(Bridgewater, NJ., Jun. 23, 2018) - The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (22-30) took the second game against the Somerset Patriots (29-22) 7-4.
Southern Maryland wasted no time getting on the board, capitalizing on a first inning error from Somerset. Teodoro Martinez started the night off with a single, threatening Cory Riordan (3-3) right away. Two batters later Frank Martinez singled, and an error on Riordan allowed Teodoro to move up to third. That setup a sacrifice fly from Jon Griffin, getting the Blue Crabs on the board first.
Drake Britton (3-3) started strong on the mound for Southern Maryland, not allowing a hit through his first two innings. The Patriots offense woke up in the third, as a hit-by-pitch got Mike Fransoso aboard as the leadoff man. A fielder’s choice replaced Fransoso with Scott Kelly, who moved to scoring position on a walk to Julio Borbon. Alfredo Rodriguez followed with a single, scoring Kelly to tie the game. An error on the mound from Britton allowed Borbon to move to third, before he scored on an error in center field on the same play.
The Blue Crabs battled back immediately, retaking the lead with a pair of runs in the fourth. Angelo Songco got the inning started with a single, moving to second on an infield hit from Cory Vaughn two batters later. An error at shortstop was next, allowing Songco to score and moving Vaughn up to third. David Lyon then drove in Vaughn, giving Southern Maryland a 3-2 advantage.
Somerset recovered in the following inning, putting up two runs of their own. Kelly got things going with a one-out hit, before Borbon added a single of his own to put two on. Rodriguez came through with a third straight hit, doubling to score both baserunners and give the Patriots the lead back.
The back-and-forth continued in the sixth, as the Blue Crabs offense responded with two more. Songco and Devon Rodriguez got it going with back-to-back singles, setting up Vaughn with an RBI opportunity. He didn’t disappoint, coming through with a single to right field that allowed Songco to tie the game. Angelys Nina followed that with another sacrifice fly, getting Vaughn across to grab a 5-4 lead.
Pitching settled down for a few innings, as the teams traded scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth. Southern Maryland added two more insurance runs in the top of the ninth, gaining their biggest lead of the night. Nina singled as the leadoff hitter, with a sacrifice attempt from Lyon leading to an error from the Patriots. Another sacrifice moved both men to scoring position, where Frank Martinez would drive them in with a two-out single.
The 7-4 lead was handed over to closer Cody Eppley (S,4), looking to notch his first save in over two weeks. An error on Eppley allowed the second man in the inning to reach base, before he bounced back with a groundout and a flyout to finish the night. The victory guarantees the Blue Crabs a win in the series, and sets them up with the opportunity for a sweep in tomorrow’s series finale.
The Blue Crabs return to action Sunday, June 24th for the final game in the series against the Patriots. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 P.M. on Sunday at TD Bank Ballpark.
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.