The Crabs made quick work of the Healdsburg Prune Packers over the weekend, and Nick Latta made sure it was even quicker than the 50/50 girls were prepared for.
Latta's three-run homer in the seventh inning of Sunday's finale invoked the mercy rule in a 10-0 win to wrap up the sweep before Luiza & Co. had drawn the winning ticket. The victory was the Crabs' second straight shutout, — they had won 9-0 on Saturday, following a 10-5 win in the series opener on Friday.
The Crabs (21-5) were helped out by poor fielding from the Prune Packers in all three games — they committed at least three errors in each contest.
Two of Healdsburg's three errors on Friday contributed to a six-run second inning for the Crabs. Bradley Zimmer had a run and an RBI in the inning, and Spencer Duggan continued to light up opposing pitching with a two-run double.
The Prune Packers attempted to mount a comeback after breaking up Kyle Swannack's no-hit bid in the sixth, scoring three times in the frame and another in the seventh to make it 6-4, but the Crabs gave themselves some insurance with a three-run bottom of the seventh. Duggan drove in his third run of the game, and Ryan Wiggins and Ty Afenir both added run-scoring singles.
Saturday started out looking eerily similar to Friday. The Crabs scored six early runs — the big blow being a homer by Austin Prott in the second — and James Barragan duplicated Swannack's no-hitter through five innings. Again, Healdsburg broke up the no-hit bid in the sixth, but this time there would be no comeback.
On Sunday, Andrew Nelson took the mound for the Crabs, and was as impressive as his fellow starters, allowing just four hits in six innings. The offense was slower in building its lead, scoring three in the second, two in the fifth, one in the sixth, and had already put up one run in the seventh before Latta came to the plate with Wiggins and Jason Hampton on base and two outs. Latta launched a ball to left-center that zipped just over the fence onto 101 South, drawing the weekend to a close.
The Crabs will host the Bay Area Warriors on Tuesday and Wednesday before heading out of town this weekend to take on the Neptune Beach Pearl. Tuesday is a single game at 7 p.m., and Wednesday will be a doubleheader beginning at 5:30 p.m.
