(Lancaster, PA, August 8, 2021) After completing a comeback victory in Friday’s series opener and dropping game two, the Blue Crabs fell to the Lancaster Barnstormers in Sunday’s extra-innings series finale. It was Southern Maryland’s first extra-inning game since 9/13/2019, and a walk-off homer from Blake Allemand in the tenth inning secured a Stormers series victory, 8-6.
Kolton Mahoney got the start for the Blue Crabs, and after allowing four runs in the first inning, the right-hander settled in nicely. The former Yankees prospect allowed just one earned run and two hits in innings two through six.
In the meantime, Southern Maryland began to chip away. The comeback effort began with a two-run home run from Zach Collier in the second inning. In the fifth, Rubi Silva singled a run home, and a Josh McAdams sacrifice fly tied the game at 4-4.
The Stormers fired right back with a Blake Gailen solo shot in the bottom of the fifth and scored an insurance run off of an error in the sixth.
Heading into the eighth inning with a 6-4 deficit, Lancaster turned to Brent Teller. Reminiscent of Southern Maryland’s six-run eighth inning in Friday’s comeback win, the Blue Crabs offense started rolling. First, with two outs Matt Hibbert trimmed the Lancaster lead to one run on an RBI single. Next, Teller walked three straight Blue Crabs, with the latter tying the game at six apiece, but Southern Maryland would strand the bases loaded.
After a scoreless ninth inning, Southern Maryland embarked on their first extra-inning contest of 2021, and per the Atlantic League, MLB partnership, a runner began the inning on second base. Despite loading the bases with one out, Lancaster’s Yoel Espinal induced a 1-2-3 double play to end the inning. In the bottom of the tenth, Blake Allemand sent Mat Latos’s first pitch out of the yard, walking off an 8-6 win.
Southern Maryland’s (2-3, 32-31) loss puts the Blue Crabs under .500 for the first time in the second half, while the Stormers’ win pushed them over .500 for the first time in the second half. Southern Maryland heads to Long Island for a four-game set before returning to Waldorf on Friday.