Charleston Dirty Birds Cruise Past Blue Crabs 9–3

May 17, 2025 | Charleston, WV — The Charleston Dirty Birds took down the Blue Crabs 9–3 victory on Saturday night at GoMart Ballpark.

Veteran right-hander Kevyius Sampson (3–1) led the way on the mound for Charleston, tossing six efficient innings and allowing just two hits and one run while striking out seven. His counterpart, John Kelly (0–2), battled and surrendering five walks and three runs (two earned) in 4.2 innings.

Charleston’s offense steadily chipped away before breaking the game open in the sixth and seventh innings. Catcher Tyler Hill had a standout performance, launching his first home run of the season—a two-run blast—as part of a 2-for-4 night with three RBIs and three runs scored. DH James Nelson also left the yard with his seventh homer, while J.J. Matijevic and Joseph Rosa each added RBIs to fuel the Dirty Birds’ 11-hit attack.

The Blue Crabs briefly held a 1–0 lead in the first after Dondrei Hubbard drove in Jackson Loftin with a sacrifice fly. Hubbard later added a solo homer in the seventh, accounting for all of Southern Maryland’s offense. Loftin finished 2-for-4 and swiped two bases, but the Blue Crabs managed just three hits on the night.

Charleston’s bullpen sealed the win with three strong innings of relief, including two strikeouts apiece from Samual Reyes and Eddy Demurias. On the flip side, Southern Maryland’s relievers were tagged for six runs across the middle innings, with Tom King yielding three in just one inning of work.

Southern Maryland will look to salvage game three tomorrow at 3:04pm as they have dropped the first two in West Virginia. Maceo Campbell for the Crabs will take on David Lebron on the mound for the Birds.

The Crabs dropped to 11-9 on the season while the Birds improve to 9-11.