(Waldorf, MD., Aug. 31, 2018) – The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (18-29) won the series opener against the Road Warriors (9-40) 3-2, on a walk-off homerun from Jon Griffin in the 10th inning.
The Blue Crabs loaded the bases in the first inning before Raul Rivera escaped the inning with a flyout to keep things scoreless. After a scoreless second, the Blue Crabs got the scoring started with a pair of runs in the third. Ryan Strausborger led off the inning with a solo homerun, his eighth homerun of the season. After back-to-back outs from Rivera, a pair of singles put Jon Griffin and Frank Martinez aboard. Devon Rodriguez followed that with a third straight hit, scoring Griffin but Martinez was thrown out trying to score on the play.
Daryl Thompson was strong on the mound to start the night for Southern Maryland. The right-hander allowed just four hits through his first four innings, maintaining the two-run advantage. The Road Warriors got on the board in the fifth, with a pair of runs in the inning. A one-out single from Anthony Ray put a man on base for the top of the order. Osvaldo Martinez then hit his sixth homerun of the season, a two-run shot that tied things at 2-2.
Both starters were lifted from the game after a scoreless sixth inning. Both Thompson and Rivera put up quality starts, but the 2-2 game meant no decisions for both as the bullpens took over in the seventh. The Road Warriors loaded the bases in that seventh inning, but Drake Britton got a flyout to avoid any damage.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Blue Crabs offense threatened once again. After a groundout started the frame, back-to-back singles from Griffin and Martinez ended the night for reliever Julio DePaula. Luis Cruz came on behind him to set up a lefty-lefty matchup with Rodriguez. Rodriguez won the battle with an infield single, loading the bases with one out in the inning. Cruz bounced back to get a popup and groundout, stranding the bases loaded for a second time in the game.
Neither team got anything going in the ninth, sending the series opener into extra innings. The Road Warriors got a runner to third in the top half of the frame, but Paul Clemens (3-8) forced a popup from the next batter to strand the runner. Jose Ortega (0-2) came on in the bottom half of the 10th for the Road Warriors, facing the cleanup hitter Jon Griffin. A foul ball started the at-bat, before Ortega’s second pitch was launched over the left-field wall, giving the Blue Crabs a walk-off 3-2 win.
The Blue Crabs return to action Saturday, September 1st for the second game in the series against the Road Warriors. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 P.M. on Saturday at Regency Furniture Stadium.
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.