(Central Islip, N.Y., Aug. 17, 2012) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Lancaster Barnstormers 15-12 on Friday night in the second game of a four-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.
POSTGAME VIDEO: Matt Esquivel, Kevin Baez and Mitch Canham talk about the victory
Lancaster struck first with a four-run second inning against Ducks starter Chris Hayes. RBI doubles for Ryan Harvey, Francisco Hernandez and Bridger Hunt highlighted the inning. Long Island responded with an eight-run third inning off Barnstormers starter Alan Johnson. Matt Esquivel had a two-run homer and a RBI double, Reid Gorecki picked up a RBI double and Timo Perez, Joash Brodin and Mitch Canham each had RBI singles.
The Barnstormers retook the lead in the fourth with a five-spot, led by run-scoring doubles from Kody Kirkland, Adam Godwin and Fehlandt Lentini. After another run in the fifth for the ‘Stormers, the Ducks responded with a five-run fifth to take a 13-10 lead. RBI singles for Esquivel and Bryant Nelson along with a three-run homer by Brandon Sing did the damage.
Two runs in the sixth for Lancaster cut the lead to one, but RBI singles from Sing and Perez in the seventh put the game out of reach.
Eric Niesen (2-1) got the win, tossing one and two-thirds innings of relief. Joe Bateman (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing three runs on three hits in one and two-thirds innings of relief. Jon Hunton earned his eighth save of the year with a scoreless ninth inning.
Every Ducks starter picked up at least one hit and either scored or drove in a run. Five Ducks led the way with three hits, while Esquivel and Sing set the pace with four RBI apiece.
Long Island and Lancaster continue their four-game set on Saturday night. Game time is slated for 7:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 6:05. Following the game all fans in attendance will be treated to a Grucci Fireworks Extravaganza, presented by Quest Diagnostics. Left-hander Adam Rowe will toe the rubber for the Ducks against Barnstormers southpaw John Halama.
Tickets for the game and all Ducks home games are available by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark box office, calling 631-940-TIXX or visiting www.liducks.com. Fans unable to make the game can follow all the action live on the radio at MyCountry 96.1 FM and online at LIDucks.com by clicking the Watch Live icon on the homepage. Streaming video and audio will be available via iBN, the Internet Broadcast Network.
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Duck Tales: Reid Gorecki’s single in the second inning extended his on-base streak to 17 consecutive games. During the streak, Gorecki is batting .317 (20-for-63) with four doubles, two homers, four RBI, 12 runs and 21 walks…Matt Esquivel’s two-run homer in the third was his second of the year and first since returning from the disabled list. The third-year Duck also went deep on June 2 against the York Revolution at Bethpage Ballpark…Brandon Sing’s three-run home run was his team-high 20th longball of the year. He is currently third in the Atlantic League in home runs behind York’s Chris Nowak (22) and Bridgeport’s Brock Peterson (21). It’s the fifth consecutive season and seventh overall in Sing’s career with 20 or more home runs…Esquivel and Sing each finished with four RBI in the game. Sing earned his second four-RBI game of the year, while Esquivel picked up his first…Jeremy Hill extended his scoreless streak to 15 consecutive games with one and two-thirds innings of shutout relief. In 20 and two-thirds innings during that span, he has allowed just eight hits and four walks while striking out 18…The Ducks set a season-high with 22 hits in the game. Their previous high was 18, accomplished on July 30 at Southern Maryland. The franchise record for most hits in a single game is 25, done on August 23, 2004 against the Pennsylvania Road Warriors.
