AtL Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

Blue Crabs Walk-Off in Dramatic Victory

Published on June 9, 2018 under Atlantic League (AtL)
Southern Maryland Blue Crabs News Release


(Waldorf, MD.) - The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (15-23) won game two against the Sugar Land Skeeters (23-16) 7-6, scoring three in a ninth inning rally.

After about an hour and a half delay, the Blue Crabs finally took the field around 8:15 to get things going. Both pitchers came out strong, as Daryl Thompson and Dallas Beeler both traded scoreless innings through two. The Skeeters finally got to Thompson in the third, grabbing the lead in the game.

A 13-pitch at-bat started the inning, with Alvaro Rondon fouling off 10 pitches before doubling to get the offense going. Another double followed that, as Colin Walsh sent on to the right field corner, easily allowing Rondon to cross and open the scoring on the night. Matt Chavez followed that with a two-run homerun, the fourth homerun for the Sugar Land offense in the series.

Beeler returned to the mound with the three-run lead, keeping the Blue Crabs offense quiet through the first four innings. The right-hander allowed just two hits in that span, before Southern Maryland finally struck for one in the fifth. Devon Rodriguez led off with a walk, moving up to second on a fielder's choice. A flyball brought Beeler within an out of ending the inning, before Angelys Nina came up with a two-out single to score Rodriguez.

The Blue Crabs added another run in the sixth, cutting the deficit to just one. Edwin Garcia got things going with a single, before back-to-back strikeouts looked to potentially set Beeler up to easily finish the inning. Beeler forced a popup in foul territory that was mishandled by the third baseman, extending the at-bat for Jon Griffin. Griffin made the most of the opportunity with an infield single to end the night for Beeler. The Skeeters brought in a lefty to face Rodriguez, who responded with a single to score Garcia and cut the lead the 3-2. A walk loaded the bases, before Ben Rowen forced a pop-out to end the inning and narrowly maintain the lead.

The Skeeters offense woke back up in the seventh, as they added three runs to their lead in the inning. After Craig Stem struck out the first batter he faced, the reliever allowed a single to Chavez. A walk followed by another single loaded the bases with just one down in the inning, leading to another pitching change as Sam Runion came on. Runion struck out the first batter he faced, before Albert Cordero crushed a double off the center field wall. The two-out extra-base hit cleared the bases, extending the Sugar Land lead out to 6-2.

The Blue Crabs weren't done yet though, as they added a run in each of the next two innings. Back-to-back singles got things going in the bottom of the seventh, with a fielder's choice putting runners on the corners with one down. Ryan Strausborger lined a fastball up the middle, hitting the pitcher and rolling away to allow Angelys Nina to score. The following inning Cory Vaughn added a solo homerun, cutting the deficit to 6-4.

Felipe Paulino (2-1) came on for the bottom of the ninth, looking to even the series for Sugar Land. He got a flyball to start the inning, but an error in right field allowed Garcia to reach second. The defense continued to disappoint their closer, as back-to-back errors followed, with the final of three in a row allowing Garcia to score. An intentional walk was issued to Angelo Songco, loading the bases to set up a force out at home plate. Rodriguez singled off the diving glove of the first basemen, allowing Strausborger to score and tie the game. Vaughn then came up as the hero, launching a ball of the center field wall to score Frank Martinez and give the Blue Crabs their second walk-off win of the season.

The Blue Crabs return to action Sunday, June 10th for the series finale against the Skeeters. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 P.M. on Sunday at Regency Furniture Stadium.

For more information on the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, or to reserve your seat today for any of the Blue Crabs upcoming home games, please visit our website at somdbluecrabs.com or call us at 301-638-9788.

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Atlantic League Stories from June 9, 2018


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