The hometown hero, Daryl Thompson (L, 2-3) got the start for the Blue Crabs, and the ace was throwing well as usual. He instantly rebounded from a Tyler Ladendorf home run that led off the game, as following the solo shot, Daryl set down five straight Rockers, and kept the scoring at bay for the next handful of innings. It seemed certain that Southern Maryland would strike back in their half of the second inning, as they loaded the bases with no outs.
The Rockers’ starter, Stephen Johnson (W, 3-1) had other ideas however as the right-hander fanned back-to-back Blue Crabs before shutting the door on the second inning. The impending scoring outburst finally came through in the top of the sixth, as the Rockers struck with a Brett Austin three run home run, tipping the scales in advantage of High Point by a score of 4-0.
The lethal combination of Blue Crabs bats, coming in the form of Charlie Valerio and Cory Vaughn had seen enough come the bottom of the inning as Vaughn blasted his fifth home run of the year, bringing Valerio in with him to cut the Rocker lead in half at 4-2 through six innings of baseball. But just when Southern Maryland was trekking back, High Point struck again in the top of the seventh as they would add some cushion to their lead on a two-out, two RBI double off the bat of Dante Bichette, Jr, notching the scoring tally at 6-2.
A nightmare of an eighth inning for the Southern Maryland pitching staff gave way to a total of eight Rocker runs, as High Point would pull away with the contest. The Blue Crabs come back efforts came up short, but Vaughn shined, as he would set a season high for home runs and RBI in a game, with a pair of blasts and five RBI. The Rockers came out on top, winning the second game of the series by a score of 14-5.
The Blue Crabs will return home tomorrow, Wednesday, May 29th to continue their seven game homestand at Regency Furniture Stadium, with the first pitch at 6:35 PM.
About the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs The Blue Crabs play 140 regular season games in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Clubs. The Blue Crabs call Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, Maryland home. The 12th franchise season will begin April 2019. For more information on the SOMD Blue Crabs, please call 301-638-9788 or visit http://www.somdbluecrabs.com for more information.
About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) With eight teams in the Mid-Atlantic and Texas, the ALPB is a leader in baseball innovation and a player gateway to Major League Baseball. Through its exclusive partnership with MLB, the Atlantic League tests Major League Baseball rules and equipment initiatives. The Atlantic League has sent over 900 players to MLB organizations while drawing more than 40 million fans to its affordable, family-friendly ballparks throughout its 22-year history. For more information, please visit www.AtlanticLeague.com.
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