Patriots Steal a Heartbreaker
Waldorf, MD – Southern Maryland came into today 32-6 when leading after six innings. Today they were unable to continue their success, as they dropped a 5-2 heartbreaker against the Somerset Patriots.
For the third time in the last two homestands, the first Blue Crabs run of the contest came on a Cory Vaughn solo shot to left field in the second inning, and tonight just so happened to be one of those nights as the Blue Crabs got on top early, 1-0.
Knight continued to dominate striking out batters right and left. In the meantime Jon Griffin hit his first home since May 24th. The powerful bat put a charge into a ball, sending it over the center field batter’s eye sitting 400 feet from home plate, becoming the first Blue Crab to do so this season.
After allowing one run in his last 20 innings dating back to August 1st, Knight ran into trouble in the top of the seventh this evening. After Craig Massey smacked a sacrifice fly to right field to bring a run home, Alfredo Rodriguez drew a walk to bring in another, and that spelled the end of the evening for Knight. James Dysktra came in to inherit the bases loaded, and for the second time in as many games a Blue Crabs reliever tip toed out of danger with the bases loaded with inherited runners, leaving the score tied at 2-2.
Adam Choplick (L, 0-2) came out for the eighth, and yet again the bases loaded up. After seeing a 3-2 count, Choplick issued a strikeout before giving way to Kevin Munson. A trio of unearned Patriots would however come around to score, as the momentum swung in Somerset’s favor after 4.1 brilliant innings of relief for Vince Molesky (W, 4-3).
Chris Beck (S, 1) shut the door on Southern Maryland in the bottom of the ninth, and gave the Patriots a 5-2 win.
The Blue Crabs will return home tomorrow, Saturday August 17th for game two of a three game set with the Somerset Patriots with a 6:35 p.m first pitch and postgame fireworks.
Catch all Blue Crabs home games on the Blue Crabs Broadcast Network, live streamed on YouTube (@SOMDBlueCrabs) Facebook (@SOMDBlueCrabs) and Twitter (@BlueCrabs).
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, 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.
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