Waldorf, MD. – Coming into the middle game of a three game set between the Blue Crabs and the Sugar Land Skeeters, Southern Maryland knew they had to get the offense going early, and they achieved that feat in route to a 3-2 victory.
It was a matchup of two pitchers that weren’t accustomed to assuming a starting role. Tommy Thorpe got his second start of the season, and the Skeeters’ Matt Purke got his first start since 2016.
Southern Maryland fulfilled their goal of striking early by putting up a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. Joe Benson’s RBI triple scored Rubi Silva, and Benson came around to score on a wild pitch, giving the good guys an early 2-0 lead.
Sugar Land struck back immediately, as Tommy Thorpe worked into a jam in the top of the second inning. The southpaw led off the inning with three consecutive walks, and Ryan Jackson drove in the first Sugar Land via the sacrifice fly. Thorpe worked around the remainder of the jam, and exited the game after two and two-thirds innings in favor of John Hayes.
The Blue Crabs stranded four Skeeters in scoring position through the first five innings, and heavily leaned on the double play ball, headlined by a Kent Blackstone behind the back highlight toss in the fourth inning. On the flip side of the coin, the walks were the Achilles heel for Southern Maryland pitching staff, as they issued a season-high 12 walks through the course of the ball game.
The Blue Crabs maintained their 2-1 lead until the top of the eighth inning. Ryan Jackson chopped a one-out single up the middle, before stealing second base. Jason Martinson then doubled in Ryan Jackson to tie the game at 2-2.
Mat Latos (W, 2-3) shined again for the Blue Crabs, pitching a three up, three down ninth inning on only nine pitches, striking out one batter. The Blue Crabs bats, which were quiet for the previous seven innings, came alive in the bottom of the ninth inning. Frank Martinez led off the inning with a single on a line drive to left field off the arm of Kevin Comer (L, 1-2). Garcia then advanced Martinez to second on a sacrifice bunt, before reaching third base on a wild pitch. With two outs in the ninth inning, Rubi Silva launched a fly ball off the Mini Monster in left field for a walk-off 3-2 win.
The Blue Crabs will return home tomorrow, June 9th for the series finale against the Sugar Land Skeeters with the first pitch at 2:05 p.m.
Be sure to vote your Blue Crabs to the 2019 Atlantic League All-Star Game, just click: www.atlanticleague.com/allstarvoting
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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