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(Breaking news) Blue Crabs head to championship series after winning divisional series
Halama again stars in win, Crabs hold off big Long Island comeback bid
Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by Emily Barnes
Southern Maryland Blue Crabs team member Jeremy Owens congratulates pitcher John Halama as they enter the dugout of game one.
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Posted at 1:05 p.m. Wednesday
What began like a certainty suddenly looked in jeopardy.
In the end, all that mattered for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs was claiming the Atlantic League divisional series at Long Island in a momentum-swinging matchup that went the distance in the best-of-five format.
Tuesday's deciding Game 5 had no shortage of thrills, as the Blue Crabs sweated out a 7-5 victory – holding off a furious Long Island rally in the bottom of the ninth inning – to win the hard-fought series, 3-2, and advance to the championship series in the celebrated inaugural playoff appearance for the second-year franchise.
The Blue Crabs had owned a 2-0 lead in the series before holding off Long Island. Game 5 ironically mirrored the series as the Blue Crabs exploded to a 7-0 lead through 3 1/2 innings and just staved off Long Island's attempted comeback heroics.
"If you can't get up for a game like this … This is what it's all about," said Blue Crabs starting pitcher John Halama, whose dominant left arm proved to be the team's ticket into the championship best-of-five round as he bookended the divisional series with impressive winning decisions. He went eight frames in Game 1 and 7 2/3 innings in Game 5.
"We ran out on the field and shook hands," he added when the series was finally over. "Then we blasted ourselves with champagne in the clubhouse. I don't know who brought [the champagne], but all of our lockers were covered when we got in there.
"It's special because this is a second-year franchise."
"Halama – he's huge – without him, I don't know if we would be here right now," said second baseman Mike Just, who led the Blue Crabs offense in Game 5 with a 3-for-4 display, an RBI and run scored. "He's a veteran guy that's spent many years in the big leagues. He's the guy you want to have the ball in his hand."
Awaiting the Blue Crabs in the final round is reigning champion Somerset for a most-anticipated showdown, featuring the top two clubs in the league during the regular season.
Games 1 and 2 of the championship series are at 7:05 p.m. Thursday and Friday in Somerset. Games 3 through 5 – the latter two if necessary – are at the Blue Crabs' Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf on Saturday through Monday, starting at 6:35 p.m., 2:05 p.m. and 7:05 p.m., respectively.
"We're rolling and have the edge right now," Just said late Tuesday night as the team was traveling from Long Island to Somerset in New Jersey to face a favored club that was 11-9 against them in the regular season and finished seven games better in the overall standings, each from separate divisions. "We're going to come in with a little momentum even though the first two games are at their place."
Getting by Long Island was no easy feat for the Blue Crabs, who appeared well on their way to the championship series after taking a commanding 2-0 series lead. But Long Island refused to cave by winning the next two games and evening the series at 2 with the win-or-go-home final contest at its ballpark.
Just when the Blue Crabs appeared to finally exhale in the series, scoring three times in the first inning to start Game 5 and adding four more runs in the top of the fourth for a 7-0 command – a seemingly insurmountable lead with the league's best starter in Halama on the mound – back came Long Island, taking advantage of sub-par Blue Crabs defense and scoring four of its five runs in unearned fashion.
Halama exited the game with a 7-3 lead after 7 2/3 innings. The Blue Crabs bullpen was staring at major trouble when Long Island loaded the bases with two down in the ninth and league-leading MVP candidate Ray Navarrette at the plate representing the tying run.
Navarrette managed a two-run single to draw Long Island within the final score, bringing the winning run to the plate with two men on.
That's when the Blue Crabs brought in lefty reliever Franklyn Gracesqui to record a swinging strikeout to dramatically end the game – and the series.
"It's playoff baseball," Blue Crabs manager Butch Hobson said. "I'm proud of my guys. It's probably the most I've been pumped [all season]. We made it interesting in the end, but we held on. We beat a good Long Island club."
"It was never a certainty," Just added. "Long Island battled and didn't give up. We were controlled on the field [with our celebration after the game]. We wanted it to look like we've done it before. When we got back to the clubhouse, there was champagne everywhere. It was a lot of fun."
