AtL Sugar Land Space Cowboys

Blue Crabs Send Skeeters out on Sour Note

Published on May 31, 2012 under Atlantic League (AtL)
Sugar Land Space Cowboys News Release


SUGAR LAND, Texas - Jason Botts and Drew Locke both homered in a losing effort dropping the series to the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (17-17) Thursday night at Constellation Field.

Bobby Livingston made his seventh start of the season for the Skeeters (15-18) but was the first to give up runs in the third. It started with a Paco Figueroa single up the middle with one out followed by a David Espinosa fielder's choice to put two down. However, first baseman Casey Benjamin knocked a ball to left into the gap driving Espinosa around from first to give his club a 1-0 lead. The Blue Crabs used a second double in the inning from Matt Padgett to drive Benjamin in from second to make the score 2-0.

The Skeeters responded in kind in the bottom half of the same inning, though. Octavio Martinez started off the inning with a single up the middle but was sat down off a 5-4-3 double play on Ryde Rodriguez's grounder to third. With two down, Dominic Ramos doubled off the left field wall. In the very next at-bat, Drew Locke took a meaty fastball up and over the picnic pavilion down the left field line for a home run (4) to tie the game, 2-2.

The Blue Crabs took the lead in the fourth with a run off a wild pitch from Livingston to go up 3-2, but again, the Skeeters countered in the bottom half of the same inning. Jason Botts came up to bat looking to extend his 11-game hitting streak, and he did just that as the lead off batter. Botts took Green the opposite way to left into the playground area for his league tying eighth home run and league leading 28th RBI of the season to tie the game, 3-3.

Then, the Skeeters broke it open in the fifth. Martinez grounded out to start the inning, and Rodriguez walked before a Ramos strikeout. With one on, Locke singled into right pushing Rodriguez over to third. Bubba Bell made his first start in the field for the Skeeters since his ankle injury four days ago, and helped offensively with an RBI-double to give Sugar Land a 4-3 lead. Botts found his way to the plate for a third time in game and made Green pay again. This time, the big first baseman lined a pitch down the right field line into the corner scoring both Locke and Bell to increase the lead, 6-3.

Problems surfaced for the Skeeters in the sixth after Livingston left the game in the fifth. Michael Nix came in for his 11th appearance of the season but didn't fair much better. The Blue Crabs sent eight batters to the plate with the big hit of the inning coming from catcher Christian Lopez. Trailing just 6-5 off back-to-back RBI-singles from Brian Barton and Matt Padgett, Lopez creamed a hanging slider off Nix into the picnic plaza down the left field line to give his team an 8-6 lead.

The Blue Crabs tacked on two more runs in the eighth off Gary Majewski to push the lead up 10-6, but the Skeeters would not go quietly in the ninth. Martinez walked with one out and Ramos singled into left pushing the catcher to third from second after a Rodriguez ground out, and Locke recorded his third RBI of the game with a single into left, 10-7. Bell struck out to end the game with two on finishing the home stand for the Skeeters at four wins and four losses.

S Maryland 0 0 2 1 0 5 0 2 0 - 10 15 0 Sugar Land 0 0 2 1 3 0 0 0 1 - 7 10 1 2B--P.Figueroa (7), C.Benjamin 2 (5), M.Padgett (9), M.Daniel (7), B.Bell (9), J.Botts (14), D.Ramos (1). HR--C.Lopez (1), D.Locke (4), J.Botts (8). RBI--P.Figueroa (13), C.Benjamin (14), B.Barton (12), M.Padgett 2 (21), C.Lopez 3 (10), R.Giannotti (11), D.Locke 3 (23), B.Bell (15), J.Botts 3 (30). SB--R.Giannotti (1). E--D.Ramos (1). LOB--S Maryland 15, Sugar Land 4. DP--D. Espinosa(2B) - M. Padgett(3B) - C. Benjamin(1B), D. Espinosa(2B) - M. Padgett(3B) - C. Benjamin(1B).

Skeeters Bites: Jason Botts extends his hitting streak to 12 games...Drew Locke hit his fourth homer of the season...Jason Botts hit his eighth homer of the season....Jason Botts has a league leading 30 RBIs...Jason Botts hit his sixth double of the series and league-leading 14th double of the season....

The Skeeters begin a six-game road trip tomorrow against the Lancaster Barnstormers for a battle at the top of the division. Sugar Land is tied for second place with the Somerset Patriots and are just 3.5 games out of first. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CDT in Lancaster, PA.

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Atlantic League Stories from May 31, 2012


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