(Central Islip, N.Y., June 17, 2012) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 8-3 in front of a past-capacity crowd of 6,290 on Sunday afternoon in the final game of a four-game set at Bethpage Ballpark.

GAME VIDEO: Ortiz’ RBI single, Nelson’s RBI double and Williams’ diving catch in right

POSTGAME VIDEO: Ray Navarrete and Mike Loree talk about the game and earning a split in the series

Southern Maryland took a 1-0 lead on a solo homer to left by Brian Barton off Ducks starter Mike Loree. Two more runs in the fourth on a solo blast from Jesse Gutierrez and a RBI single by Mike Daniel extended the lead to three.

Long Island rallied for a run in the fourth on a RBI single by Wilberto Ortiz. After the Blue Crabs scored three in the fifth, the Ducks bounced back with two in their half of the frame on a run-scoring double from Bryant Nelson and a RBI groundout by Shawn Williams, cutting the lead to 6-3. However, two runs on a pair of Ducks errors in the eighth put the game out of reach.

James Baker (1-0) got the win in relief, tossing one and one-third innings with one strikeout. Loree (3-2) suffered the loss, yielding six runs on 10 hits in five innings of work.

Nelson, Ray Navarrete and Brandon Sing led the Ducks with two hits apiece at the plate.

The Ducks hit the road for nine games beginning on Tuesday with the opener of a three-game series against the Camden Riversharks. Game time is slated for 7:05 p.m. from Campbell’s Field. Fans can follow the action live online at LIDucks.com by clicking the Listen Live icon on the homepage. Streaming audio will be available courtesy of iBN, the Internet Broadcast Network. Left-hander Randy Keisler will take the mound for the Ducks.

Long Island returns home on Thursday, June 28 as they host the Sugar Land Skeeters for the very first time. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 5:35. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive Quackers, courtesy of Newsday. 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.

Duck Tales: Bryant Nelson’s RBI double gave him his 34th run batted in of the season and his 13th double of the year. He is second in both categories to Ray Navarrete, who has 35 RBI and 21 doubles. Nelson has also driven in a run in three consecutive games…With two hits, Ray Navarrete picked up his 19th multi-hit game this season, a team high. He now leads the team with 12 two-hit games and six three-hit contests…Wilberto Ortiz and Connor Graham both returned to action after missing time due to injury. Ortiz picked up a RBI single, while Graham did not allow an earned run in two-thirds of an inning…The sellout crowd of 6,290 on Sunday afternoon was the Ducks’ third consecutive past-capacity crowd and the sixth sellout of the season. Long Island has now hosted 607 sold out crowds all-time, the most in Atlantic League history.

 GAME DATE: 06/17/2012 Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 8 AT Long Island Ducks 3 YTD YTD S Maryland AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG P.Figueroa SS 4 1 0 0 .274 K.Binick CF 3 0 0 0 .278 C.Hu 2B 4 1 0 0 .320 D.Lyons SS 4 0 0 0 .273 C.Benjamin LF 5 1 2 0 .308 R.Navarrete LF 4 0 2 0 .342 J.Gutierrez 1B 5 2 3 2 .310 M.Esquivel DH 1 0 0 0 .347 M.Padgett 3B 4 2 2 0 .261 R.Gorecki DH,PH 3 1 0 0 .264 B.Barton DH 4 1 2 2 .297 B.Sing 1B 4 1 2 0 .238 M.Daniel RF 5 0 3 2 .272 B.Nelson 3B 4 1 2 1 .230 C.Lopez C 5 0 0 0 .254 S.Williams RF 4 0 1 1 .313 J.Owens CF 4 0 0 0 .242 J.Johnson C 3 0 0 0 .234 W.Ortiz 2B 4 0 1 1 .253 40 8 12 6 34 3 8 3 S Maryland 0 1 0 2 3 0 0 2 0 - 8 12 0 L Island 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 - 3 8 2 2B--C.Benjamin (9), J.Gutierrez (3), M.Padgett (11), R.Navarrete (21), B.Nelson (13). HR--J.Gutierrez (1), B.Barton (2). RBI--J.Gutierrez 2 (4), B.Barton 2 (20), M.Daniel 2 (22), B.Nelson (34), S.Williams (23), W.Ortiz (14). HP--K.Binick (12), R.Navarrete (5). SB--K.Binick (14). E--B.Sing (4), W.Ortiz (5). LOB--S Maryland 9, L Island 12. DP--P. Figueroa(SS) - C. Hu(2B) - J. Gutierrez(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA S Maryland D.Jones 3.2 3 1 1 3 3 0 4.15 B.Dumesnil 1.0 1 2 2 2 1 0 4.13 J.Baker (W,1-0) 1.1 1 0 0 1 1 0 2.70 R.Barrett 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.25 E.Morlan 2.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2.31 9 8 3 3 6 6 0 L Island M.Loree (L,3-2) 5.0 10 6 6 1 1 2 4.29 J.Lansford 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.50 E.Niesen 1.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 5.16 C.Graham 0.2 0 2 0 2 1 0 4.57 J.Monti 1.1 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.14 9 12 8 6 4 5 2 WP--M.Loree (2). HB--D.Jones (1), B.Dumesnil (3). SO--C.Benjamin, J.Gutierrez, B.Barton, M.Daniel, C.Lopez, D.Lyons, R.Navarrete, R.Gorecki, S.Williams 2, W.Ortiz. BB--P.Figueroa, C.Hu, M.Padgett, B.Barton, K.Binick, D.Lyons, R.Gorecki, B.Sing, B.Nelson, J.Johnson. BF--D.Jones 18 (40), B.Dumesnil 7 (104), J.Baker 6 (26), R.Barrett 3 (64), E.Morlan 8 (89), M.Loree 26 (243), J.Lansford 3 (28), E.Niesen 5 (107), C.Graham 5 (103), J.Monti 5 (196). P-S--D.Jones 75-45, B.Dumesnil 34-14, J.Baker 19-10, R.Barrett 8-8, E.Morlan 33-23, M.Loree 91-59, J.Lansford 6-5, E.Niesen 26-16, C.Graham 25-11, J.Monti 14-10. T--3:27. A--6290 Umpires: Plate Ump - Marty Bauer, Field Ump #1 - David Mills, Field Ump #2 - Frank Leparik