Six shutout innings from Graham evens series

(Waldorf, Md., May 18, 2013) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 5-1 on Saturday night in the middle game of a three-game series at Regency Furniture Stadium.

The Ducks opened the scoring in the second inning on a two-run home run by P.J. Phillips off Blue Crabs starter Michael Ballard. Murray Watts stretched the lead to three with an RBI single in the third inning.

Long Island added two more in the seventh inning when Adam Bailey scored on an error by Blue Crabs left fielder Jose Julio-Ruiz, and Bryant Nelson hit a RBI single. The Blue Crabs cut into the lead with a run in the bottom of the seventh on a Brandon Jones RBI single, but the Ducks bullpen would throw scoreless eighth and ninth innings to close out the win.

Ducks starter Connor Graham (2-1) earned the win, throwing six shutout innings, surrendering just three hits and one walk, while striking out six. Ballard (0-2) took the loss, giving up three runs on eight hits in five innings of work.

Bryant Nelson led the Ducks with three hits, with Rian Kiniry and Joash Brodin each adding two.

The Ducks wrap up their three-game series against the Blue Crabs Sunday afternoon. Game time is slated for 2:05 p.m. from Regency Furniture Stadium. Left-hander Dontrelle Willis takes the mound for the Ducks against Blue Crabs lefty Jeremy Sowers. Fans can follow all the action live on the radio home of the Ducks, 103.9-FM WRCN, and online by CLICKING HERE.

Long Island returns home on Friday, May 24 when they host the Blue Crabs in the first game of a three-game set. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 6:05. It’s “Don’t Fry Day” with Skin Cancer Awareness, and the first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive Duck Mini Bats, courtesy of Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. Tickets for the game and all Ducks regular season home games are now on sale. Fans can purchase their tickets by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark box office, calling 631-940-TIXX or by CLICKING HERE.

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Duck Tales: Ray Navarrete extended his team-high on-base streak to fourteen games. During the streak, he is batting .396 (21-for-53) with two home runs, 12 RBI and ten runs scored. Since the streak began, he has also raised his batting average from .111 to .265 and his on-base percentage from .146 to .333. His single in the seventh inning extended his hitting streak to nine games, the longest of any Duck this season…Joash Brodin extended his hitting streak to eight games. In this stretch, his batting average has jumped from .239 to .295 …Long Island has homered in four straight games and has 24 home runs on the year…Connor Graham posted his longest outing, throwing six innings in his second start of the season…The home run hit by P.J. Phillips was his first of the season. Tonight also marked his first two-RBI game…Bryant Nelson notched his first three-hit game of the season, Joash Brodin recorded two hits for the seventh time, and Rian Kiniry posted his second two-hit game of the season.

 GAME DATE: 05/18/2013 Long Island Ducks 5 AT Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 1 YTD YTD L Island AB R H BI AVG S Maryland AB R H BI AVG A.Bailey RF 4 1 0 0 .232 R.Osuna SS 4 0 0 0 .282 J.Brodin LF 2 1 2 0 .295 B.Barton CF 4 0 0 0 .275 R.Navarrete DH 5 0 1 0 .265 R.Mulhern DH 4 0 1 0 .299 R.Castro C 5 1 1 0 .219 J.Julio-Ruiz LF 4 0 1 0 .348 B.Nelson 3B 5 1 3 1 .237 C.Hankerd RF 3 1 1 0 .255 M.Watts 1B 4 0 1 1 .143 J.Salas C 4 0 0 0 .290 P.Phillips SS 4 1 1 2 .154 B.Jones 3B 3 0 1 1 .236 G.Suarez 2B 4 0 0 0 .237 C.Nicolas 1B 4 0 1 0 .169 R.Kiniry CF 4 0 2 0 .222 W.Sutil 2B 2 0 1 0 .234 37 5 11 4 32 1 6 1 L Island 0 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 - 5 11 0 S Maryland 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 1 6 2 2B--B.Nelson (3), R.Kiniry (4), C.Hankerd (11). HR--P.Phillips (1). RBI--B.Nelson (5), M.Watts (1), P.Phillips 2 (4), B.Jones (12). HP--C.Hankerd (6). SB--J.Brodin (1). E--J.Julio-Ruiz (2), W.Sutil (5). LOB--L Island 9, S Maryland 7. DP--P. Phillips(SS) - M. Watts(1B), B. Jones(3B) - W. Sutil(2B) - C. Nicolas(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA L Island C.Graham (W,2-1) 6.0 3 0 0 1 6 0 3.92 E.Niesen 1.0 3 1 1 0 1 0 4.30 J.Lansford 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.40 L.Rosales 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1.54 9 6 1 1 2 8 0 S Maryland M.Ballard (L,0-2) 5.0 8 3 3 1 2 1 4.50 K.Mertins 1.0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3.52 L.Williamson 0.1 0 2 2 2 0 0 2.50 K.Zaleski 0.2 2 0 0 0 0 0 2.08 E.Morlan 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 J.Stevens 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1.62 9 11 5 5 4 6 1 HB--C.Graham (3). SO--R.Navarrete, R.Castro 2, M.Watts, P.Phillips, G.Suarez, B.Barton 3, R.Mulhern, J.Julio-Ruiz 2, J.Salas, C.Nicolas. BB--A.Bailey, J.Brodin 3, B.Jones, W.Sutil. BF--C.Graham 22 (92), E.Niesen 6 (63), J.Lansford 3 (41), L.Rosales 4 (50), M.Ballard 23 (87), K.Mertins 3 (64), L.Williamson 3 (71), K.Zaleski 4 (37), E.Morlan 4 (35), J.Stevens 4 (65). P-S--C.Graham 89-57, E.Niesen 26-15, J.Lansford 13-8, L.Rosales 18-11, M.Ballard 81-47, K.Mertins 13-10, L.Williamson 16-6, K.Zaleski 13-9, E.Morlan 7-6, J.Stevens 23-13. T--2:56. A--4118 Weather: Umpires: Plate Ump - Alan JoJo Reyes, Field Ump #1 - Matt Hensel, Field Ump #2 - Tim McCaffrey