The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs took game one against the Gastonia Ghost Peppers 14-6 on Tuesday night at CaroMont Health Park. The game was called after 7 2/3 innings due to rain.
Ethan Wilson (2-for-5, HR) wasted no time in getting the Blue Crabs on the board when he laced his fifth home run of the season in the top of the first inning. Despite Blue Crabs starter Ian Kahaloa giving up a pair of runs to the Ghost Peppers in the first, Southern Maryland tied the ballgame at 2-2 in the second with a solo blast off the bat of John Taylor (2-for-3).
The Blue Crabs took the lead in the third when Ryan McCarthy (1-for-3) led off the frame with a double. After Ghost Peppers’ starter Duane Underwood Jr. retired the next two batters, Alejandro De Aza (3-for-5) roped a double down the right field line to score McCarthy and give the Blue Crabs a 3-2 lead. Pearce Howard (1-for-4) then drew a walk before Giovanni Digiacomo (2-for-4) cranked a three-run bomb to give Southern Maryland a 6-2 cushion.
Gastonia answered back with a pair of runs in the home half of the third, but the Blue Crabs restored their four-run lead with two runs in the fifth. Back-to-back RBI singles from Taylor and Brett Barrera (1-for-3) made it a 8-4 ballgame.
The Ghost Peppers scratched a run back both the fifth and the seventh, but the Blue Crabs continued to fire on cylinders offensively. Southern Maryland exploded for six runs in the top of the eighth, courtesy of a two-run double from Sam Dexter (2-for-4) and Wilson, before De Aza poked a two-run single to make it 14-6. The game was called after 7 ⅔ innings due to an impending storm.
The Blue Crabs improve to 14-12 on the season as Ian Kahaloa picks up his third win of the campaign, now sitting with a 3-1 record this season. Maceo Campbell pitched a scoreless inning in the sixth before Rafi Vazquez notched his first save of the season.
Southern Maryland will be back in action for game two of the series on Wednesday against Gastonia. First pitch is slated for 12:30pm.
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