WALDORF, Md. – The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs split the doubleheader with the Staten Island FerryHawks on Wednesday night. The Blue Crabs led for most of game one, but ultimately fell 7-5, while the offense broke out for 18 runs in the game two victory.
In game one of the doubleheader, the Blue Crabs got the bats going first. Jack Sundberg and Raul Shah picked up singles to start the first inning. Two batters later, David Harris punched a single into right, scoring Sundberg to give the Blue Crabs a 1-0 lead. Shah later scored on a fielder’s choice, while Joe DeLuca drove in David Harris on a single up the middle, giving the Blue Crabs a 3-0 lead.
Staten Island got two runs back off of Mitch Lambson (L, 5-4) in the second inning, but the Blue Crabs responded quickly. Matt Solter (W, 3-6) issued free passes to Sundberg and Shah, who later reached second and third. David Harris drove them in with a base hit to right-center.
From there, the Blue Crabs bats were quiet in game one, while Staten Island started scoring. The FerryHawks scored one in the fourth, and four in the fifth to take a 7-5 lead. The Blue Crabs had a leadoff double in the seventh, but could not score a run off of Victor Capellan (SV, 10) as the Blue Crabs lost 7-5.
Patrick Baker entered for the sixth and seventh innings, allowing no runs or hits while walking just one. Baker’s ERA falls to 0.95 in the loss.
In game two, the Blue Crabs bats were on fire, posting crooked numbers in five out of six innings. Michael Wielansky led the offense with four hits, finishing with two triples, a double, and a single.
Meanwhile, Zach Collier drove in six runs, as he posted a two-RBI triple and a two-run home run. Additionally, Braxton Lee reached base five times, adding three hits in the victory, raising his batting average to .311.
Hector Guance (L, 2-3) struggled tonight, pitching only three and one-third innings, surrendering 11 runs on 11 hits. On the other hand, Eddie Butler (W, 7-2) was dominant, pitching a complete game, allowing six hits and one earned run.
The Blue Crabs’ 18-run performance fell short of setting the franchise record for most runs in a game, which was set earlier this year when the Blue Crabs scored 21 against Lexington. But more impressively, the Blue Crabs scored 18 runs across just six innings, since the Blue Crabs did not bat in the bottom of the seventh. On the other hand, Southern Maryland scored 21 runs across nine innings in Lexington.
After splitting the doubleheader, the Blue Crabs move to 5-3 in second-half play, sitting two games behind the Lancaster Barnstormers. The Blue Crabs will look to take the series against Staten Island tomorrow at 6:35 pm at Regency Furniture Stadium.
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.