Waldorf, Maryland – The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (26-35, 65-66) swept Thursday’s doubleheader over the Somerset Patriots (28-32, 70-60) at Regency Furniture Stadium. The Blue Crabs took game one 4-2 and edged the Patriots 3-1 in game two.

Southern Maryland opened the scoring in game one with a three-run first inning. A bases-loaded walk to Devon Rodriguez and back-to-back RBI singles from Cory Vaughn and Patrick Palmeiro provided the Blue Crabs an early lead.

Kyle Roller (22) brought Somerset within a run in the top of the fourth with a two-run home run to left-center field.

The Blue Crabs later regained a two-run lead on a Patrick Palmeiro (11) two-out solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to top off the scoring.

Daryl Thompson (9-6) earned the win after allowing two runs over six innings. Jerome Williams (2-4) took the loss, yielding three runs on four hits over two innings. Cody Eppley (30) earned the save with a scoreless inning of relief.

Tyler Bortnick (1) broke the ice in game two with a solo home run to left field in the third inning. Kalaika Kahoohalahala (2) responded in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run shot to put Southern Maryland in front 2-1.
Devon Rodriguez added a sac fly in the bottom of the sixth which extended the Blue Crabs’ lead to 3-1.

Drew Hayes (8-8) earned the win after allowing one run over five and 2/3 innings. Keith Hessler (0-1) allowed two runs over one inning of relief to suffer the loss. Zach Thornton (2) tossed a scoreless inning of relief to earn the save.

The Patriots return home Friday to begin their final homestead of the regular season with a three-game series against the York Revolution. Right-handed pitcher Will Oliver (6-6, 5.23 ERA) takes the mound for Somerset against York southpaw Jared Gaynor (1-1, 5.94 ERA). First pitch at TD Bank Ballpark is set for 7:05 p.m.

Tickets to the 2017 Somerset Patriots Season presented by Ford, which includes the team’s 20th Anniversary, are on sale now. For more information, stop by the ballpark, call (908) 252-0700, or visit www.somersetpatriots.com.

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