Road warriors

Four road wins in five games have Blue Crabs with top 2nd-half record

Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008

Click here to enlarge this photo File photo by GARY SMITH Jonathan Connolly was Southern Maryland’s winning pitcher on Friday night, allowing three runs in five innings. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

In the midst of a seven-game road trip –– matching the team’s longest stint away from Waldorf’s Regency Furniture Stadium during the second half of the season –– Southern Maryland victimized its host with a third win in four days as the visitor Monday, beating fellow Liberty Division contender Bridgeport, 7-2, in Connecticut.

Then Tuesday, at a special 10:35 a.m. first-pitch time, Southern Maryland continued its bullying ways on the road with a 7-5 comeback victory over Bridgeport, scoring five runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to erase a 5-2 deficit.

Taking the opening two games of the four-game series at Bridgeport improves Southern Maryland (52-42) to an Atlantic League-best 16-8 in the second half of the season with a three-game lead over Long Island (12-10) and four games up on Bridgeport (45-49, 12-12 second) in the division going into Tuesday night’s action.

Division winners in the first and second half of the season clinch postseason berths.

‘‘Every game’s important. We’re in position right now to separate ourselves [from the pack in the standings],” said Southern Maryland third baseman Patrick Osborn, who went 3 for 5 from the cleanup spot Monday and was tied with Bridgeport’s Jesse Hoorelbeke as the league’s RBI leader with 81 entering Tuesday. ‘‘Compared to how we’ve played, this is the best we’ve played all year. I think we’ve shown signs of it throughout the season, but now we’re in a groove.

‘‘We’re playing well. Our pitching is good, and we’re getting timely hits.”

Catapulting Southern Maryland into its series with Bridgeport was a near sweep of Camden (8-15 entering Tuesday) in New Jersey, claiming the opening two contests of the three-game set.

Southern Maryland won Friday and Saturday by 6-5 and 7-4 outcomes, respectively, before getting nipped by Camden in the series finale Sunday, 4-3.

Nonetheless, Southern Maryland remained in sizzle mode Monday with its sixth win in seven games, boasting an 8-2 mark through its previous 10 contests entering Tuesday.

‘‘We’re confident. We’re starting to believe in ourselves right now,” said Southern Maryland’s John Ramistella, who delivered a bases-loaded, three-run double in the fourth Monday to give the Blue Crabs a 5-1 command they would not relinquish. ‘‘We’ve played good throughout the year, but we haven’t been consistent [like we are now]. We’re coming down to the dog days of August, so we have to dig deep.

‘‘We’re making a name for ourselves in the Atlantic League. It’s nice to be chased instead of doing the chasing.”

Southern Maryland manager Butch Hobson added: ‘‘You want to play .500 baseball on the road and .750 at home. I think we’ve done some pretty good things for a first-year team. This bunch of guys gives me a good effort every game. I don’t think [this series with Bridgeport] is make or break. It proves to ourselves that we can be consistent.

‘‘It’s too early [in the second half of the season] to be in make-or-break mode. We’ve got to be consistent in winning games.”

Southern Maryland lefty Keith Ramsey upped his pitching mark to 3-4 with a shutdown starting effort Monday, allowing one run and scattering three hits in his eight innings of work. He fanned five and issued one walk.

Two of Bridgeport’s hits off Ramsey came in the third when it notched its only run against the stingy Southern Maryland hurler. After the third, Ramsey yielded just one base runner for the remainder of his night.

Second baseman Chris Maples and leadoff batter George Sandel joined Osborn and Ramistella in spearheading the offensive support for Ramsey.

Maples went 3 for 4 and crossed the plate twice, while Sandel posted a hit in his two official at-bats and with four walks, two RBIs and a pair of runs scored.

Eric Crozier and Clinton Johnson also contributed to Southern Maryland’s prolific 14-hit attack Monday, each amassing two base knocks with an RBI.

‘‘The guys are picking each other up,” Ramistella said about the widespread production of the Blue Crabs’ lineup. ‘‘Guys like Chris Maples –– since he’s had a chance to play everyday, he’s really been a force offensively. He’s been swinging the bat as good as anyone.”

Ramistella uncorked a three-run homer in the fourth of Friday’s game to provide Southern Maryland with a 5-1 lead at the time. Southern Maryland eventually held off Camden for its third one-run triumph in four games.

Jonathan Connolly was Southern Maryland’s winning pitcher, allowing three runs in five innings, and Matt Schweitzer saved things out on the mound.

Saturday saw Southern Maryland come back from a 4-0 deficit with a six-run sixth, thanks to a pair of costly Camden errors to extend the inning. Only one Southern Maryland run in the pivotal sixth was earned.

‘‘They made two errors that opened the door for us,” Hobson said. ‘‘[Friday] night we made four errors, and there is no reason you should win those types of games. But when you’re going good, you win games like that.”

‘‘The thing with the errors is you have to take advantage of them, and I think we did that,” Osborn added. ‘‘We put up a six-spot [Saturday in the sixth], and that’s a sign of a good team.”

Once Southern Maryland took control on the scoreboard Saturday, its bullpen made sure there would be no more lead changes as a four-man relief effort blanked Camden the final 4 1⁄3 innings.

Brad Whitworth nailed down his first win in relief, and Schweitzer picked up a second straight save.

James Shanks and Jeremy Owens recorded three hits apiece to lead Southern Maryland offensively Saturday, while Maples added a pair of RBIs.

Southern Maryland knuckleball ace Joe Gannon, boasting a league-leading 3.87 earned run average, was the tough-luck loser Sunday, surrendering four runs and seven hits over 6 2⁄3 innings.

Osborn was the only multi-hitter in Southern Maryland’s lineup with a pair of base knocks.

‘‘Joe pitched really good,” Hobson said. ‘‘We just didn’t give him a lot of runs to work with.

‘‘We like our pitching, and our bullpen is looking strong.”