WALDORF, Md. – The High Point Rockers and Southern Maryland Blue Crabs traded punches all night long, battling for nearly 4 and one-half hours, before the Blue Crabs’ Danny Bautista, Jr. tripled with two on in the bottom of the 13th for a 13-12 SMD win on Saturday night at Regency Furniture Stadium.
The Rockers are now 26-33 for the season while Southern Maryland improved to 39-20 and moved a game closer to clinching the South Division first half pennant.
The game was tied 6-6 after nine innings after the Rockers had rallied with the tying run in the ninth. High Point’s Ryan McCarthy singled sharply back up the middle to put the tying run on base. A comebacker by Alex Dickerson resulted in a 1-3 putout but moved McCarthy to second. Ivan Melendez then delivered with a single through the left side and McCarthy slid head-first across the plate to tie the game.
The two teams traded single runs in the 10th, 11th, and 12th innings. In the top of the 13th, the Rockers scored three times to take a 12-9 lead. Ethan Skender scored on a wild pitch to tie the game before Dickerson and Nick Longhi delivered RBIs to push the lead to three.
But Southern Maryland got to Rockers reliever Brayden Matthews in the bottom of the 13th. With the ghost runner on second, Brody Fahr was hit by a pitch to put two aboard. A walk to Viandel Pena loaded the bases. A wild pitch allowed Jackson Loftin, the ghost runner, to score and make it a 12-10 Rockers lead. Matthews fanned Phillip Sikes for the first out but Ezequiel Pagan singled to cut the margin to 12-11. Bautista’s drive into left-center was nearly caught by a diving D.J. Burt but the ball rolled to the wall, allowing two runs to score and give the Blue Crabs the 13-12 win.
The Blue Crabs took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Loftin doubled, stole third and scored on a wild pitch.
The Rockers claimed a 3-1 lead in the third when Chris Brady beat out an infield single, moved to third on single by Ryan McCarthy and both runners scored on Luke Napleton’s double in the right-center gap.
Southern Maryland’s Ryan McCarthy hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the third off High Point starter J.C. Kiss that tied the game at 3-3. The Blue Crabs forged a 4-3 lead in the fourth when Bautista opened the frame with a triple off High Point reliever Daniel Blair and then scored on a sac fly by Dylan Hoy.
Nick Longhi’s two-run homer in the fifth, with Ivan Melendez aboard, reclaimed the lead for the Rockers at 5-4.
Southern Maryland pushed ahead 6-5 with a pair of runs in the sixth off Rockers reliever Dustin Baird who was making his first appearance for High Point. Baird walked two in the inning, including a bases loaded walk to Hoy, and allowed an RBI fielder’s choice to McCarthy.
Tied at 6-6 after nine innings, the Rockers scored once in the top of the 10th when the ghost runner, Mikey Kane, scored from second base on a bloop single to right. But the Blue Crabs answered in the bottom of the 10th when Ryan Chasse walked Southern Maryland’s Ryan McCarthy with the bases loaded to tie the game at 7-7.
Alex Dickerson’s RBI single in the 11th scored Napleton from second to push the Rockers in front 8-7.
In the top of the 12th, Skender scored on a wild pitch with two outs for a 9-8 Rockers lead. But the Crabs responded with an RBI single from Ethan Wilson to send the game to the 13th inning tied 9-9.
Brady wound up with a four-hit night for the Rockers while Dickerson had three hits and three RBI. Longhi drove in four runs while Napleton had two RBI. SMD was led by Bautista who finished with three hits and two RBI.
Matthews (L, 0-2) was the last of eight Rockers pitchers to throw. He allowed two hits and four runs with one walk and a strikeout.
Rockers second baseman Tyler Hubbard earned his first professional hit with a double in the 12th but he was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple.
The final game of the series is set for a 1:05 pm start on Sunday at Regency Furniture Stadium. Rocker fans can catch all the action on DugoutTV.org or listen to the audio broadcast on the MixLR app.
