Blanke continues his hot hitting
(Bridgewater, N.J., May 21, 2016) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Somerset Patriots 11-9 in the second game of the series Saturday night in TD Bank Ballpark in Somerset, New Jersey.
GAME AUDIO: Ducks rally in the ninth
The Patriots struck first with two in the bottom of the second inning. Mycal Jones hit an RBI-triple to score Bryan LaHair, and then scored himself on a sacrifice fly to center field from Carlos Guzman. Long Island struck back quickly though, as Cody Puckett hit a two-run double in the top of the third, scoring Ruben Gotay and Sean Burroughs to tie the game.
The Flock came back one inning later, as Gotay doubled in Matt Wessinger. One batter later, Lew Ford doubled to score Gotay, making the score 4-2. In the bottom of the fourth however, Brad Snyder hit a three-run home run. Two batters later, Guzman hit a solo home run to give the Patriots a 6-4 lead.
LaHair would hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Aharon Eggleston in the bottom of the fifth, but in the top of the seventh, Mike Blanke would hit a two-run double to score Burroughs and Puckett to push the score to 7-6. The Ducks rallied in the top of the ninth against Patriots closer Jon Hunton though, as Puckett singled to drive in Gotay, Blanke doubled to bring in Burroughs and Puckett, and Wessinger doubled to score Blanke and Blake Tekotte to give the Ducks an 11-7 lead.
Somerset would pull to within two in the bottom of the ninth as LaHair singled to drive in Trayvon Robinson and Scott Kelly, but that would be all Somerset would manage.
Amalio Diaz (2-1) earned the win with a clean inning of relief, adding two strikeouts. Jon Hunton (0-2) was handed his second loss, as he allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits, no walks, and one strikeout.
The Ducks continue their road stretch with the finale of the three game set against the Somerset Patriots on Sunday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m. from TD Bank Ballpark. Fans can follow all of the action live on the Ducks’ official YouTube channel by CLICKING HERE.
Long Island returns home on Tuesday, May 24 to begin a three-game set against the Bridgeport Bluefish. 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). It’s Two-Fer and Humana Senior Discounts Tuesday, and fans in attendance will be treated to a Grucci Fireworks Extravaganza. 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{508e0238204740d3d9c141f5965096b8721e890fc8446b80b243ba5070871f7e} of the US population. For more information, please visit www.atlanticleague.com.
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Game Date: 05/21/2016 Long Island Ducks 11 AT Somerset Patriots 9 YTD YTD L Island AB R H BI AVG Somerset AB R H BI AVG Lentini, F RF 6 0 0 0 .271 Robinson, T CF 4 1 1 0 .264 Gotay, R 2B 4 3 3 1 .375 Eggleston, A LF 4 1 0 0 .277 Ford, L DH 5 0 2 1 .309 Farris, E 2B 5 1 4 0 .339 Burroughs, S 1B 4 3 2 0 .299 LaHair, B 1B 4 2 3 3 .297 Puckett, C 3B 5 2 3 3 .287 Zarrillo, V PR 0 0 0 0 .280 Blanke, M C 4 1 3 4 .271 Snyder, B DH 4 1 1 3 .234 Tekotte, B CF 5 1 0 0 .231 Jones, M 3B 4 1 1 1 .258 Wessinger, M SS 4 1 2 2 .182 Guzman, C RF 3 1 1 2 .196 Vega, A LF 4 0 0 0 .224 Kral, R C 2 0 0 0 .317 Kelly, S SS 4 1 0 0 .277 41 11 15 11 34 9 11 9 L Island 0 0 2 2 0 0 2 0 5 - 11 15 1 Somerset 0 2 0 4 1 0 0 0 2 - 9 11 2 2B--Gotay, R 2B (3), Ford, L DH (8), Puckett, C 3B (7), Blanke, M C 2 (3), Wessinger, M SS (3). 3B--Jones, M 3B (3). HR--Snyder, B DH (3), Guzman, C RF (2). RBI--Gotay, R 2B (3), Ford, L DH (17), Puckett, C 3B 3 (19), Blanke, M C 2 4 (12), Wessinger, M SS 2 (6), TOTALS 11 (0), LaHair, B 1B 3 (16), Snyder, B DH 3 (11), Jones, M 3B (12), Guzman, C RF 2 (10), TOTALS 9 (0). SF--LaHair, B 1B (3), Guzman, C RF (2). SH--Vega, A LF (0). E--Puckett, C 3B 3 (3), Eggleston, A LF (1), Kelly, S SS (8). LOB--L Island 8, Somerset 5. DP--E. Farris(2B) - S. Kelly(SS) - B. LaHair(1B), R. Gotay(2B) - M. Wessinger(SS) - S. Burroughs(1B), R. Gotay(2B) - M. Wessinger(SS) - S. Burroughs(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA L Island Blevins, B 4.0 7 6 6 1 2 2 4.70 Vance, K 1.0 1 1 0 2 0 0 5.06 Crider, P 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 De La Rosa, E 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 3.48 Diaz, A (W,2-1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4.77 Coffey, T 1.0 2 2 2 2 1 0 3.38 9 11 9 8 5 8 2 Somerset Horst, J 5.0 7 4 4 3 2 0 2.73 Hand, D 1.2 3 2 2 1 2 0 4.50 Thomas, M 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.46 McBryde, J 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.77 Hunton, J (L,0-2) 1.0 5 5 4 0 1 0 5.54 9 15 11 10 4 7 0 WP--Horst, J (2). PB--Blanke, M. SO--Lentini, F 3, Gotay, R, Ford, L, Tekotte, B, Wessinger, M, Robinson, T 2, Eggleston, A 2, Snyder, B 2, Jones, M, Kral, R. BB--Gotay, R, Burroughs, S, Blanke, M, Wessinger, M, Robinson, T, Eggleston, A, Snyder, B, Kral, R 2. BF--Blevins, B 19 (131), Vance, K 5 (51), Crider, P 3 (35), De La Rosa, E 4 (43), Diaz, A 3 (47), Coffey, T 7 (35), Horst, J 25 (136), Hand, D 8 (17), Thomas, M (50), McBryde, J 3 (49), Hunton, J 9 (62). P-S--Blevins, B 63-43, Vance, K 22-9, Crider, P 8-7, De La Rosa, E 16-10, Diaz, A 12-9, Coffey, T 29-16, Horst, J 95-59, Hand, D 29-20, Thomas, M 6-4, McBryde, J 14-9, Hunton, J 32-21. T--3:16. A--5026 LI, B4, PC mound visit; LI, B5, PC mound visit; SOM, T7, PC mound visit Weather: Low 60's; rain in forecast Plate Umpire - Carlos Denno, Field Umpire #1 - Silvio Martinez, Jr., Field Umpire #3 - John Ramsey