Southern Maryland tops Long Island in sellout crowd, closes first half 3-1

Alejandro De Aza's leadoff solo shot in the sixth broke a 1-1 tie and sent Southern Maryland to a 3-1 win over Long Island at Fairfield Properties Ballpark. The Blue Crabs did it the hard way, with crisp pitching, sharp defense and two late swings from De Aza that turned a one-run game into a clean finish.

Jackson Loftin opened the scoring for Southern Maryland with an RBI single in the third inning, but Long Island answered in the fifth when Kole Kaler led off the frame with a solo home run to pull the Ducks even at 1-1. De Aza broke the tie in the sixth with a leadoff solo shot, then added insurance in the seventh with a two-out RBI double that stretched the lead to 3-1 and finished the night’s most decisive stretch.

Ian Kahaloa handled the middle of the game for Southern Maryland and earned the win by giving up one run on two hits over five innings. He struck out seven and worked through the only real blemish, Kaler’s homer, without letting the Ducks build anything bigger. Nolan Clenney kept Long Island in the game long enough to hand it over, allowing one run on five hits in 4.2 innings before taking a no-decision. Brad Case was the one left to absorb the loss, charged with two runs on three hits in two innings. Endrys Briceno closed it out for his sixth save of the season.

The 6,099 fans at Central Islip made it the Ducks’ fourth sellout of 2026 and the Atlantic League’s record 725th all-time sellout. Long Island entered the season as the winningest franchise in Atlantic League history and a four-time league champion.

The July 2 game was the first of three straight postgame Fireworks Spectaculars, with the first 1,000 fans receiving commemorative patriotic T-shirts. Long Island was set to open the second half at home on July 3 against Hagerstown, with Tanner Jacobson scheduled for the Ducks and Tommy Kane lined up for the Flying Boxcars.