(Waldorf, MD, July 21, 2021) It was a tale of two games in Wednesday’s doubleheader split against the Gastonia Honey Hunters. The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs dominated game one in a 13-1 victory but split the twin-bill in a game two 14-1 loss.
After scoring 14 runs in Tuesday’s series opener, Southern Maryland’s bats stayed red hot in game one of Wednesday’s doubleheader. Daryl Thompson (W, 5-2) allowed one run in the top of the second inning, and Josh McAdams tied the game on one swing of the bat in the bottom half of the frame.
In the Crabs’ half of the third, SOMD’s Hometown Team went on a scoring tangent, plating 11 runs. The tirade began with a Rubi Silva RBI single. Silva went 4-4 in game one, beginning the homestand seven for nine at the plate with four singles, a homer, a triple, a double, and six RBI.
The inning continued with David Harris plating another trio with his eighth homer of the season, and McAdams scored two more with his second homer in as many innings. Southern Maryland didn’t let up, scoring another four runs in the frame, pulling away to a 12-1 advantage.
The Blue Crabs would add another run in the bottom of the sixth before Daryl Thompson capped off seven innings of one-run baseball in a 13-1 victory.
After scoring 27 combined runs in the first two games of the homestand, Southern Maryland’s bats cooled off in game three.
The Honey Hunters and the Blue Crabs traded scoreless innings through the first three frames with Southern Maryland’s newly acquired Cody Strayer on the mound. After Strayer worked out of jams in the first three frames, Gastonia’s Jake Skole broke the scoring seal with a three-run bomb in the top half of the fourth.
Strayer gave way to Carlos Diaz in the fifth inning, and after walking Jason Rogers and hitting Emmanuel Tapia with a pitch, Joshua Sale added two to the Honey Hunters run total, extending to a 5-0 lead.
Despite Southern Maryland cracking into the scoring column in the sixth, Gastonia plated a whopping nine runs in the top of the seventh, securing a 14-1 victory.
Through the first three games of a four-game set, the Crabs and Hunters have combined for 55 runs heading into Thursday’s decisive series finale. On Thursday, the Blue Crabs will take the field as the Southern Maryland Bleu Cheeses in their first Wing Wars event, presented by Old Line Restaurant & Pub.