Ducks take first game of six-game homestand
(Central Islip, N.Y., August 12, 2014) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Sugar Land Skeeters 9-2 on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the series-opening victory
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Brandon Bantz and Bob Zimmermann talk about the win
Long Island grabbed a 5-0 lead in the second inning off Skeeters starting pitcher Clint Everts. A sacrifice fly from Dan Lyons, a RBI single from Fehlandt Lentini and a three-run home run from Brendan Harris highlighted the inning. The Ducks then increased their lead to six in the third on a Brandon Bantz RBI single.
Sugar Land got on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth on a RBI single from Neil Medchill off Ducks reliever Bob Zimmerman. Both teams then exchanged a run in the sixth inning. A Delwyn Young solo home run in the top of the sixth cut the Skeeters deficit to four, but a RBI single from Lentini in the bottom half of the frame pushed the lead back to five.
The Ducks rounded out the scoring in the bottom of the eighth inning with a pair of runs to increase their lead to 9-2. A run-scoring throwing error off the bat of Dan Lyons and a RBI groundout from Lentini highlighted the inning.
Ducks starting pitcher Mitch Talbot did not factor into the decision, tossing three scoreless innings, allowing two hits with two strikeouts. Zimmermann (1-1) earned the win after allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out one over two innings of relief. Everts (5-9) took the loss, yielding six runs over three innings on nine hits and one walk.
Bailey and Lentini paced the Ducks with three hits apiece, while Harris and Bantz each added a pair of hits.
Long Island continues its three-game series against the Sugar Land Skeeters on Wednesday night. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 6:05. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive Back-to-Back Championship Logo Caps, courtesy of Ridgewood Savings Bank. Right-hander John Brownell gets the start for the Ducks against Skeeters righty Matt Wright.
Tickets for the game and every Ducks regular season home game are now on sale. Fans can purchase their tickets by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark box office, calling 631-940-TIXX or by CLICKING HERE. Those unable to make the game can follow all the action with live streaming video and audio available on the Ducks official YouTube channel by CLICKING HERE.
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Duck Tales: With two hits on Tuesday, Brendan Harris has now reached base safely in 34 of his last 35 games dating back to July 1, with the lone exception coming on August 4 against the York Revolution. Of those 34 games, he has hit safely in 28 of them (including seven straight) and earned a walk in 22. The former big leaguer leads the Ducks and ranks third in the Atlantic League with 50 walks in 2014. In addition, Harris now has 19 two-hit games and 22 multi-hit games this year…With three hits on Tuesday, Adam Bailey has now reached base safely in 15 of his last 17 games, earning a hit in 13 of them. In those 17 games, the second-year Duck is batting .408 (28-for-69) with five doubles, two triples, three home runs, 17 RBI and eight runs scored. It marked Bailey’s ninth three-hit game and 29th multi-hit game this season…With three hits on Tuesday, Fehlandt Lentini earned his sixth three-hit game of the year. The first-year Duck now leads the team with 38 multi-hit games this season…With a Joash Brodin stolen base in the sixth inning on Tuesday, the Ducks have now stolen 11 bases in their last four games. That includes six steals on Saturday at York, which was the most by any Atlantic League team in a single game this year…Ducks starting pitchers are now 3-0 with a 1.18 ERA (six earned runs in 45 and two-thirds innings) over the last seven games after Mitch Talbot tossed three scoreless innings on Tuesday. In that span, they’ve allowed 40 hits and eight walks while striking out 26 batters. Dating back to August 2, the starters are 5-1 with a 1.46 ERA, allowing 11 earned runs in 67 and two-thirds innings.
Game Date: 08/12/2014 Sugar Land Skeeters 2 AT Long Island Ducks 9 YTD YTD Sugar Land AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG R.Langerhans LF 4 0 1 0 .279 F.Lentini RF 5 1 3 3 .310 B.Barton CF 4 0 0 0 .237 B.Harris 3B 5 1 2 3 .291 T.Scott C 4 0 0 0 .227 L.Ford CF 5 0 1 0 .335 D.Young 1B 4 2 2 1 .264 B.Hall DH 4 0 1 0 .206 C.Lambin DH 4 0 0 0 .201 A.Bailey LF 4 2 3 0 .299 D.Ramos SS 3 0 1 0 .284 C.Puckett 2B 4 1 1 0 .276 N.Medchill RF 4 0 1 1 .237 B.Bantz C 2 2 2 1 .279 M.Rockett 3B 3 0 1 0 .216 J.Brodin 1B 4 2 1 0 .245 B.Hunt 2B 3 0 1 0 .250 D.Lyons SS 3 0 1 1 .267 33 2 7 2 36 9 15 8 Sugar Land 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 - 2 7 1 L Island 0 5 1 0 0 1 0 2 x - 9 15 0 2B--D.Young (16), M.Rockett (8), L.Ford (27), B.Hall (3). 3B--A.Bailey (4). HR--D.Young (11), B.Harris (5). RBI--D.Young (55), N.Medchill (11), F.Lentini 3 (50), B.Harris 3 (32), B.Bantz (13), D.Lyons (29). SF--D.Lyons (3). SB--J.Brodin (19). E--M.Rockett (4). LOB--Sugar Land 5, L Island 6. DP--B. Hunt(2B) - D. Ramos(SS) - D. Young(1B), D. Lyons(SS) - J. Brodin(1B), M. Rockett(3B) - D. Young(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Sugar Land C.Everts (L,5-9) 3.0 9 6 6 1 0 1 5.65 D.Meadows 3.0 2 1 1 1 1 0 3.82 J.Wells 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.88 B.Kozlowski 1.0 3 2 2 0 0 0 4.01 8 15 9 9 2 1 1 L Island M.Talbot 3.0 2 0 0 0 2 0 3.00 B.Zimmermann (W,1-1) 2.0 3 1 1 1 1 0 4.24 J.Lansford 1.0 2 1 1 0 1 1 3.28 S.Perez 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 E.Niesen 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.46 D.Kopp 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.22 9 7 2 2 1 7 1 SO--R.Langerhans 2, C.Lambin 4, N.Medchill, C.Puckett. BB--D.Ramos, B.Bantz 2. BF--C.Everts 17 (426), D.Meadows 12 (149), J.Wells 4 (176), B.Kozlowski 6 (189), M.Talbot 11 (105), B.Zimmermann 10 (114), J.Lansford 4 (155), S.Perez 3 (13), E.Niesen 3 (196), D.Kopp 3 (92). P-S--C.Everts 55-36, D.Meadows 37-24, J.Wells 12-10, B.Kozlowski 16-10, M.Talbot 42-29, B.Zimmermann 33-20, J.Lansford 13-9, S.Perez 10-7, E.Niesen 8-7, D.Kopp 16-12. T--2:35. A--4,552 Bottom 2: Skeeters mound visit by catcher...Top 5: Ducks mound visit by pitching coach Plate Umpire - Manolo Alejandro, Field Umpire #1 - Richard Katz, Field Umpire #2 - Richie Maggio