Sugar Land, Texas – On Monday, May 14, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (5-10) dropped the series opener against the Sugar Land Skeeters (11-5) 14-0.
Pitching had the upper hand early, as both starters traded scoreless innings through two. The Skeeters eventually got some offense going, putting up one in the third. Colin Walsh got the inning started with a double, moving up to third on an error by the Blue Crabs second baseman. An error on the catcher allowed Walsh to come across from third, opening the scoring in the series.
Sugar Land kept things rolling in the fourth inning, adding nine more runs to their total. Matt Chavez led off with a double, before a single put runners on the corners with nobody out. A single from Courtney Hawkins scored Chavez, followed by a double from Derek Norris to score Albert Cordero. Walsh followed with his own double, scoring both runners that were on base. Two walks loaded the bases with two outs, before a single from Chavez scored two more runs. Barrett Barnes followed with a three-run home run, putting an exclamation point on the huge inning for the Skeeters.
Mitch Talbot (2-1) continued to dominate on the mound for Sugar Land, shutting down the Blue Crabs offense all night. The right-hander for the Skeeters comfortably held his 10-0 lead, allowing just three hits through seven shutout innings. The offense added another run for him in the bottom of the seventh, when a bases loaded walk allowed Albert Cordero to score.
The offense wasn’t finished yet for Sugar Land, as they added three more runs in the eighth. Hawkins blasted a three-run homerun in the inning, bringing the total up to 14-0. Konnor Wade came in for the final two innings for Sugar Land. The Blue Crabs put up one in the ninth off of Wade, when Devon Rodriguez drove in Angelo Songco with a double. The final out was recorded on the play as Frank Martinez was cut down trying to score, ending the night with a win for Talbot and the Skeeters.
The Blue Crabs return to action Tuesday, May 15 for game two of the seven-game road series against the Skeeters. First pitch is scheduled for 11:05 a.m. on Tuesday at Constellation Field.