Waldorf, MD. – Heading into a doubleheader in a day in which rain was expected, and fresh off a 10-0 win in a rain shortened game over the Sugar Land Skeeters, the Blue Crabs took their sunshine, avoided the rain, and swept the New Britain Bees, winning by a score of 4-0 in the first game, and a 3-2 win in game two.
The Southern Maryland bats stayed on fire after exploding offensively yesterday to begin Monday’s twin bill, as the homerun ball proved to be too much for the Bees starting pitcher Rainy Lara (L, 4-3). Cory Vaughn took the lead on one swing of the bat in the bottom of the second inning, and posted a 1-0 lead that would never be surmounted by New Britain.
MLB veteran Brandon Cumpton (W, 2-5) graced the bump for the good guys in the first game, and he brought his A-game. The right-hander tossed seven scoreless innings, while striking out eight Bees and heeding just four hits.
As Cumpton kept rolling the Blue Crabs bats did too. Rubi Silva continued a scorching hot stretch with a solo homerun, giving him a walk-off single, two home runs, and nine hits in his last four games played.
Vaughn, the powerful bat with the most home runs in the Atlantic League dating back to the beginning of the 2017 season smacked yet another long ball in the bottom of the sixth inning, his eighth of the season, to put the Blue Crabs up by a score of 4-0, a tally that would stay throughout the duration of the seven inning game. Come the end of the contest, the Blue Crabs found themselves outscoring opponents 14-0 in their past two game played.
Game two kicked off with the right-hander Michael Kelly (W, 2-3) on the mound for the Blue Crabs facing off against the New Britain starter, Devin Burke (L, 0-1). The contest began with two innings of hitless baseball, and another half inning of scoreless play. That course was thrown for a loop when the Blue Crabs loaded the bases in the bottom of the third inning.
Southern Maryland second baseman Kent Blackstone got the job done as he would sacrifice his at bat on a fly out to left field that scored Jon Griffin to give the Blue Crabs a 1-0 lead.
Kelly continued to ease his way through jam after jam seemingly unphased, in yet another terrific outing. The Blue Crabs bats continued to supply their starter with cushion, as they would plate another pair in the bottom of the fourth inning of action. Vaughn came around on a wild pitch from the New Britain reliever Giovanni Soto, and Griffin scored his second run of the affair later in the inning when Josh McAdams came through with a crucial RBI single.
The Southern Maryland pitching staff’s incredible stretch of 17 2/3 innings of scoreless work came to an end in the bottom of the fourth inning as the Bees would finally crack the scoring open for their side. Ozzie Martinez was the lone source of offense for the Bees in the entire doubleheader, as his two RBI double in the top of the fifth inning would lead to the lone pair of runs for New Britain.
Mat Latos (S,5) shut the door on the Bees in top of the seventh inning to put a bow on the Blue Crabs season best fourth consecutive win, winning by a score of 3-2.
The Blue Crabs will return home tomorrow, June 11th for a game against the New Britain Bees, with a 6:35 p.m. first pitch.
Be sure to vote your Blue Crabs to the 2019 Atlantic League All-Star Game, just click: www.atlanticleague.com/allstarvoting
About the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs
The Blue Crabs play 140 regular season games in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Clubs. The Blue Crabs call Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, Maryland home. The 12th franchise season will begin April 2019. For more information on the SOMD Blue Crabs, please call 301-638-9788 or visit http://www.somdbluecrabs.com for more information.
About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)
With eight teams in the Mid-Atlantic and Texas, the ALPB is a leader in baseball innovation and a player gateway to Major League Baseball. Through its exclusive partnership with MLB, the Atlantic League tests Major League Baseball rules and equipment initiatives. The Atlantic League has sent over 900 players to MLB organizations while drawing more than 40 million fans to its affordable, family-friendly ballparks throughout its 22-year history.For more information, please visit www.AtlanticLeague.com.
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