WALDORF, Md. (June 15, 2022)—The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs swept the double-header over the Staten FerryHawks tonight, notching their fourth consecutive win. The Blue Crabs turned to Eddie Butler in game one, who pitched six innings, allowing only two earned runs.
In the first game of the double-header, the Blue Crabs started the scoring in the first inning. Sundberg roped a line drive into left-center field, advancing to second base. Two batters later, Jared Walker blasted a line drive down the first-base line, scoring Sundberg to put the Blue Crabs ahead 1-0.
In the third inning, Staten Island responded. The FerryHawks picked up a pair of singles with one out before Javier Betancourt hit a sac fly, scoring Joseph Monge. The next batter, Angel Aguilar knocked a single into center, scoring Duplantis to give the FerryHawks a 2-1 lead.
The game remained 2-1 until the seventh inning. In double-headers, both games are only seven innings. Patrick Baker (W, 2-1) took over for Eddie Butler in the seventh and pitched a clean inning. Chris Nunn (L, 0-3, BS, 2) struggled, as he issued a walk to Zach Collier to start the inning. Three batters later, Joe Deluca smashed a two-run home run over the Mini Monster in left field, giving the Blue Crabs a walk-off 3-2 victory.
In game two of the series, the Blue Crabs turned to Alex Merithew for the start. Merithew pitched three innings, allowing one unearned run and two hits. From there, Bradley Roney and Endrys Briceno dominated, but the FerryHawks pushed back in the seventh.
Staten Island scored the first run of the game. In the top of the first inning, Stephen Alemais was hit by a pitch. He then stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by Joe DeLuca. The next batter, Angel Aguilar drove him in on a sacrifice fly.
The Blue Crabs got the bats going in the bottom of the first in game two. Jack Sundberg hit a popup to the left field, landing just inside the left-field line and bouncing all the way to the corner, while Sundberg reached third. The next batter, Michael Wielansky, bounced a single to center, tying the game at 1-1.
In the bottom of the second, the Blue Crabs bats came through again. Zach Collier walked, and Braxton Lee knocked a base hit into right field, putting runners on the corners. After Braxton Lee stole second base, Jack Sundberg lifted a base hit into right-center, scoring Collier and Lee, giving the Blue Crabs a 3-1 lead.
The game remained 3-1 until the seventh inning. In the top of the seventh, Mat Latos, (W, 1-0, BS, 3) entered the game. Mariel Bautista slashed a double to the wall in left to get started in the inning. Alfredo Reyes singled back up the middle, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Alfredo Reyes then stole second, putting runners on second and third with no outs. Mat Latos struck out Yunior Santana before Joseph Monge grounded into a fielder's choice, scoring Bautista and advancing Reyes to third. The next batter, Bryan Gonzalez, drove in Reyes on a line drive to right-center, tying the game at 3.
In the bottom of the seventh, Southern Maryland came through again. Eric Mariñez was on the mound for Staten Island and hit Braxton Lee with a pitch to start the inning. Lee advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Michael Wielansky came through again for the Blue Crabs, as he bounced a single back up the middle, scoring Sundberg to give the Blue Crabs a 4-3 victory.
With the wins, the Blue Crabs move to 37-12 and control a 13-game lead in the division. The Blue Crabs have a "magic number" of six to clinch a playoff spot. The Blue Crabs have also won four consecutive games and look for their fifth straight against Staten Island tomorrow at 6:35 pm.