Blue Crabs get revenge, top Long Island

Sanchez drives in five RBIs in victory after loss in suspended game

The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs were looking to turn things around and they did just that in the second of a three-game series in Long Island on Wednesday night.

Designated hitter Angel Sanchez help turned the tides with his four hits, five RBIs, a home run and a double to propel the Blue Crabs to a 6-4 victory over the Ducks to even the series at 1 apiece at Bethpage Ballpark in Central Islip, N.Y.

It marked the Blue Crabs’ fourth win in its last five games entering Thursday.

“Long Island is a tough team to beat on their home field and this was a big win for us,” Blue Crabs manager Jeremy Owens said. “We are making a push and we want to continue to finish the season off strong. Tonight I think we found ourselves.”

Long Island won the opener 9-3 in a contest completed Wednesday after it was suspended Tuesday in the top of the seventh due to light tower failure with the Blue Crabs trailing 9-1. The game was finished before the regularly scheduled contest, which played to just seven innings.

Tied at 3 in the regularly scheduled game, Sanchez hit a two-run homer off Long Island starter John Brownell to put the Blue Crabs on top 5-3 and the visitors led the rest of the day.

“After a tough loss it felt good to comeback and get a big win,” said Sanchez, who finished a perfect 4 for 4 at the plate in the regularly scheduled

game. “I just wanted to contribute and do what is best for the team.”

The visitors tacked on another run in the seventh when D’Arby Myers came across home plate on a bases loaded walk by Michael Snyder.

The Ducks responded with one more run in the bottom of the seventh on a solo homer by Matt Wessinger. Then after a single by Anthony Vega, Blue Crabs closer Cody Eppley forced Fehlandt Lentini to ground into a 6-3 double play and Delta Cleary Jr. to groundout to end the game. Eppley picked up his 24th save of the season.

Southern Maryland (46-69 overall, 20-25 second half), which outhit Long Island, the Liberty Division first-half champions, 12-8 in the contest, sat in the third place, 8 1/2 games back of Sugar Land in the Freedom Division second-half standings entering Thursday’s series finale. The Blue Crabs come home to host the Skeeters in a three-game weekend series that begins at 7:05 tonight.

“Angel is not afraid of two strikes and has been a RBI machine lately,” Owens said. “Guys really rub off of him and he is using all the field and is understanding how pitchers are throwing to him.”

Blue Crabs starter Brian Burres picked up his first win on the hill since July 26, ending a string of four straight defeats to take his record to 9-8. His nine wins are tied for second and his ERA of 3.01 is third in the Atlantic League entering Thursday. Burres allowed three runs on six hits in five innings with one walk and five strikeouts.

“It felt good to break my personal losing streak,” he said. “The guys really had my back tonight. I was a little off and ever ybody did a great job picking up my slack. Hitting, defense and the bullpen were all great for tonight’s win.”

The Blue Crabs went up 1-0 on Sanchez’s RBI single, but Long Island (61-53, 21-23) responded with two runs on a Ruben Gotay’s RBI double and an RBI single by Mike Dowd.

After a scoreless second inning, the Blue Crabs responded in the top of the third on a two-run double by Sanchez. The Ducks tied the game up at 3 in the bottom of the frame on a Gotay RBI single. Then in the fifth, Sanchez again displayed his power with the huge tworun shot.

Brownell took the loss for the Ducks, giving up six runs, four earned, on 11 hits with four strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.

In the Tuesday portion of the series opener, Long Island scored four runs in the bottom of the third and batted around to add five more in the fourth.

Jamar Walton’s RBI single in the top of the fourth, Zach Wilson’s RBI double in the eighth and Myers’ RBI single in the ninth were Blue Crabs only runs in the game.

Wilson finished 3 for 4 with two doubles, an RBI and run scored. After the contest he tied with Lancaster’s Caleb Gindl for the Atlantic League lead in doubles with 32. Gindl picked up a double later Wednesday night to take the lead back. Lentini is right behind Gindl and Wilson with 31.

Blue Crabs starter Tim Sexton allowed nine runs on 12 hits in six innings in the loss.