Crawford Has Three Hits, Two Steals; Claws Hold On for 6-5 Win

JERSEY SHORE, NJ - Justin Crawford had three hits and two steals and the BlueClaws held off a late Bowling Green rally in a 6-5 win over the Hot Rods at ShoreTown Ballpark.

Bowling Green (13-11) scored three times off Charles King in the ninth, two on a double by Colton Ledbetter, but he struck out Brock Jones to end the game with the tying run on second base.

The BlueClaws struck first on a two run single in the first inning by Jordan Dissin, giving him a team-best 12 RBIs on the season. Bowling Green got on the board in the second on a home run by Jhon Diaz, his second of the year.

The BlueClaws responded in the bottom of the second on a fielder's choice groundout by Otto Kemp that pushed the lead back to 3-1. The lead got sliced again in the third on an RBI triple by Cooper Kinney. Kinney, however, was at third with nobody out and Estibenzon Jimenez struck out the next three hitters to end the inning and strand the tying run.

Justin Crawford drove in a run with an RBI groundout in the fourth to push the lead to 4-2. Crawford then drove in CAde Fergus from second on an infield single in the bottom of the sixth to push the lead to 5-2. Erick Brito singled home a run in the eight for a 6-2 lead.

BlueClaws starter Estibenzon Jimenez gave up two runs over five innings with three walks and five strikeouts. He earned his first win of the season. Jack Dallas threw a scoreless 1.1 innings while Andrew Walling got the next five outs. Charles King was charged with three runs but got the last three outs to preserve the win.

Crawford had three hits and drove in two runs for Jersey Shore while adding his ninth and 10th stolen bases of the season. William Bergolla had a hit and two walks for the BlueClaws, while Erick Brito had two hits and a stolen base.

The teams continue their series on Friday night at 6:35 pm. RHP Eiberson Castellano starts for Jersey Shore.

-Jersey Shore BlueClaws-