The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs trailed the Gastonia Honey Hunters by as much as 7-0 but scored nine unanswered runs en route to a 9-7 victory. The Blue Crabs bats were quiet to start, while the Honey Hunters piled up runs on Eddie Butler. But the Blue Crabs bats came alive in the fourth inning, while the bullpen shut down the Honey Hunters.
After a scoreless first, the Honey Hunters tacked on three runs in the second inning. Gastonia had four consecutive batters reach, including three doubles. Emmanuel Tapia drove in two runs while Stuart Levy brought one in to give the Honey Hunters a 3-0 lead.
The Honey Hunters kept the action going in the fourth, adding four more runs. The first three batters picked up hits before Jake Skole hit a two-run opposite-field homer to give the Honey Hunters a 7-0 lead.
The Blue Crabs got the bats going in the fourth, while John Anderson, Gastonia’s starter, struggled with control. With runners on second and third, Braxton Lee launched a double to put the Blue Crabs on the board.
In the fifth, with the Blue Crabs trailing 7-2, Anderson’s control problems resurfaced. After surrendering a leadoff single, he walked three consecutive batters, bringing a run home. Gastonia then turned to Onas Farfan (L, 2-2), who hit Alex Crosby on the first pitch, driving home another run. The Blue Crabs tacked on two more in the fourth, cutting the deficit to 7-6.
In the sixth, the Blue Crabs broke through. Onas Farfan conceded a single to Jack Sundberg and a hit to Michael Wielansky to get things started in the sixth. David Harris then drove a double to deep right scoring two, giving the Blue Crabs an 8-7 lead. Southern Maryland added a run in the eighth inning when Joe Deluca’s sacrifice fly drove in Matt Hibbert.
The bullpen for Southern Maryland was terrific, pitching four innings and allowing no runs on just two hits. Dario Polanco (W, 3-0) pitched a 1-2-3 sixth, while Bradley Roney and Endrys Briceno pitched a clean seventh and eighth. Mat Latos (Sv, 16) also pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up the save in the Blue Crabs’ 9-7 win.
The Blue Crabs move to 43-16 with the victory. Southern Maryland has only seven games remaining in the ALPB First Half. They return to Regency Furniture Stadium on Tuesday when they take on the York Revolution