The thrilling second season of Southern Maryland Blue Crabs baseball came to an end Sunday evening, as the Somerset Patriots captured their fifth Atlantic League Championship in the circuit’s twelfth season of play. With an 11-1 victory over Southern Maryland, on Sunday, Oct. 4.

Somerset closed out the ALPB Championship Series in four games, becoming the first Atlantic League team to win back to back titles. For the Patriots, it was their eighth appearance in the Championship Series, adding to their championships from 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2008.

The Blue Crabs first playoff appearance after a 79-61 season, ended in disappointment after winning their first postseason series in franchise history in five games over the Long Island Ducks in the divisional round.

The Crabs’ bats would be held silent most of the afternoon by Somerset right-handed starter Jason Standridge, a veteran of parts of seven Major League seasons. Standridge tossed a complete game, allowing just five hits and an earned run, with six walks and seven strikeouts. He pitched out of a jam in the bottom of the first inning, allowing a leadoff single to John Ramistella, who later scored on a bases loaded walk to 12-year Major League veteran Michael Tucker, Standridge’s third walk of the inning.

The righty would settle down from there however, walking just three more batters in the final eight innings. When Standridge allowed a single to Mike Just with one out in the second, he would not allow another hit until the ninth, when Octavio Martinez, Cesar Nicolas and Jeremy Owens loaded the bases with three consecutive singles. A Lance Burkhart pop-out to second and a 6-4-3 double play ball off the bat of Just ended the Blue Crabs ’09 season, capping a gritty outing by Standridge pitching his team to a championship.

Blue Crabs starter and nine-year Major League veteran John Halama unfortunately could not replicate his prior dominating regular season and postseason success. Halama, who was 8-1 with a 1.96 ERA in 10 regular season starts with the Blue Crabs before joining the Atlanta Braves organization in Triple-A, was also 2-0 with a 0.57 ERA against the Long Island Ducks in the divisional playoff round.

On Sunday, the lefty took the loss lasting just four and two-thirds innings, allowing seven hits, six runs four of which were earned, with a season high five walks to go with five strikeouts. The Patriots quickly erased the Blue Crabs 1-0 first inning lead with four runs in the second off Halama, highlighted by an Elliott Ayala RBI single and a pair of bases loaded walks to Noah Hall and Jason Belcher.

With the bases loaded once again in the fifth, Mike Rodriguez lined a single into centerfield plating two more runs. A four-run seventh for Somerset extended the lead to 10-1. In the eighth, the Pats tacked on their final run with a Jeff Nettles leadoff solo home run to left field.

Nettles, the Patriots cleanup batter and third baseman, was named the Atlantic League Championship Series Most Valuable Player. He also homered in Saturday night’s Game 4, a two-run shot to left which tied the game 5-5 en route to the Patriots 8-6 victory.