Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 6, Newark Bears 4

Posted by petehurrey On 08/24/2009

This season, the Blue Crabs lead the Atlantic League in home runs with 132 as a team in just 111 games. Three of them came Sunday night, August 23, and were the difference in Southern Maryland’s 6-4 victory over the Newark Bears, completing a three-game sweep.

Chuck Jeroloman, John Ramistella and Ken Harvey all went deep as the Blue Crabs won their sixth consecutive home-game, tying a season high. After a two-RBI double by Newark’s D’Angelo Jimenez started the scoring in the third, Southern Maryland responded swiftly with a power display in the home half of that inning. Jeroloman and Ramistella homered back to back to left field to lead off the inning, as the Crabs scored three runs total in the frame to take a lead they would not relinquish.

When Ken Harvey launched a two-run homer over the left field wall in the fifth, the Blue Crabs were up 5-2. The Bears would tighten things up in the seventh, with three singles and a walk in the inning to plate two runs, cutting the Crabs lead to just a run.

It was 5-4 after a sac-fly to left from Victor Mercedes and an RBI single from Jimenez, who drove in three runs on the night. Lance Burkhart provided a huge run of insurance for the Blue Crabs in the bottom of the eighth, stroking an RBI single which scored newcomer Trae Bailey.

Bailey, a rookie infielder from Christopher Newport University in Virginia, was pinch running for Harvey after a one-out infield single. With a 6-4 lead, Crab’s right-hander Mike James emphatically slammed the door in the ninth, striking out Mercedes swinging, getting eight-year Major League veteran Rob Mackowiak to ground out, and then ended the game with a looking strikeout of Jimenez.

For James, it was his fourth save of the 2009 season. Lefty Keith Ramsey went six and a third innings to pick up the win for Southern Maryland, allowing seven hits, four runs all earned, striking out four and walking three.

Right-hander Hector Carrasco, a 12-year Major League veteran, took the loss for Newark lasting just four innings. Carrasco was touched for five hits, three runs all earned, with four walks and three strikeouts.

With the victory, the Blue Crabs improve to 26-15 in the second half and are 68-43 overall on the season. The Blue Crabs will next be in action Monday night at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, New Jersey, for game one of a three-game series with the Somerset Patriots. Probable starters are RHP Ryan Bicondoa (9-4, 4.55) for Southern Maryland, and RHP Jim Magrane (12-4, 2.77) for Somerset. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

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