Camden 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 1 7 1

S Maryland 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 x – 4 7 0

WP: M. Ballard (3-2)

LP: B. Bass (2-6)         

S: J. Warden (11)

Attendance: 1,808

Producing his third straight quality start in three games, starting pitcher Michael Ballard helped complete the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs four-game sweep of the Camden Riversharks with a 4-1 win tonight at Regency Furniture Stadium. Ballard has now allowed just two runs (two earned) in his past 21 innings, while striking out 15 for Southern Maryland. With the win the Blue Crabs have now won nine of their last 10 games against division opponents, reaching .500 (22-22) fir the first time this season.

Ballard would get into trouble early as Camden’s leadoff hitter Yasser Gomez and shortstop Wilson Valdez would both reach base with no outs in the first, however the left-hander would retire the next three batters he faced to get out of the inning. In the second inning Ballard would give up his first run since May 23, as catcher Salomon Manriquez chipped in his second home run of the season to take an early 1-0 lead. The Blue Crabs would respond with home runs of their own in the bottom of the inning and the following frame though as catcher Alvin Colina began the bottom of the second with a triple. Infielder Sean Smith then came up to bat and tallied his second home run in as many nights to take the 2-1 lead. The Riversharks right-hander Brian Bass continued to struggle in the third, walking infielder Jose Julio-Ruiz with two outs. Cyle Hankerd would repeat Smith’s performance by adding a two-run home run of his own and a 4-1 score. The home run was his fourth of the series as he’s now gone 12-for-25 with eight runs and 11 RBIs in seven games against Camden this season.

UP NEXT – The Blue Crabs will head on the road for the next six days as they face the Lancaster Barnstormers for the first time this season starting on Wednesday, June 4, followed by the Long Island Ducks for a weekend series at Bethpage Ballpark. Southern Maryland will then have an off-day Monday, June 10, before beginning a six-game homestand on Tuesday, June 11. Fans can tune into the Blue Crabs live broadcast while they’re on the road by tuning into www.phoenixintermedia.com with pre-game beginning at 6:45 p.m on Wednesday. Fans cans also follow the Blue Crabs on www.somdbluecrabs.com, on Facebook (Southern Maryland BlueCrabs), on Twitter (@BlueCrabs) and on Instagram (BlueCrabsBaseball).

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