The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs made a miraculous comeback on Wednesday night, scoring seven unanswered runs to walk-off the Gastonia Ghost Peppers by a final score of 8-7.
The Crabs took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. Jackson Loftin led off the frame with a single before swiping second base for his 50th steal of the season. After advancing to third on a ground ball out, he scored on a wild pitch from starting pitcher Matt Hartman.
Gastonia would go on to score three in the third, one in the fourth, two in the fifth and one in the seventh to take a 7-1 lead.
But the Crabs found their way back after a five-run eighth inning. After a lineout by Pearce Howard, Alejandro De Aza and Ethan Wilson hit back-to-back singles to put runners at first and second. Brett Barrera singled to right, scoring De Aza to make it a 7-2 ballgame. Jamari Baylor then spanked a two-run double to centerfield bringing the Crabs within three runs to a 7-4 game.
With two outs, Sam Dexter unleashed on his 11th home run of the season to make it a 7-6 ballgame.
In the ninth, following a double by Wilson and walks to Barrera and Giovanni Digiacomo, Dexter laced a single to right field to walk it off for Southern Maryland.
It is the Crabs fifth walk-off this season and the second for Sam Dexter against the Nick Horvath and the Ghost Peppers. The Crabs snapped their three-game losing streak and will go for the series win on Thursday night.