GAME DATE: 08/17/2012 Lancaster Barnstormers 12 AT Long Island Ducks 15 YTD YTD Lancaster AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG G.Mejia 2B 3 1 0 0 .362 D.Lyons SS 5 2 2 0 .262 A.Godwin CF 5 1 1 1 .348 M.Canham C 5 2 3 2 .283 B.Gailen LF 4 1 0 0 .330 M.Esquivel RF 6 2 3 4 .326 F.Lentini RF 5 2 3 1 .337 R.Navarrete 2B 4 2 2 0 .311 R.Harvey DH 4 2 1 1 .292 B.Nelson 3B 5 3 3 1 .270 T.Denker 1B 5 2 2 0 .333 B.Sing 1B 4 1 2 4 .280 K.Kirkland SS 5 1 2 2 .277 K.Binick LF 0 0 0 0 .254 F.Hernandez C 5 2 2 3 .263 T.Perez DH 4 1 3 2 .275 B.Hunt 3B 5 0 3 1 .324 J.Brodin 1B,LF 5 1 1 1 .287 R.Gorecki CF 5 1 3 1 .277 41 12 14 9 43 15 22 15 Lancaster 0 4 0 5 1 2 0 0 0 - 12 14 1 L Island 0 0 8 0 5 0 2 0 x - 15 22 5 2B--A.Godwin (20), F.Lentini (29), R.Harvey (15), K.Kirkland (20), F.Hernandez (8), B.Hunt (4), M.Esquivel (8), B.Nelson (25), R.Gorecki (15). HR--F.Hernandez (4), M.Esquivel (2), B.Sing (20). RBI--A.Godwin (31), F.Lentini (66), R.Harvey (38), K.Kirkland 2 (47), F.Hernandez 3 (21), B.Hunt (9), M.Canham 2 (14), M.Esquivel 4 (19), B.Nelson (63), B.Sing 4 (63), T.Perez 2 (8), J.Brodin (11), R.Gorecki (36). HP--T.Perez (1). SF--M.Canham (2). SB--A.Godwin (32), D.Lyons (12), R.Gorecki (19). CS--K.Kirkland (2). E--A.Godwin (3), M.Canham (4), B.Sing (9), R.Gorecki 2 (3), C.Hayes (1). LOB--Lancaster 6, L Island 9. DP--K. Kirkland(SS) - G. Mejia(2B) - T. Denker(1B), K. Kirkland(SS) - T. Denker(1B) - B. Vaughan(P). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Lancaster A.Johnson 2.1 11 8 8 1 2 1 5.38 R.Peeples 2.0 3 2 2 2 0 0 3.76 J.Bateman (L,0-1) 1.2 3 3 3 0 0 1 6.43 B.Vaughan 1.0 4 2 2 0 0 0 3.72 M.Johnston 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.78 8 22 15 15 3 2 2 L Island C.Hayes 3.2 9 8 8 0 3 0 6.09 E.Niesen (W,2-1) 1.2 3 3 2 2 1 1 3.98 J.Lansford 1.0 2 1 0 1 0 0 3.23 J.Hill 1.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.60 J.Hunton (S,8) 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 5.32 9 14 12 10 3 8 1 WP--A.Johnson (6), E.Niesen (3). HB--J.Bateman (3). SO--A.Godwin, B.Gailen 2, R.Harvey 2, K.Kirkland 2, F.Hernandez, B.Sing, J.Brodin. BB--G.Mejia 2, B.Gailen, D.Lyons, R.Navarrete, B.Sing. BF--A.Johnson 19 (465), R.Peeples 10 (111), J.Bateman 9 (61), B.Vaughan 6 (156), M.Johnston 4 (101), C.Hayes 20 (104), E.Niesen 11 (239), J.Lansford 5 (177), J.Hill 5 (221), J.Hunton 3 (98). P-S--A.Johnson 70-44, R.Peeples 36-20, J.Bateman 28-15, B.Vaughan 17-11, M.Johnston 17-12, C.Hayes 67-50, E.Niesen 38-25, J.Lansford 13-8, J.Hill 21-16, J.Hunton 16-9. T--3:40. A--5232 Umpires: Plate Ump - Frank Leparik, Field Ump #1 - Jeff Dugmore, Field Ump #2 - Matt Beaver