(8/11/2022, Waldorf, MD) The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs took the first game of the doubleheader over the High Point Rockers, notching their fourth consecutive win, 2-0.
Mitch Lambson (W, 6-7) had one of his best starts of the season pitching a seven-inning complete-game shutout. Lambson only allowed three hits and five strikeouts.
The bats were very quiet in game one, as the Blue Crabs did not muster their first hit until the fifth inning off of Ivan Pineyro (L, 4-3). But Southern Maryland produced offense in the sixth inning.
Ryan Haug was hit by a pitch before Michael Baca ripped a single into center, putting runners on the corners with one out. From there, Jack Sundberg punched a single up the middle, scoring Haug to give Southern Maryland a 1-0 edge. The Blue Crabs added a second run on an error by second baseman Tyler Ladendorf, giving the Blue Crabs a 2-0 lead, which they would hold.
In game two, Southern Maryland led most of the way, but ultimately fell 5-4 to the Rockers. Eddie Butler got the start for the Blue Crabs, pitching five innings allowing four runs, but only three earned.
The Rockers scored one run in the top of the second, but the Blue Crabs responded with four in the bottom half of the frame. Southern Maryland had the bases loaded when Jack Sundberg roped a line drive to right-center, scoring Matt Hibbert and Ian Yetkso to take a 2-1 lead. Mike Falsetti scored on a groundout from Michael Wielansky to give Southern Maryland a 3-1 edge. Braxton Lee then knocked a liner into center, scoring Sundberg to put the Blue Crabs on top 4-1.
But Southern Maryland was unable to hold the lead as High Point slowly chipped away. In the fourth inning, Jay Gonzalez drove in Logan Morrison on an infield grounder. Mike Gulino then brought in Tyler Ladendorf on a sacrifice fly, cutting the deficit to 4-3. In the fifth inning, Ben Aklinski hammered a double to left-center, tying the score 4-4.
In the sixth inning, Dalton Geekie (L, 1-3) entered for Southern Maryland. Tyler Ladendorf ripped a double to deep center field to lead off the inning. Two batters later, with Ladendorf on third base, Mike Gulino drove a fly ball to right field, scoring Ladendorf, and giving the Rockers a 5-4 lead.
Tyler Higgins (W, 2-0) kept the Blue Crabs off the board in the sixth inning before Ryan Dull (Sv, 10) pitched a clean seventh to secure the victory for the Rockers.
After splitting the doubleheader, the Blue Crabs move to 67-30 and remain three games back in the division. Southern Maryland travels to Staten Island tomorrow as part of a six-game road trip.
####
About the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs
The Blue Crabs play in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, MLB’s premier Partner League. The Blue Crabs have kicked off their 14th season of baseball and play all home games at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, Maryland. For more information on the Blue Crabs, please call 301-638-9788 or visit http://www.somdbluecrabs.com. For media requests, contact Austin Rooney, at 301-678-1124.
About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)
The Atlantic League is the first Partner League of Major League Baseball, a player gateway to the Major Leagues, and a leader in baseball innovation. The ALPB has sent over 1,000 players to MLB organizations while drawing 44 million fans during its 24-year history. Please visit
www.AtlanticLeague.com.