The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Bridgewater, NJ- The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (22-30) defeated the Somerset Patriots (29-22) 7-4 before 6,213 fans at TD Bank Ballpark on Saturday evening.
The Blue Crabs went on top early in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Jon Griffin.
The Patriots took the lead in the bottom of the third inning on an RBI single by Alfredo Rodriguez and a run-scoring error that made the score 2-1.
Southern Maryland rallied for two runs in the top of the fourth inning on an error and an RBI single by David Lyon for a 3-2 advantage.
Somerset answered in the bottom of the fifth inning on a two-run double by Rodriguez, who finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBI, to take a 4-3 lead.
The Blue Crabs wasted no time, regaining the lead in the top of the sixth inning on an RBI single by Cory Vaughn and a sacrifice fly by Angelys Nina that made the score 5-4.
Two more runs came home on a single by Frank Martinez in the top of the ninth inning for the 7-4 final.
“I thought we hit some balls well and did fight back,” said Somerset Patriots manager Brett Jodie. “They made some mistakes. We made some mistakes. We weren’t executing like we should and we have to be better than that. We need to find a way to win a game like that and I feel we should have won it.”
Drake Britton (3-3) picked up the win, allowing four runs- three earned – on four hits in six innings pitched. Cory Riordan (3-3) suffered the loss, allowing five runs- three earned – on eight hits in seven innings pitched. Cody Eppley earned his fourth save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning pitched.
The 2018 Somerset Patriots Season presented by Ford will continue at home on Sunday, June 24th with a 1:05 pm game against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. The game features Aluminum Sports Bottles (1st 1,000) presented by Rainbow Child Care Centers and Jimmy Buffet Day. For tickets, visit www.somersetpatriots.com.
