Waldorf, MD– The Charleston Dirty Birds defeated the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 7-2 on Saturday night, ending the Blue Crabs five game winning streak.
The Dirty Birds struck early, scoring in the first inning, and added runs in the third, fifth, and a decisive four-run seventh inning. J.J. Matijevic led the way, hitting two opposite field home runs, while Bobby Bradley and Tyler Hill each contributed a double and two RBIs. Alsander Womack also drove in two runs with a single in the seventh to bring home a couple. Charleston capitalized on nine walks and six stolen bases, including two each from James Nelson and Demitrius Moorer.
Southern Maryland managed two runs, one in the third and one in the seventh, driven in by Ethan Wilson with a single in the third, and Brett Barrera later with a sacrifice fly. Giovanni Digiacomo went 2-for-3 with a double and a stolen base for the Crabs.
Charleston’s pitching was anchored by starter Keyvius Sampson, who earned the win (2-1), allowing one run on five hits over six innings with five strikeouts. Nick Del Prado and Frank Moscatiello combined for three innings of relief, allowing one run. For Southern Maryland, starter Joey Hennessey took the loss (0-2), giving up three runs over 5.2 innings. Reliever Thomas King surrendered four runs in an inning and a third getting a big out in the sixth, but in the seventh allowed four runs on four hits. The Crabs fell to 7-7 as Charleston went to 5-9 on the year.
The Blue Crabs welcomed 3,555 fans for the Saturday night game. The two will play the rubber game of the three-game set on Sunday at 2:05pmas John Kelly will oppose David Lebron on the mound for Charleston.