(Bethpage, NY., Aug. 14, 2018) – The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (11-20) took the second game of the series against the Long Island Ducks (22-12) 9-7, evening the series at one game each.
Jordany Valdespin opened the scoring with a solo homerun to lead off the bottom of the first. The Blue Crabs responded with one in the top of the second, behind a double from Angelys Nina that started the inning. A walk from John Brownell (8-10) put two on, but a double play moved Nina to third with two outs in the inning. Craig Maddox came through with a two-out single, bringing home Nina to even things at 1-1.
The offense kept rolling in the third, putting up four runs to take their first lead on the night. Edwin Garcia singled to start things, before Devon Rodriguez launched a two-run homerun to grab the lead. Two batters later, Frank Martinez reached on a dropped third strike, moving around to third on a single from Nina. Back-to-back singles from Cory Vaughn and Angelo Songco scored Martinez and Nina, giving Southern Maryland a 5-1 lead.
The Ducks weren’t done yet, scoring a pair in the bottom half of the inning off Daryl Thompson (4-3) in his return. Dan Lyons began the frame with a ground-rule double, with a Valdespin flyout moving him up to third. Daniel Fields followed with a two-run homerun, his seventh long ball of the season, cutting the lead back to two.
Thompson’s return from injury lasted five innings, before the starter turned things over to his teammates to finish off the win. After a scoreless sixth inning, the Blue Crabs offense padded their lead with three runs in the seventh. A single from Jon Griffin started things, with two more singles coming two batters later. Songco followed with a double to right field, clearing the bases and putting the score at 8-3.
Long Island continued to fight back in the bottom of the eighth, starting with a walk to Dan Lyons. Valdespin then added his second homerun of the night, cutting the lead back down to three runs. After a flyout, Travis Snider singled then moved into scoring position on a groundout to second. A single from Taylor Ard brought Snider home from second. A walk to David Washington moved Ard to second, allowing him to score on a single from Ramon Cabrera. A popout finished the frame, with the Blue Crabs holding on to a one-run lead.
A solo homerun from Martinez added an insurance run in the top of the ninth, giving Cody Eppley (S,11) a two-run advantage. The closer worked a flawless frame, striking out a pair to secure the 9-7 win for Southern Maryland.
The Blue Crabs return to action Wednesday, August 15th for the series finale against the Ducks. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 P.M. on Wednesday at Bethpage Ballpark.
For more information on the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, or to reserve your seat today for any of the Blue Crabs upcoming home games, please visit our website at somdbluecrabs.com or call us at 301-638-9788.