 
P.S. Eliminating grains from just one meal each day can and will make a difference in how you look and feel. Start with this grain-free rice recipe...http://realhealthyrecipes.com/2013/01/08/real-healthy-rice/

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Support Your Divas


The Divas have defeated Columbus and we are on are way to Boston for the next round of playoffs on July 13.
There is still time to help your favorite players and the team with a donation to our travel fund. Thanks for your continued support!

http://www.gofundme.com/DCDIVAS
-Let us at US Sports Network do our part too. 10% of all proceeds for all new members of GoPro Workouts will be donated to the D.C. Divas Travel fund between now and July 10, 2013.  So as you are getting in shape for next season, you will also be lending a helping hand to the real first ladies of football! Click here to get your program and support your Divas!

Mainstream Medicine Getting a Clue?

Cancer Defeated Publications

Mainstream Medicine Discovers What
Alternative Doctors have Known for Decades


    Alternative medicine has focused on the power of the immune system and immune-boosting treatments for years. Right here in this newsletter, we cover the many natural remedies known to strengthen the immune system—lactoferrin and colostrum come to mind as two of the most powerful, not to mention a whole slew of mushroom remedies.

    So it's hard to know whether to laugh or cry when we hear that mainstream medicine has discovered a powerful new tool for fighting cancer: the immune system. Hey, better late than never! At least they're now focusing their massive research budgets in the right direction. With luck, the new drugs they're developing could lead to a revolution in conventional cancer treatment.

Continued below. . .


Video of the Week:
"Shocking Confessions of a Drug Company Insider"
    In this exposé, a top executive of a major pharmaceutical company spills the naked truth about the drugs you and your family take... which drugs heal, and which ones KILL... what doctors turn to when they don't know the cure... what they do when they themselves or their loved ones are stricken with disease or illness... what life-saving resource they insist should be in every home. Watch this must-see video now because your life -- or the life of your loved ones -- may depend on it.


    In their quest to beat cancer, heavy-hitters like Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck & Co. are now focusing on experimental drugs that work with the human immune system (instead of against it, the way chemotherapy does). The results so far look very promising.

    Money is at the heart of it, of course, and investors are closely watching the progress of these drug tests. There's a chance we're going to see real results from these pharmaceutical treatments, and soon.

    At the very least, these new drugs may extend the length of time cancer patients stay in remission. And with luck they may add years to a patient's life — or even lead to an outright cure for some types of cancer. But research on that won't be available for another year.

    Equally exciting is that the new approach hints at a way to keep metastatic cancer under control for long periods of time, as opposed to jumping from one chemo drug to another as a tumor develops resistance. It turns out you don't need a succession of different chemo drugs to chase after shape-shifting cancer cells. You just need a strong immune system—exactly what cancer advocates like myself, Bill Henderson and Ty Bollinger have been saying for years.

    That's because immunotherapy drugs (or better yet, natural immune boosters) allow a patient's immune system to keep up with mutations in a tumor. Early results of the new drugs suggest that patients given as few as nine months to live could survive for several years.

    These new therapies could potentially bring in billions of dollars for the pharmaceutical companies promoting them. Really, it's the first innovative method for attacking cancer in a decade that's come out of Big Pharma. So much research in recent years has gone toward treating uncontrolled cell growth and genetic processes that little progress was made for treating advanced tumors.
They see dollars, and lots of 'em. . .
    Bristol-Myers is developing a new immune-boosting cancer drug candidate called nivolumab. If it works for lung cancer, as they hope, it could bring in sales close to the recent drug Avastin: $5.8 billion in sales just last year. Made by Roche, Avastin is used to fight colon cancer and other tumors.

    The concept behind drugs that strengthen the immune system is this: The immune system is able to respond to changes in the body's enemies. Get the immune system to adapt to fighting any dangerous malignancy, and you'll give mutating cancer cells a fair fight. The immune cells are able to change right along with the cancer cells. The new immunotherapy drugs target the immune system's T-cells, well known as our body's key defenders against germs and infections.

    T-cells have something akin to an off-switch, called PD-1. These new immune-boosting drugs essentially prevent this switch from ever going off. This makes it more likely for T-cells to recognize and attack invading tumors as dangerous. Prior to this, tumors were able to fly under the T-cell radar and weren't immediately recognized as a risk.

    But—and this is the most important point of all—many experts feel this new revolution in drug design will bring about a paradigm shift for fighting cancer. That is to say, it's a paradigm shift for mainstream medicine. Alternative therapies have focused on the immune system for decades.

    Merck's senior vice president Gary Gilliland stated immune therapy was the key to finally eradicating tumors. "We are pretty good at shrinking tumors," he said in an interview, "but not good at getting rid of them." This could be the key.
The results are astounding
    Bristol-Myers did something similar two years ago with a drug called Yervoy, tested on patients suffering from advanced, late-stage melanoma. Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, and indeed one of the deadliest of all cancers.

    Yervoy doubled the number of patients surviving four years after their diagnosis to 19 percent. This success is what brought the idea of immunotherapy to light in conventional care. Now you might say immunotherapy has officially been accepted into mainstream medicine.

    A Merck drug, Lambrolizumab, shrank tumors in 38 percent of advanced melanoma patients, with even better results at the highest doses: a 52 percent tumor shrinkage.

    These immunotherapy drugs have shown such promising results early on that some doctors are speculating that patients with melanoma could be cured. Not just in remission — cured.

    Nivolumab, the drug in development by Bristol-Myers, is in final-stage trials for patients with lung cancer, kidney tumors, and melanoma. So far, nivolumab has been shown to shrink tumors for between 18 and 28 percent of patients who didn't respond to other treatments.

    And for 53 patients given a combination dose of nivolumab and Yervoy, 82 percent were alive after a year, which was a better rate than seen with Yervoy alone.

