Flock win fifth straight with double digits in hits

(Central Islip, N.Y., Aug. 15, 2015) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 8-6 on Saturday night in the third game of a four-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.

GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the slugfest

POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Nick Struck and Sean Burroughs talk about the comeback win

The Blue Crabs opened the scoring in the first on a RBI groundout from Casey Stevenson off Ducks starter Bruce Kern. Long Island responded by taking the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning. Sean Burroughs’ RBI double and Cody Puckett’s RBI single put Long Island on top 2-1 against Blue Crabs starter Brian Grening. In the second, Ryan Gebhardt’s sacrifice fly made it 3-1 in favor of the Ducks.

Gustavo Molina’s RBI single in the third cut the lead to 3-2. In the fifth, Jovan Rosa hit a two-run homer to put the Blue Crabs in front 4-3. Mike Blanke responded with a two-run homer of his own in the sixth, giving the Ducks a 5-4 advantage. Gebhardt’s second sacrifice fly in the same inning made it a 6-4 ballgame.

Both teams put up runs in the seventh. Casey Frawley’s solo homer off J.C. Romero gave the Crabs one run, but Burroughs’ sacrifice fly made it 7-5 Ducks. Zach Wilson made it a one-run ballgame once again with his RBI double in the eighth. However, Fehlandt Lentini’s RBI double in the bottom of the inning provided an insurance run before Amalio Diaz completed the win in the ninth.

Nick Struck (4-3) picked up the victory, allowing one hit in an inning of relief in the sixth. Grening (3-7) suffered the loss, giving up six runs (four earned) on eight hits in five and one-third innings of work. He walked none and struck out two. Kern took a no decision, giving up four runs on nine hits in five innings with three walks and seven strikeouts. Ryan Kussmaul struck out two batters to end the eighth and keep the Ducks ahead. Diaz earned his seventh save of the season in the final frame.

Burroughs finished with a pair of hits including a double, two RBI, and one run scored. Puckett, Vega, and Lyons also finished with two hits apiece, with Vega scoring three times.

The Ducks conclude their series on Sunday evening when they play the finale of a four-game series against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. Game time is slated for 5:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 4:05 (3:50 for full season ticket holders). It will be a Sunday Family Funday at the Duck Pond! Prior to the game, fans will be invited onto the field for an autograph session with the Ducks from 4:20 to 4:35 p.m. After the game, kids and kids at heart can take part in Kids Run the Bases, presented by Bethpage Federal Credit Union. Sunday will also be an historic day at Bethpage Ballpark! The Ducks will be honoring all-time great Ray Navarrete with a special pre-game ceremony, including the retirement of his #16 jersey. Fans are encouraged to be in their seats immediately following the autograph session to enjoy the festivities. In addition, the first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive a Ray Navarrete Bobblehead, featuring an iconic moment from the 2013 Atlantic League Championship Series, courtesy of Digmi. Right-hander Ian Marshall gets the start for the Ducks against Blue Crabs southpaw Brian Burres.

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. Those unable to make the game can follow all of the action live on the Ducks’ official YouTube channel. Streaming video and audio will be available online by CLICKING HERE.

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Duck Tales: Saturday’s crowd of 7,298 was the Ducks’ second-largest of the year. The only crowd larger was on July 4 when 7,443 saw the Ducks defeat the Somerset Patriots 6-5. The Ducks have now welcomed nine sold out crowds this season and 648 sellouts all-time, which is an Atlantic League record. In addition, a league record 6,574,349 fans have come through the gates of Bethpage Ballpark since the inaugural 2000 season…Dan Lyons collected two hits and has now reached base safely in 21 of his last 22 games dating back to July 23. He is batting .370 (30-for-81) in that span. The shortstop now has 15 two-hit games in 2015 and 24 multi-hit contests overall. He has hit safely and scored at least one run in eight consecutive games. In addition, he has earned multiple hits in three of his last four games…Cody Puckett picked up two hits and extended his hitting streak to 12 consecutive games. During the streak, the infielder is batting .340 (17-for-50) with three doubles, one homer, seven RBI and six runs scored. Dating back to July 23, Puckett has earned hits in 20 of his last 22 games. Saturday was his 23rd two-hit game of the year and 30th multi-hit contests…Anthony Vega earned two hits for the third straight game. He is now batting .545 (6-for-11) with one homer, three RBI and four runs scored in the series. The Patchogue resident has now totaled four two-hit games with the Flock this season…Amalio Diaz pitched another scoreless inning in the ninth. The right-hander has now given up just one run over his last 12 games pitched (11.1 innings), good for a 0.79 ERA. In that span, he has yielded only six hits and two walks while striking out 14 batters. The first-year Duck has struck out at least one batter in 38 of his 47 games pitched this season and 57 batters total.

