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Senators Take Down Cropdusters for 6-3 Opening Day Victory
By Courtney Larrimore
The Southern Maryland Senators took the first game of the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League season with a 6-3 win over the Cropdusters at home.
"I'm feeling good. I'm excited," Senators Head Coach Scott Middleton said after the game. "The pitchers really came in. We have them on pitch counts, and they did their jobs. They threw strikes. Defense was outstanding. It's always good to have the big zero on the hair in front. But no, it was a good job by the boys."
Although the game ended happily for the Senators, the early action was in favor of the Cropdusters. They opened up the hit column with two hits at the top of the fourth, but left both stranded on base.
In the top of the fifth, the Cropdusters scored first as Koy Swanson (Maryland) crossed home. But they left one on base and failed to capitalize further, opening the door for a Senators redemption.
In the bottom of the frame, the Senators responded and broke their scoring dry spell with six runs to take a commanding 6-1 lead.
"Sometimes we tend to overthink things," Middleton said, "and it's just best to just leave them be. I think the boys really started settling in and being more patient and recognizing their pitches, and we jumped on them."
CJ Willis (Memphis) put the Senators on the board to tie the game, his RBI single driving home Nate McHugh (Boston College). Willis and Sylas Boris (Georgia Southern) both subsequently scored to give the home team a 3-1 lead, before the play of the game broke things open.
Mikey Guy (Frostburg) hit a three-run home run out of Regency Furniture Stadium, providing all the offense the Senators would need to clinch a victory.
"Mikey is a hitter, man." Middleton said, "Mikey was on the team last year. He led the team last year in hitting. Mikey is going to hit. So I'd be lying if said I didn't expect him to come up there and do some damage every time he comes to the plate."
The Cropdusters spent the rest of the afternoon scrambling to find an answer to Guy's call, but battled back with too little too late.
In the eighth, they managed to tally two more runs on an RBI single from Parker Frey (East Stroudsburg) and a sacrifice fly by Connor Spelman (Jacksonville), cutting the Senators’ lead to three runs. But, that’s all the visiting Cropdusters would get, leaving the Senators with the first win of the CRSCBL season.
The Senators will take on the Braves at Regency Furniture Stadium Sunday at 1 p.m., which will also be the team's Little League Day. The Cropdusters return to Olney for their home opener Sunday at 5:30 against the Thunderbolts.