    The race is on for big drug companies to get their hands on a piece of this pie. Right now, at least six other companies are pursuing tests of immune therapy drugs for patients facing advanced cancer.

    Much is yet to be discovered, including side effects. Both Bristol-Myers and Merck drug tests showed potential inflammation of the lung as a side effect, among other complications.
Let's wait and see
    Isn't it nice that mainstream medicine has finally recognized the immune system as a reliable cancer-fighting strategy? And the field is quickly getting crowded. These PD-1-targeting, tumor-shrinking drugs aren't the only approaches to bolstering the immune system that are being studied right now. Amgen Inc. is testing an anti-cancer virus therapy. Because antibodies and viruses target the immune system in different ways, it's believed an anti-cancer virus approach may produce a synergistic effect when combined with other treatments like the ones being developed at Merck and Bristol-Myers.

    I think they're on to something. They do, too — Merck senior vice president Gary Gilliland told reporters they have their best people and best teams working on this angle for treatment.

    The thing to remember, at the heart of this, is the power of the human immune system. Stimulating it leads to great things. Personally, I'd rather stimulate it naturally, with supplements and dietary approaches that don't prompt dramatic, unknown side effect. Refer to our archives for information on the many ways you can boost your immune system naturally, using proven approaches such as chlorella and spirulina supplements, bovine colostrum, and even good old-fashioned exercise. There's so much material on this subject, it's hard to know where to begin, but I suggest you check out Issue #5Issue #139Issue #177Issue #208 and Issue #220.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

The Secret of People Who Don't Get Cancer


From the desk of Lee Euler, Editor and Publisher


The secret to curing cancer:
You've been throwing it in the trash!
In 1921, a British doctor discovered that a remote tribal people was almost totally cancer-free. But when members of this tribe move away from their native land and change their diet, they get cancer just like anyone else.
It's all thanks to a food most of us throw away as waste!
One cancer expert calls this overlooked food "the key to curing AND preventing cancer"—and you can benefit NOW -- without going to a doctor or buying expensive supplements.
This little throwaway food tastes great. Bill Clinton (of all people) eats it regularly, and so can you.

Cancer -- Step Outside the Box

Orioles Night is TONIGHT! Big Train Ace Alexandria 6-4; Baltimore Celebrity Camp Starts Monday!

Big Train Ace Alexandria on the Road, Win 6-4
The Big Train entered Friday night's game riding a four-game win streak, and had their eyes set on five in a row as they took on the Alexandria Aces on the road. Box Score

Justin Hepner (San Diego State) got the start for the Big Train, and would pitch five innings of one-run ball. Hepner struck out three batters while yielding just six hits and two walks.

The early Big Train offense would give Hepner the opportunity to pitch with the lead throughout his five innings of work.

The scoring would start in the first inning, After singles by David Del Grande (Sacramento State), Kevin Tatum (Cornell), and Tyler France(San Diego State), Tucker Tobin (George Mason) - pictured above - hit a three-RBI double to clear the bases and give the Big Train an early 3-0 lead.

The Aces would respond with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning, however, the Big Train bounced right back with a fourth run in the top of the second.

Ryne Willard (Tallahassee CC) would lead off the inning with a walk, and then advance into scoring position by stealing second base. Willard'saggressiveness would pay off later in the inning, as he scored to re-capture the Big Train's three-run lead.

The Big Train would tack on two more runs in the third and fifth innings, respectively, both coming from Johnny Cole (Coastal Carolina). Cole's run in the third inning came by his own doing, as he hit his first home run of the season to give the Big Train the 5-1 edge. Cole would then score again in the fifth on an RBI-triple by Tobin to make the score 6-1.

The Aces rallied for three runs in the sixth inning to draw back within two, however, Kit Scheetz (Virginia Teach) would come in to give the Big Train three shutout innings of relief and keep the lead in tact. Cody Mizelle(Florida Atlantic) would then come on and pitch a perfect ninth inning, striking out the side and picking up his third save of the season.

With the win, the Big Train now sit atop the standings with a 9-2 record and hold a two-game lead over the Southern Maryland Nationals (7-4) and Gaithersburg Giants (8-5). The team will look to keep it's hot streak going on Saturday night, as they host the FCA Herndon Braves at Povich Field at 7:30 P.M.

Saturday night is Orioles Night! Come out to Povich Field to meet theOriole Bird and Shakey the Lemonade Guy, and also enjoy a tent in the parking lot where fans can enjoy various sports! The first 250 fans receive Orioles eye black courtesy of EyeBlack.com! Tickets can be purchased here or at the gate!

D.C. Divas Vs Columbus Comets: Additional Game Notes

Additional Game Notes
Neal Rozendaal

Two additional notes of interest (well, to me, anyway!) about tomorrow’s playoff game with the Columbus Comets:

Saturday’s game will be the second playoff meeting between the DC Divas and Columbus Comets. In 2006, the Divas faced the Comets in the NWFA Eastern Conference championship game. The Divas came away with a 32-7 victory and went on to capture the 2006 national championship.

The DC Divas are making their tenth playoff appearance, which ranks second in the history of women’s pro football. And the Columbus Comets are no strangers to playoff football, either; the Comets are making their eighth playoff appearance, putting them among the top ten teams in the sport.

Most Playoff Appearances in Women’s Professional Football
1. Sacramento Sirens – 11
2. DC DIVAS – 10
2. Dallas Diamonds – 10
2. New York Sharks – 10
2. Chicago Force – 10
6. Jacksonville Dixie Blues – 9
6. Houston Energy (IWFL) – 9
8. COLUMBUS COMETS – 8
8. Seattle Majestics – 8
8. West Michigan Mayhem – 8