Waldorf, MD – The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (23-30) took both games of a doubleheader against the Bridgeport Bluefish (24-30) Wednesday, Aug. 30, winning both games 4-1 behind excellent starting pitching performances

The Blue Crabs threatened Charles Brewer (8-6) immediately in game one, putting runners on the corners and no outs in the first. After a popup recorded the first out in the inning, Brewer picked off Edwin Garcia from first for the second out in the inning. Michael Snyder then grounded out to third for the final out, stranding Jose Lozada at third.

Gaby Hernandez (11-3) was strong on the mound for Southern Maryland, as he looked to tie the league leader with his 11th win. The right-hander allowed just three hits through his first four innings, taking a scoreless game to the bottom of the fourth. Cory Vaughn led off the inning with a stand-up double to put himself in scoring position. Patrick Palmeiro followed with a grounder to third, leading to an errant from the Bluefish third baseman. The error allowed Vaughn to open the scoring, giving Hernandez a 1-0 lead.

The lead didn’t last long, as Hernandez gave up a solo shot on the very first pitch of the next inning. Gustavo Molina’s third homerun of the season tied the game back up at 1-1 heading to the fifth. Brewer returned to the mound, finding trouble once more in the inning. He walked Hoes to start the inning, with a single from Snyder moving him up to second. After a flyout, Vaughn came through with a three-run homerun to put the Blue Crabs back ahead.

Hernandez took the 4-1 lead back to the mound, working a 1-2-3 inning in the sixth. He then turned over the three-run lead to closer Cody Eppley (S,29) in the top of the seventh. Eppley struck out the first two batters, before an infield single from Molina kept the game alive. Angelys Nina followed by drawing a walk, bringing Angel Rosa to the plate as the tying run. Eppley got Nina to go down on strikes as well, picking up three strikeouts en route to his 29th save of the season.

All-Star Brian Grening (8-6) headed to the mound for game two, looking to turn things around on the second half of the season. Grening got off to a rough start, giving up a run in the first to the Bluefish. Luis Hernandez started the rally with a one-out double off the top of the wall in left field. Jonathon Galvez followed with a single back up the middle, scoring Hernandez to give Bridgeport an early 1-0 lead.

Ross Seaton got off to a strong start on the mound for the Bluefish, allowing just two hits through his first three innings. Seaton ran into trouble in the fourth though, giving up the lead in the inning. Tucker Nathans walked to lead off the inning, before a two-run homerun from Hoes put the Blue Crabs ahead in the game. Two batters later, Devon Rodriguez continued the inning with a one-out double to get to scoring position. After Seaton picked up a strikeout, a two-out double from Zach Cone scored Rodriguez, extending the lead to 3-1.

Grening settled in on the mound after the first, setting down the next 10 batters he faced after the RBI single. He worked four straight scoreless innings to finish his day, exiting after five innings with a two-run lead. Southern Maryland added another insurance run in the sixth, capitalizing on an error. Hoes walked to begin the inning, moving to third on a single from Palmeiro. The throw came into third, before the third baseman fired behind Palmeiro at first. The throw went wide of the first baseman, heading into the crowd to allowed Hoes to cross, making the score 4-1.

Zack Thornton (S,1) came on out of the bullpen, facing just his second save opportunity of the season. Thronton made quick work of the Bluefish in the seventh, throwing just seven pitches to finish off the doubleheader sweep.

The Blue Crabs return to action Thursday, August 31st for the series finale of the four-game series against the Bluefish. Southern Maryland will send RHP Daryl Thompson (8-6, 3.67) to the mound, trying to finish off the series win. He will matchup with Bridgeport’s LHP Manny Parra (2-3, 6.33). First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 P.M. on Thursday at Regency Furniture Stadium.