Blue Crabs drop home opener

After opening the Atlantic League season with four games on the road against Gastonia, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs returned home to Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf on Tuesday evening looking to regain their winning ways in front of an enthusiastic, near-capacity crowd.

However, Southern Maryland (1-4) fell behind Lexington 4-0 early, trimmed the gap to 4-2 and later got within a run at 6-5 but dropped an 8-5 decision to the Legends on April 30.

Lexington (1-4) rebuffed several Blue Crabs rallies as starting pitcher Nic Laio recorded his first win of the season and reliever Logan Campbell collected his first save while Blue Crabs’ veteran ace Daryl Thompson (0-1) took the loss, allowing six runs, five earned, in six complete.

“We had a great crowd tonight,” Southern Maryland manager Stan Cliburn said. “I was hoping that we could have sent them home with a win. But we gave them too many extra scoring chances and we missed ours. It came down to what happened in two innings. We gave them extra runs in the third and ninth and we missed our chance in the sixth.”

Thompson, who arrived this season three wins shy of reaching the 100-win plateau in his prolonged tenure with the squad, had blanked the Legends through two innings then was patently unlucky in the third. With runners on first and third, Thompson induced Payton Robertson to ground into a potential double play, but the Blue Crabs got none on the play courtesy of a throwing error that allowed two runs to score.

To make matters worse for Thompson and the Blue Crabs, Lexington’s Matt Botcher followed by smacking a two-run homer over the fence in left center for a 4-0 lead. Although Thompson could have been spared all four runs had the Blue Crabs turned a 6-4-3 double play behind him, three of the four runs would be charged to the veteran hurler as earned and he departed several innings later on the hook for the loss.

Southern Maryland finally responded with a run in the home half of the fourth against Lexington starting pitcher Nic Laio. Designated hitter Anthony Brocato smacked a triple into the gap in right center then scored when Laio uncorked a wild pitch. The Legends’ starter escaped further harm, however, by fanning the next two batters to end the frame.

Southern Maryland then trimmed the gap further when shortstop Aaron Hill led off the home half of the fifth with a solo home run. But the Blue Crabs failed to score again that inning and the Legends finally responded with two runs in the top of the sixth as Kingston Liniak and Kingston Pompey each drove in a run with consecutive doubles for a 6-2 lead.

In the home half of the sixth the Blue Crabs had the chance to make things interesting. Eeles and Michael Wielansky opened the frame with consecutive singles, which chased Legends’ Laio. With one out, Juan Kelly walked to load the bases but reliever Elio Serrano retired Gabe Wurtz on a pop-up to first then fanned Hill looking to end the threat and preserve the Legends’ 6-2 lead.

Southern Maryland then made things interesting in the bottom of the eighth by scoring three times to get within a run. Eeles was hit by a pitch then scored on a double to right center by Wielansky. Brocata drew a walk then both he and Wielansky advanced on a wild pitch. With one out, Wielansky scored on another wild pitch then Brocata scored on a single by Wurtz and suddenly the hosts were back within a run at 6-5.

But Lexington added a pair of unearned insurance runs in the top of the ninth, both after a two-out fielding error and Legends’ reliever Logan Campbell retired the Blue Crabs in order in the bottom of the ninth to earn his first save. Southern Maryland batters struck out 15 times on Tuesday, with Hill and Kelly each fanning three times apiece.