CHARLESTON, WV -In Game 1, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs fell to the Charleston Dirty Birds in extra innings, 6-5.
Adrian Cook struggled in his start, pitching four and one-third innings, allowing five runs on seven hits. The bats came back, tying the score in the fifth, ultimately falling short in extra innings.
The Blue Crabs got the scoring started in the first inning. Jack Sundberg worked a walk to start the inning. After advancing to second base, Jared Walker drove him in with a single to right field.
In the second inning, Miles Williams smashed a three-run home run off the video board in left field, giving the Dirty Birds a 3-1 edge. The Blue Crabs surrendered another run in the fourth inning, putting Charleston ahead 4-1.
In the third inning, with runners on first and second and two outs, Alex Crosby singled in Jack Sundberg to cut the deficit to 4-2. Zach Collier later knocked a base hit into right field, scoring Braxton Lee, cutting Charleston’s lead to 4-3.
The Dirty Birds added a run in the fifth inning, but Southern Maryland responded. With the bases loaded and one out, Zach Collier roped a two-RBI double down the right-field line, tying the game 5-5.
In the seventh inning, James Dykstra (L, 0-1) entered for the Blue Crabs. Dykstra pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, striking out two batters. He returned for the eighth inning. After recording the first two outs, Tyler Blaum ripped a triple into right field, scoring the inheritted runner, putting the Dirty Birds ahead 6-5.
Meanwhile, the Blue Crabs rallied in the seventh inning against Kevin Siegrist (W, 5-0). With runners on second and third, he struck out James Dykstra before striking out Shah to end the inning. In the eighth, Southern Maryland loaded the bases with two outs, but Nate Peden (Sv, 1) induced a ground out from Crosby, securing a 6-5 win for the Dirty Birds.
In Game two, Daryl Thompson dominated (W, 13-3) en route to a seven-inning complete-game shutout. Meanwhile, the Blue Crabs bats exploded early against Max Tannenbaum (L, 2-5) and the Dirty Birds.
In the top of the first inning, Sundberg walked before Michael Baca hit a single up the middle. With runners on second and third, Braxton Lee dribbled a double down the left-field line, scoring Sundberg and Baca, giving the Blue Crabs 2-0 lead. Alex Crosby then roped a single into right, scoring Lee to give the Blue Crabs a 3-0 edge.
In the fourth inning, with Alex Crosby on first base, Ian Yetsko slammed a double to left-center field, scoring Crosby to give the Blue Crabs a 4-0 edge.
Thompson dominated the rest of the way. Across seven innings, he allowed five hits, no walks, no runs, and struckout four. The Blue Crabs went on to win game two 4-0 to split the doubleheader.
Jack Sundberg also set the Blue Crabs single-season record for most walks with 77. Sundberg continued his on-base streak in today’s games, which now stands at 32 games.
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.