WALDORF, Md. – After a postponement of Wednesday’s contest, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs played a doubleheader on Thursday night against the Lancaster Barnstormers. The Blue Crabs were able to split with Lancaster to an 8-6 loss and a 3-0 win. The doubleheader split ended a three-game losing streak for Southern Maryland and moved the club back into a first-place tie with the Barnstormers in the North Division.
Game one seemed very similar to the way things ended in Tuesday’s series opener. The Blue Crabs got out to an early 3-1 in the third inning, but saw it slip away very quickly. A two-run blast in the fourth inning from right fielder LaDarious Clark, and a solo shot from centerfielder Alejandro De Aza in the fifth aided a 7-3 lead with two innings to play. Lancaster made it 8-3 in the sixth inning thanks to a home run from second baseman Blake Allemand. The Crabs made things interesting in the bottom half of the sixth inning, scoring three on a pair of tape measure homers, one from Josh McAdams and the other Joe DeLuca. The comeback effort fell short however, with the Stormers securing an 8-6 victory.
30 minutes later, Southern Maryland’s starting pitcher, Daryl Thompson, (W, 11-2) took the mound in game two and stole the spotlight. Thompson threw a complete game shutout that included eight punchouts to the box score. A two-run home run by first baseman Jovan Rosa in the first inning, and an RBI single from left fielder Matt Hibbert in the second inning was all the runs Southern Maryland needed. The Blue Crabs took the 3-0 victory to avoid a three-game sweep to Lancaster.
The Blue Crabs now hit the road for seven games before returning to Regency Furniture Stadium. All seven games will be within the North Division, that previews four against the York Revolution and three against the Long Island Ducks.