By Sean Reilly
Jay Hsii takes pride in his hitting, and so does everyone else on his BCC Big Train 10U team.
“We like to hit,” he said. “We’ve been on fire this season with the hitting.”
The club from Bethesda, Md., also likes to practice, and most important of all, to have fun.
The results have been clear all season, and notably at Diamond Nation during the weekend at the 10U Best Show On Turf tournament.
The Big Train capped an unbeaten four-game stay with a 13-7 victory over a very solid opponent, Rucci Carolina 10U, in the championship contest on Sunday afternoon.
The Big Train reached the final with what turned out to be its lowest-scoring game of the weekend, a 6-5 semifinal triumph over the Morris County Cubs 10U Navy, a team that’s won multiple titles this spring at ‘The Nation.’
The boys from Maryland ended the weekend with a 42-25 run differential. They totaled 49 hits along the way, including 13 in the final.
The Big Train is also 25-3-1 in 2026 with 13 straight wins. They’ve scored at least 10 runs in eight of the games during the win streak.
A catalyst over the weekend at Diamond Nation was Hsii, who was selected tournament MVP after going 8-for-10 with three doubles, four runs and seven RBI.
Jay Hsii of BCC Big Train was named 10U Best on Turf Most Valuable Player.
“I felt good,” he said. “I take my time, take a deep breath, and also try to time up the pitcher when I’m on deck. Before this, I was also taking a lot of reps in the cages back home before we even got here this weekend. I was super excited for it, and it feels really good to have it pay off.”
The team’s work ethic was shown on Saturday, when it arrived on the grounds well before its first game to get in reps at the batting cages. That commitment is one of the reasons the Big Train scored first-inning runs in all four games.
That included the top of the first in the final, when Anderson Fine reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on a passed ball with Hsii, the fifth batter, at the plate and two out. Hsii then hit a single to left field to deliver Felix Kawka who reached on an infield single.
Rucci Carolina tied in the bottom of the inning, getting an RBI single from Jackson Traitz and a sacrifice fly from Sam Palley.
The Big Train showed another important quality in the second inning — resilience. That happened after the bottom portion of the lineup fueled a four-run rally for a 6-2 lead.
After loading the bases with one out, 11th-batter Niko Laddbush hit a two-run double to left field to score Sean Harris and Declan Carney. With the lineup flipped to the top, Colton Karr reached on an outfield error that scored two more runs.
Rucci Carolina got two runs back in the bottom of the second, with JJ Mendek supplying an RBI groundout and Reed Peddle adding a run-scoring single.
But once again, Big Train responded in a big way, scoring five times with two out in the third for an 11-4 lead.
With runners on second and third, Sean Harris hit a two-run single to center and took second on a throw. He moved to third on a passed ball before Carney walked. Carney stole second, and Altieri reached on an RBI infield single. An infield single from Laddbush loaded the bases, and Karr followed with a two-run double to left.
After Rucci Carolina scored twice in the third, Big Train closed out its scoring with a two-run fourth for a 13-6 lead.
The inning began with a double from Fine, who moved to third as Kawka (3-for-4) singled to right. After Kawka stole second, Hsii capped off his stellar tournament with a two-run single to center.
“We have fun, and we like to play baseball,” Hsii said. “We try to do more than what the other team is doing. Put the ball in play and find a gap. We played a lot of good teams and they deserve a round of applause, too. And getting the MVP was super cool.”
Rucci Carolina was sparked by Lincoln Beru, who went 3-for-3 with a walk.