After falling in the first two games of the series, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs won game three, taking the lead in the first inning, and controlling the game from there. Eddie Butler (W, 9-2) shined, pitching seven and one-third innings, allowing one run and seven hits. Alex Crosby drove in four runs including a three-run homer.
The Blue Crabs got the bats going off of Neil Uskali (L, 3-3). With runners on first and third, Alex Crosby crushed a three-run home run over the wall in left-center field, giving the Blue Crabs a 3-0 lead.
From there the Blue Crabs added a run in the fourth inning off of knuckleballer Mickey Jannis. With Matt Hibbert on second base, Michael Baca punched a base hit into right field, giving Southern Maryland a 4-0 lead.
Eddie Butler kept the Rockers off the board until the sixth inning when Ben Aklinski smashed a solo home run over the wall in left-center, cutting the Blue Crabs’ lead to 4-1.
The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs added a run in the seventh inning. With Braxton Lee on second, Alex Crosby came through again with an RBI single to center field, scoring Lee to put the Blue Crabs ahead 5-1.
Endrys Briceno relieved Eddie Butler in the eighth inning. Briceno entered with a runner on third and one out but induced a pop-out and strikeout to end the inning without a run. From there, Briceno issued a leadoff walk in the ninth before retiring the side in order with a pair of strikeouts, securing the 5-1 victory. After tonight’s appearance, Briceno’s ERA falls to just 0.72.
Southern Maryland moves to 62-27 with the win, and 14-9 in the second half. The Blue Crabs will be back in action on Tuesday night as they take on the Charleston Dirty Birds at Regency Furniture Stadium at 6:35 pm.