FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2019
Contact: Andrew Bandstra
301-638-9788, Ext. 208
[email protected]
Southern Maryland Drops First Game of Decisive Series Waldorf, MD –
A first half title for Southern Maryland may be mostly out of the picture, but a battle for third place with the Lancaster Barnstormers ensued this evening. The Blue Crabs and the ‘Stormers each entered today’s ballgame nine and a half games out of first place in the Freedom Division, and each had ten or less games remaining in the half. The Blue Crabs bats came out hot, but Lancaster got the final say in a 10-3 blowout Barnstormer victory. Southern Maryland got on the board in the top of the first on the ‘Stormers starter, Jonathan Albaladejo (W, 1-3), when Rubi Silva sent a hot shot line drive to center field that hopped the fence and put him on second with a ground rule double. Silva would be the first from either side to cross home plate, coming on an RBI from Frank Martinez to put the good guys up one early. Lancaster responded right away off of Michael Kelly (L, 3-4), who had been terrific in his last half dozen starts. The right-hander came into Friday night’s contest with an ERA in a starting role lower than 3.00, but showed a rare rough outing this evening. The Atlantic League leader in RBI, Caleb Gindl picked up another RBI by driving in the speedy Darian Sandford to knot the scoring at one a piece after one inning of play. The Blue Crabs didn’t back down, as in the top of the second a line drive single from the bat of Edwin Garcia brought home Jon Griffin, who reached via an error, putting Southern Maryland back up by a score of 2-1. As Albaladejo settled down, Kelly’s night would turn sour. The Barnstormers would plate a total of eight runs in the next two frames combined, giving them a healthy 9-2 lead through four innings of play. The Southern Maryland bats fell silent after coming out of the gates steaming hot, and struggled to pick back up. Lancaster, however, would plate an insurance run on a Parker Morin RBI double in the bottom of the sixth to give the ‘Stormers double digits runs in the contest. Southern Maryland plated one more in the top of the ninth inning on a Charlie Valerio single, marking his third hit of the night, but the offense and the scoring for the contest would stop there. The Blue Crabs will look to turn things around and even up the series tomorrow following a 10-3 loss in a series opener with Lancaster. The Blue Crabs will return home July 2nd, for the series opener of a three-game set against the York Revolution in the Monumental Fun Series, 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 Catch all Blue Crabs home games on the Blue Crabs Broadcast Network, live-streamed on YouTube (@SOMDBlueCrabs) and on Facebook (@SOMDBlueCrabs).About the Southern Maryland Blue CrabsThe Blue Crabs play 140 regular season games in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Clubs. The Blue Crabs, in their 12th season of baseball, call Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, Maryland home. For more information on the 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. ###