Wilson Wins It: Blue Crabs Edge Charleston Dirty Birds in Thrilling 7-6 Walk-Off Victory
WALDORF, MD — The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs staged a dramatic comeback to defeat the Charleston Dirty Birds 7-6 in a nail-biting contest at Regency Furniture Stadium. A crowd of 3,421 saw the Crabs come away victorious.
The Dirty Birds struck first, jumping to a 3-0 lead in the opening inning. Charleston capitalized on a walk to James Nelson, a double by Joseph Rosa, and a bases-loaded Bobby Bradley sacrifice fly followed by a Zach Daniels sac fly. Travis Demeritte added an RBI single later to make it 3-0 off of starter Andrew Thurman.
Southern Maryland responded quickly in the bottom of the first, cutting the deficit to 3-2. Jackson Loftin, who led off with a single and stole two bases, was driven home by Ethan Wilson with an RBI single.
The game settled into a pitching duel through the middle innings, with Charleston’s Jonh Henriquez and Southern Maryland’s Thurman navigating threats. Charleston extended their lead to 5-2 in the fifth, as Demeritte doubled home Alsander Womack, and Bradley added another RBI with his second sac fly. In the fifth, John Taylor hit a line drive that evaded the centerfielder Daniels glove and went all the way to the wall, Loftin easily scored, and Taylor was thrown out at the plate by Rosa in a bid for an inside the park home run to make it 5-3.
The sixth inning proved pivotal for Southern Maryland. Trailing 5-3, the Blue Crabs erupted for three runs against Charleston reliever Carlos Meza. Giovanni Digiacomo’s two-run homer tied the game. It is his third consecutive game with a two-run home run. Pearce Howard then hit an RBI single gave Southern Maryland a 6-5 lead. Charleston answered in the seventh, tying the score at 6-6 on an RBI single off the bat of Bradley, it was his third RBI for Bradley on the night.
Both bullpens held firm in the eighth, with Charleston’s Frank Moscatiello and Southern Maryland’s Santiago Florez keeping the score knotted.
In the ninth, Jimmie Sherfy retired the Dirty Birds in order, setting the stage for the Blue Crabs’ heroics. In the bottom of the ninth, with Eddy Demurias on the mound for Charleston, Loftin singled, was bunted to second by Taylor, and scored the game-winning run on a clutch RBI single by Wilson, on a broken bat hit to right field, sending the home crowd home happy.
Blue Crabs have won five straight improving to 7-6 on the year.