Blue Crabs Nail-Biting Loss Gives Legends First Ever ALPB Victory at Home

Blue Crabs Nail-biting Loss Gives Legends First Ever ALPB Victory At Home

Posted by TBN(Staff) On 06/02/2021

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Coming off a series split with the West Virginia Power, the Blue Crabs headed west to Lexington, Kentucky for their final series before the team’s 2021 home opener. Southern Maryland dropped the series opener by a score of 5-4 in their first ever meeting with the Lexington Legends.

Sam Burton (L, 0-1) started on the mound for the Blue Crabs and was able to get out of the first inning while recording two strikeouts. Lexington would quickly take the lead as Ben Aklinski started the scoring for the Legends with his first of two home runs in the contest, hitting a two-run shot in the bottom of the second inning.

A walk, a wild pitch, and a soft line drive to left field from Joe DeLuca scored David Harris as the Blue Crabs were able to cut the lead to 2-1 in the top of the fourth. That one run deficit would be no more after two runners for the Legends were able to get on base before Ben Atlinski smashed his second homer of the game, giving the Legends a 5-1 advantage.

The Blue Crabs made things interesting in the latter third of the ballgame. Kent Blackstone started the comeback effort, doubling a line drive off the center field fence to bring a run home. Braxton Lee kept it going, hitting a bloop single into left field, plating Blackstone and making the score 5-3.

The Blue Crabs tacked on another run in the top of the eighth inning. Zach Collier made the most of his first appearance since the season opener. The California native was brought in to pinch hit for relief pitcher Dalton Geekie, and smacked a solo shot over the right-center field wall making it a one run game, with the Legends leading 5-4.

Collier’s late inning magic wasn’t enough for the Crabs, as Tony Cingrani (SV, 1) came in and slammed the door for the Legends, securing the team’s first ever Atlantic League victory at home by a score of 5-4. The Blue Crabs take on the Legends once again in game two of this three-game series tomorrow, June 2nd at 7:05 p.m.

About the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

The Blue Crabs play in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The Blue Crabs, set to kick off their 13th season of baseball, call Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, Maryland home. For more information on the Blue Crabs, please call 301-638-9788 or visit http://www.somdbluecrabs.com for more information.

To purchase single-game tickets, click here.

About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) The Atlantic League is the first Professional Partner League of Major League Baseball, a player gateway to the major leagues, and a leader in baseball innovation. ALPB has sent over 950 players to MLB organizations while drawing 42 million fans to its family-friendly ballparks over its 24-year history. Please visit www.AtlanticLeague.com.

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