 Game Date: 08/15/2015 Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 6 AT Long Island Ducks 8 YTD YTD S Maryland AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG A.DeJesus CF 4 2 2 0 .206 F.Lentini RF 5 0 1 1 .303 C.Stevenson 2B 4 1 1 1 .273 D.Cleary Jr. CF 5 0 0 0 .281 Z.Wilson 1B 4 1 2 1 .273 D.Lyons SS 4 2 2 0 .316 J.Rosa LF 5 1 3 2 .264 S.Burroughs 1B,DH 3 1 2 2 .319 G.Molina C 5 0 1 1 .297 C.Puckett 3B 3 1 2 1 .278 C.Maddox DH 5 0 0 0 .250 M.Blanke C 4 1 1 2 .281 C.Frawley SS 5 1 2 1 .254 A.Vega LF 4 3 2 0 .286 T.Wagner RF 4 0 3 0 .266 S.McQuail 1B 0 0 0 0 .176 G.Zawadzki 3B 5 0 1 0 .191 B.Kern P 2 0 0 0 .000 P.Crider P 0 0 0 0 .000 N.Struck P 0 0 0 0 .000 N.Zapata PH 1 0 1 0 .286 J.Romero P 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Veal P 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Kussmaul P 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Brownell PH 1 0 0 0 .000 A.Diaz P 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Gebhardt 2B 2 0 0 2 .000 41 6 15 6 34 8 11 8 S Maryland 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 0 - 6 15 3 L Island 2 1 0 0 0 3 1 1 x - 8 11 1 2B--Z.Wilson (23), F.Lentini (4), S.Burroughs (5). 3B--A.DeJesus (2), D.Lyons (6). HR--J.Rosa (8), C.Frawley (8), M.Blanke (7). RBI--C.Stevenson (39), Z.Wilson (41), J.Rosa 2 (38), G.Molina (52), C.Frawley (33), F.Lentini (5), S.Burroughs 2 (32), C.Puckett (38), M.Blanke 2 (33), R.Gebhardt 2 (2). HP--T.Wagner (3). SF--S.Burroughs (1), R.Gebhardt 2 (2). SB--A.Vega (10). E--C.Stevenson (7), Z.Wilson 2 (10), D.Veal (1). LOB--S Maryland 12, L Island 6. DP--N. Struck(P) - D. Lyons(SS) - S. Burroughs(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA S Maryland B.Grening (L,3-7) 5.1 8 6 4 0 2 1 4.63 S.Perez 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.70 W.Korpi 1.2 1 2 1 1 1 0 5.82 C.Bodishbaugh 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 8 11 8 5 1 3 1 L Island B.Kern 5.0 9 4 4 3 7 1 3.39 P.Crider 0.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2.95 N.Struck (W,4-3) 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.80 J.Romero 1.0 1 1 1 0 2 1 1.93 D.Veal 0.1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1.39 R.Kussmaul 0.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.40 A.Diaz (S,7) 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1.33 9 15 6 5 3 13 2 WP--D.Veal (2). HB--B.Kern (4). SO--Z.Wilson, J.Rosa 2, G.Molina 2, C.Maddox 3, C.Frawley 2, G.Zawadzki 3, D.Cleary Jr. 2, J.Brownell. BB--A.DeJesus, C.Stevenson, Z.Wilson, C.Puckett. BF--B.Grening 25 (404), S.Perez 3 (44), W.Korpi 8 (240), C.Bodishbaugh 2 (5), B.Kern 27 (281), P.Crider 2 (174), N.Struck 3 (148), J.Romero 4 (76), D.Veal 3 (54), R.Kussmaul 2 (198), A.Diaz 4 (176). P-S--B.Grening 75-54, S.Perez 11-8, W.Korpi 33-20, C.Bodishbaugh 8-5, B.Kern 95-60, P.Crider 8-6, N.Struck 9-5, J.Romero 15-10, D.Veal 7-5, R.Kussmaul 8-7, A.Diaz 12-11. T--3:07. A--7298 Bruce Kern forced to bat after lineup error by Ducks prior to game. McQuail listed as DH and Burroughs at 1B...Blue Crabs manager Stan Cliburn ejected in middle of fifth inning for arguing play at home plate Plate Umpire - Tom Magier, Field Umpire #1 - Frank Iurilli, Field Umpire #2 - Warren Nicholson