(New Britain, CT., Jul. 1, 2018) - The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (25-34) fell in the series finale against the New Britain Bees (31-29) 5-2.
The Blue Crabs got on the board early, scoring a pair of runs in the second inning. Angelo Songco reached on an error as the leadoff man, moving up to second on a single from Devon Rodriguez two batters later. After a groundout moved both runners to scoring position, Craig Maddox came through with a two-out single to score both and grab the early lead.
The Bees battled back, getting one of their own in the bottom half of the inning off Drake Britton (3-4). Jason Rogers walked to start the frame, moving around to third on a single from Brock Stassi. A walk to Matt Tuiasosopo loaded the bases for New Britain with still nobody out in the inning. A sacrifice fly from Jonathon Galvez scored Rogers, as well as moving Stassi up to third. Britton limited the damage in the inning by getting back-to-back groundouts, escaping with the 2-1 lead.
After a scoreless third inning, the Bees put up another run in the fourth to tie the game. Tuiasosopo got the offense going with a one-out double to put himself in scoring position. Galvez followed that with a single to center, scoring Tuiasosopo from second to give Galvez his second RBI on the night.
New Britain kept the offense going in the next inning, adding two more to take their first lead of the game. Darren Ford led off the inning with a solo homerun, his fifth of the season. Two batters later, Deibinson Romero doubled before a walk to Stassi put two on with two outs. After Britton was removed from the game, Tuiasosopo singled off reliever Jason Creasy, scoring Romero to take a 4-2 lead.
Kyle Simon (4-4) settled in nicely for New Britain on the mound after the second inning. The right-hander allowed just two hits over his final four innings, exiting after six with the two-run lead. He turned the advantage over to his bullpen, and the Blue Crabs immediately mounted a threat in the seventh.
Josh Outman was first out of the pen for New Britain, retiring the first batter he faced. Austin Green followed with a single, before Outman walked Craig Maddox to put the tying run on base. Outman was removed in favor of Sam Gervacio, who struck out back-to-back batters to finish the inning and maintain the 4-2 lead.
The Bees offense added another in the seventh, pushing their lead out to three runs. Reid Brignac started the inning with a double, before a groundout picked up the first out in the inning. Rogers singled behind that, scoring Brignac to grab a 5-2 lead.
A pair of walks put two on in the top of the eighth for Southern Maryland, but both runners were stranded by reliever Adam Loewen. The Bees then turned things over to closer Evan Scribner (S,9) in the ninth, looking to take the series win. Scribner allowed a leadoff single, but picked up a groundout and a double play to finish the 5-2 win for New Britain.
The Blue Crabs return to action Monday, July 2nd for the series opener against the Somerset Patriots. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 P.M. on Monday at Regency Furniture Stadium.
For more information on the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, or to reserve your seat today for any of the Blue Crabs upcoming home games, please visit our website at somdbluecrabs.com or call us at 301-638-9788.