Skipper becomes Ducks managerial wins leader with 400th victory

(Waldorf, Md., July 8, 2016) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 6-2 on Friday night in game two of a four-game set at Regency Furniture Stadium. The win was the 400th of Kevin Baez’s managerial career with the Ducks, moving him past Don McCormack (2001-06) for the most victories by a skipper in franchise history.

GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the victory

Anthony Vega scored from third base on a passed ball in the first inning, giving the Ducks a 1-0 lead. Long Island added three runs in the fifth on Fehlandt Lentini’s RBI single, Delta Cleary Jr.’s run-scoring triple, and a throwing error. Ruben Gotay’s RBI double and Mike Blanke’s sacrifice fly in the sixth increased the advantage to 6-0.

The Blue Crabs scored in the seventh on Zach Wilson’s RBI single, cutting the deficit to 6-1. Michael Snyder’s solo home run in the ninth made it 6-2, but that was all Southern Maryland could muster.

John Brownell (6-3) earned the win with seven innings of one-run ball, allowing six hits and one walk with six strikeouts. Brian Grening (3-4) took the loss, giving up four runs (three earned) on four hits. In five innings, he struck out two and walked two.

Lentini and Dan Lyons had two hits apiece to lead Long Island.

The Ducks and Blue Crabs continue their four-game series on Saturday night. Game time from Regency Furniture Stadium is set for 6:35 p.m. Fans can follow all the action live on the Ducks’ flagship radio station, 103.9-FM LI News Radio. Streaming audio will also be available online by CLICKING HERE. Lefty Darin Downs (6-4, 4.07 ERA) toes the rubber for Long Island against fellow left-hander Brian Burres (5-4, 2.95 ERA).

Long Island returns home on Friday, July 15 to start a three-game series with the Somerset Patriots. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 5:35 (5:20 for full season ticket holders). The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive Ducks Aluminum Water Bottles, courtesy of Fairfield Properties. It’s also a Fowl Pole Friday and an OK Petroleum Friday, and the Ducks will be running their Friday night Pizza Hut K-Man promotion. Tickets to the game, and all Ducks home games, are available by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark box office, calling (631) 940-TIXX or CLICKING HERE.

The Long Island Ducks are members of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and play their home games at Bethpage Ballpark. For further information, call (631) 940-DUCK or visit www.liducks.com.

About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)

The Atlantic League has been a leader in professional baseball and a gateway to Major League Baseball since 1998. Over 34 million fans have attended Atlantic League games and more than 800 players and 50 managers and coaches have joined MLB organizations directly from the ALPB. The Atlantic League emphasizes winning baseball games, showcasing the talent of top-caliber players and offering affordable family entertainment to metropolitan markets serving nearly 15{f7b134541f126dcd33819b5eec9a91dff238b58155023223dba97c27371a7fb5} of the US population.

For more information, please visit www.atlanticleague.com.

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 Game Date: 07/08/2016 Long Island Ducks 6 AT Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 2 YTD YTD L Island AB R H BI AVG S Maryland AB R H BI AVG Vega, A LF 2 2 1 0 .288 Garcia, E SS 4 0 0 0 .229 Lentini, F RF 5 1 2 1 .318 Nelson, B 3B 4 0 1 0 .269 Cleary Jr., D CF 5 0 1 1 .301 Marte, A LF 4 0 0 0 .250 Puckett, C 2B 5 0 0 0 .282 Snyder, M DH 3 2 1 1 .306 Lyons, D SS 4 1 2 0 .333 Walton, J RF 4 0 2 0 .276 Minicozzi, M DH 3 1 0 0 .231 Wilson, Z 1B 4 0 2 1 .255 Gotay, R 1B 4 0 1 1 .280 Dziomba, J 2B 4 0 0 0 .225 Blanke, M C 2 1 0 1 .236 David, C C 2 0 1 0 .188 Wessinger, M 3B 3 0 0 0 .200 Susini, N C 1 0 0 0 .108 Myers, D CF 3 0 1 0 .276 33 6 7 4 33 2 8 2 L Island 1 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 - 6 7 0 S Maryland 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 - 2 8 2 2B--Gotay, R 1B (10). 3B--Cleary Jr., D CF (2), Lyons, D SS (2). HR--Snyder, M DH (13). RBI--Lentini, F RF (38), Cleary Jr., D CF (16), Gotay, R 1B (25), Blanke, M C (27), TOTALS 4 (0), Snyder, M DH (27), Wilson, Z 1B (35), TOTALS 2 (0). HP--Vega, A LF (5), Wessinger, M 3B (2). SF--Blanke, M C (5). SB--Vega, A LF (16), Lentini, F RF (23). E--Walton, J RF (4), David, C C (2). LOB--L Island 7, S Maryland 5. DP--J. Brownell(P) - D. Lyons(SS) - R. Gotay(1B), C. Puckett(2B) - D. Lyons(SS) - R. Gotay(1B), J. Dziomba(2B) - E. Garcia(SS) - Z. Wilson(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA L Island Brownell, J (W,6-3) 7.0 6 1 1 1 6 0 2.77 Crider, P 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.90 Struck, N 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 1 4.87 9 8 2 2 1 6 1 S Maryland Grening, B (L,3-4) 5.0 4 4 3 2 2 0 4.15 Marshall, I 1.0 2 2 2 1 1 0 5.56 Snodgress, S 2.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 6.16 Eppley, C 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 2.48 9 7 6 5 4 6 0 WP--Grening, B (4), Marshall, I (1). PB--David, C. HB--Grening, B (1), Marshall, I (2). SO--Vega, A, Cleary Jr., D 2, Puckett, C, Lyons, D, Minicozzi, M, Garcia, E, Marte, A, Dziomba, J 3, David, C. BB--Vega, A 2, Minicozzi, M, Blanke, M, Snyder, M. BF--Brownell, J 26 (367), Crider, P 3 (79), Struck, N 5 (89), Grening, B 22 (192), Marshall, I 7 (61), Snodgress, S 6 (279), Eppley, C 5 (130). P-S--Brownell, J 106-74, Crider, P 9-8, Struck, N 14-10, Grening, B 83-50, Marshall, I 23-11, Snodgress, S 23-16, Eppley, C 12-8. T--2:43. A--3697 Plate Umpire - Kris Engstrand, Field Umpire #1 - Silvio Martinez, Jr., Field Umpire #2 - John Grasso