After four days of rest, coming off the All Star break, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs started the weekend off strong with a win against the Lancaster Barnstormers defeating the Lancaster Barnstormers 5-4.
The Blue Crabs got on the board early in the second inning when Jamar Walton blasted a two run shot over the wall in right to get the offense going. Lancaster came right back in the last of the third, and pushed four runs across. Kevin Ahrens ripped a three run home run and a couple of batters later Caleb Gindi came home to put Lancaster up 4-2.
In the fifth inning, the Blue Crabs tied the game at four. Bryant Nelson singled allowing D’Arby Myers to score. Gustavo Molina, who returned to the lineup after a toe injury that caused him to miss close to a month and a half, drilled a single to left that allowed Nelson to score to even the score.
The Blue Crabs avoided extra innings in the ninth when D’arby Myers broke up the tie with an RBI single to bring in Eric Garcia to give the Blue Crabs the 5-4 victory.
Lancaster’s bats just couldn’t muster up enough offense to answer back in the ninth and fell to the Crabs in the first game of the series. Bryant Nelson went 4-5 and in the process surpassed Ray Navarrete for second all-time in Atlantic League history in the hits category. With 1,034 hits, Nelson is now 19 hits away from passing Jeff Nettles for most hits all-time in Atlantic League history. Additionally, Gustavo Molina, and Gary Brown both returned to the lineup after missing time with injuries.
Game two of the series will take place tomorrow night at 7:00 at Clipper Magazine Stadium.
ABOUT THE SOUTHERN MARYLAND BLUE CRABS: The Blue Crabs play 140 regular season games in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Clubs. The Blue Crabs play at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, Maryland with affordable family fun. The franchise opened its ninth season on Thursday April 21st, 2016. Please call 301-638-9788 or visit http://www.somdbluecrabs.com for more information and to reserve your seat at the ballpark today!
ABOUT THE ATLANTIC LEAGUE OF PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL (ALPB): The Atlantic League has been a leader in professional baseball and a gateway to Major League Baseball since 1998. Over 34 million fans have attended Atlantic League games and more than 800 players and 50 managers and coaches have joined MLB organizations directly from the ALPB. The Atlantic League emphasizes winning baseball games, showcasing the talent of top-caliber players and offering affordable family entertainment to metropolitan markets serving nearly 15% of the US population. For more information, please visit www.atlanticleague.com.
Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 