LANCASTER, PA. – The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs picked up another victory, as Daryl Thompson (W, 5-2) went eight innings en route to a 5-1 victory over the Lancaster Barnstormers.
The Blue Crabs’ bats got going in the first inning. Chase Johnson (L, 1-4) surrendered a leadoff double to the left-center field gap from Matt Hibbert. Later in the inning, the Blue Crabs had the bases loaded with two outs. Braxton Lee then blasted a 3-RBI triple to the left-center field wall, scoring Matt Hibbert, Jared Walker, and Alex Crosby, giving the Blue Crabs a 3-0 lead.
Lancaster tallied their lone run of the day in the fourth inning. On the first pitch of the inning, Kelly Dugan launched a solo shot over the wall in right field, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
Southern Maryland added an insurance run in the seventh. Joe Deluca led off the inning on a ground ball to center field before stealing second base. With Deluca on second with one out, Matt Hibbert lifted a double down the right-field line, scoring Deluca to give Southern Maryland a 4-1 lead.
The Blue Crabs added another run in the ninth inning. Ryan Haug was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Two batters later, Matt Hibbert ripped a line drive up the middle, advancing Haug to second. The next batter, Ian Yetsko hit a ground ball through the left side for a base hit, loading the bases with one out. Zach Collier then sent a sacrifice fly into center field, scoring a Haug to take a 5-1 lead
Meanwhile, Daryl Thompson was very effective on a low pitch count. Thompson allowed only one run on six hits across eight innings. Thompson exited the game after the eighth inning, having thrown only 85 pitches. Endrys Briceno entered in the ninth inning, shutting down the Barnstormers without a hit.
With the win, the Blue Crabs complete the sweep of the Barnstormers. The Blue Crabs have also won seven of their last eight games. Southern Maryland remains 10.5 games ahead of the second-place Long Island Ducks. The Blue Crabs return to Regency Furniture Stadium on Tuesday, June 7, as they take on the Lexington Legends at 6:35 pm.