Bridgeport, CT - The Bridgeport Bluefish (36-28, 68-59) suffered a loss in the play-in game to the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (29-30, 65-57) by a score of 9-4 on Tuesday night at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard. With the loss, the Bluefish have been eliminated from postseason contention.
Southern Maryland started the scoring with two outs in the first inning. Brian Barton sent a bloop single to right and Travis Garcia launched a double to center to bring in Barton to give the Blue Crabs a 1-0 lead.
Bridgeport responded by scoring two runs in the third frame. Brandon Chaves singled to right and Adam Greenberg walked to establish runners at first and second. After a sacrifice bunt allowed the runners to move up a base, Luis Lopez grounded out to second to bring Chaves to the plate and Greenberg to third. A single to center by Wes Bankston brought in Greenberg to give Bridgeport a 2-1 advantage.
The Bluefish added a Prentice Redman solo homer in the fourth to increase the lead to two before Southern Maryland stormed back.
Southern Maryland pushed six runs across in the fifth inning. Tanner Townsend led off with a solo shot to left to cut the deficit to one. After a Christian Lopez triple to rightcenter, Adam Godwin was hit with a pitch to set up runners at the corners. David Espinosa served a base hit to right to push Lopez home to tie the game. With runners at first and second, Barton sent a single to left to load the bases. A two-run base hit by Travis Garcia to left gave the Crabs a two run advantage. Casey Benjamin and Ben Harrison both drove in another run to finish off the frame.
The team exchanged runs in the seventh. In the top half of the frame, Townsend singled to rightcenter with a runner at second to give the Blue Crabs an 8-3 lead. Brandon Chaves lined a solo shot in the bottom of the inning to make it an 8-4 contest. Southern Maryland pushed the final run to the plate in the ninth on a Christian Lopez bloop single to right with a player at second base.
Bridgeport starter Matt Pike (8-8) suffered the loss as the righthander completed four innings and allowed seven runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out two. Five relievers combined to finish the rest of the game.
Blue Crabs hurler Nick Green (11-6) picked up the victory as the righthander worked six frames and surrendered four runs on eight hits and three walks while fanning four. Steve Palazzolo and Jim Ed Warder finished off the final three innings for the winning team.
The Bluefish season was filled with great achievements. Luis Lopez had his 2,000th career minor league hit at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard. Wes Bankston set single season franchise records for most doubles (39) and extra-base hits (64) in team history. Adam Greenberg is now the king of triples as the leadoff hitter passed Gustavo Escobar (2001) for most in one season. Greenberg had twelve this season which was one shy of the Atlantic League record. Bridgeport also drew it’s three-millionth fan of all-time.
For more information about Bridgeport Bluefish baseball in the 2012 season, go to bridgeportbluefish.com for the latest headlines and updates on the team.
