New Britain, CT. – The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (3-3) lost the series finale against the New Britain Bees (3-3) 6-5, falling just short of the series sweep.
The Bees jumped out to an early lead, scoring three runs in the first two innings. Darren Ford walked to lead off the bottom of the first, stealing second before moving to third on a groundout. A sacrifice fly from Deibinson Romero brought him home to open the scoring on the day. An error at second brought home Jonathon Galvez in the second inning, before a two-out single from Vinny Siena scored Ozney Guillen to grab a 3-0 lead.
A solo homerun from Brock Stassi added another in the third, before the lead was extended to 6-0 in the fourth. Galvez drew a walk from Casey Delgado (4-6) to start the inning, before two batters later Ryan Wagner launched a two-run homerun. The long ball was Wagner’s first hit as a member of the Bees, and gave Kyle Simon (6-4) a comfortable six-run cushion.
The Blue Crabs began the road back in the top of the fifth. Devon Rodriguez started the inning with a solo homerun, getting them on the board for the first time in the game. Cory Vaughn followed with a walk, moving around to third on a single from Craig Maddox. The rain hit during the next at-bat, sending the game in to over an hour delay.
After the return from delay, Angelys Nina drew a walk to load the bases with still nobody out. Ryan Strausborger followed with a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Vaughn for the second run of the inning. Two batters later, Teodoro Martinez came through with a two-out single to score Maddox and cut the deficit to 6-3.
Simon was removed after five innings, turning the game over to the bullpen. The Blue Crabs continued the battle back in the sixth, adding one more to their total. Frank Martinez walked to begin the inning, but back-to-back strikeouts quickly got two outs on the board. Maddox kept the inning alive after that with a single, before another walk from Nina loaded the bases again. An error on the catcher ensued, as he overthrew the pitcher after a pitch missed, bringing Martinez home from third to cut the New Britain lead down to two runs.
A scoreless seventh inning followed, but the Blue Crabs continued their battle back in the eighth. Frank Martinez and Rodriguez got back-to-back singles to start the inning, putting runners on the corners with nobody out. A wild pitch brought home Martinez, before a walk to Cory Vaughn put men on first and second. A double play and a groundout ended the inning for the Bees, as they escaped with a 6-5 advantage.
The one-run game headed to the ninth, as New Britain turned things over to their closer Evan Scribner (S,13) with the top of the Southern Maryland order due up. The right-hander worked a quick 1-2-3 inning, locking in the victory for the Bees. The 6-5 win prevented the Blue Crabs from getting their first series sweep of the second half.
The Blue Crabs return to action Tuesday, July 16th for the series opener in a three-game home series against the Somerset Patriots. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 P.M. on Tuesday at Regency Furniture Stadium.
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.