Long Island drops series opener
(Central Islip, N.Y., July 21, 2014) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Bridgeport Bluefish 7-3 on Monday afternoon at Bethpage Ballpark in the opener of a three-game series.
GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the series opener
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez and Jan Vazquez talk about the game
Bridgeport struck first in the opening inning on a RBI single to center by Luis Lopez off Ducks starter Shaun Garceau. Another run in the second on a RBI single to right by James Simmons extended the lead to two.
A sacrifice fly to right by Simmons in the fourth and a RBI single by Luis Rodriguez in the fifth doubled the lead to 4-0. A run-scoring error in the fifth by the Bluefish cut the deficit to three, but a two-run sixth for Bridgeport put them up by five.
Long Island stormed back with two of their own in the bottom of the frame on a RBI single by Jan Vazquez and a RBI triple off the bat of Fehlandt Lentini. However, a run-scoring infield single in the seventh by Prentice Redman rounded out the scoring.
Tomo Ohka (5-6) earned the win, tossing six innings, allowing three runs on six hits and six walks while striking out one. Garceau (8-3) took the loss, surrendering four runs on nine hits with one walk and one strikeout over five innings.
Lew Ford led the Flock with two hits at the plate.
Long Island continues its three-game series with the cross-sound rival Bridgeport on Tuesday night. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at a special time of 5:15 for a pre-game charity softball game between the Oyster Bay Police Department and QSAC (Quality Services for the Autism Community). The first 1,500 fans in attendance will take home QuackerJack Bobbleheads featuring the Atlantic League championship trophy, courtesy of Briarcliffe College. Right-hander Mitch Talbot takes the mound for the Ducks against Bluefish southpaw Matt Iannazzo.
Tickets for the game and every Ducks regular season home game are now on sale. Fans can purchase their tickets by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark box office, calling 631-940-TIXX or by CLICKING HERE. Those unable to make the game can follow all the action online with live streaming video and audio available on the Ducks official YouTube channel by CLICKING HERE.
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Duck Tales: Fehlandt Lentini earned a triple in the sixth inning and has now hit safely 41 of his last 42 games, including 20 straight. It’s the second time this season he has had a hitting streak of at least 20 games after he put together a 21-game hit streak from June 6 to 27. In the 42 games, he is batting .344 (63-for-183), and in his current 20-game hitting streak, he’s hitting .311 (28-for-90). In addition, Lentini stole another base and leads the Atlantic League with 34 steals on the year. He is a perfect 34-for-34 in stolen base attempts this season. The first-year Duck also leads the Atlantic League in hits (111), doubles (27) and at-bats (344) while ranking third in runs (56) and fourth in batting average (.323)…Lew Ford picked up a hit on Monday and has now reached base in eight consecutive games and 16 of his last 17 contests. The former big leaguer has multiple hits in eight of those games and leads Long Island with 32 multi-hit games this year. The 2014 All-Star leads the Atlantic League in hits (111) and games played (80) while ranking second in batting average (.358), RBI (60), runs (60), total bases (166) and on-base percentage (.430)… Brendan Harris drew two walks to extend his on-base streak to 14 consecutive games. During the streak, the former big leaguer is hitting .318 (14-for-44)…Jon Myers picked up a double in the fifth inning and has now hit safely in his last six games started and in 15 of his last 16 starts. In his last six starts, Myers is batting .320 (8-for-25) with four doubles, three RBI and two runs.
Game Date: 07/21/2014 Bridgeport Bluefish 7 AT Long Island Ducks 3 YTD YTD Bridgeport AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG J.Simmons CF 4 2 3 2 .296 F.Lentini CF 3 0 1 1 .323 P.Redman RF 5 0 2 1 .279 C.Puckett 2B 4 0 1 0 .281 R.Castro 3B 5 1 1 1 .263 L.Ford DH 5 0 1 0 .358 C.Wells LF 4 1 3 1 .533 A.Bailey RF 4 0 0 0 .276 L.Lopez 1B 4 0 2 1 .219 B.Hall 3B 4 0 0 0 .091 J.Chapman P 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Harris SS 2 1 0 0 .289 T.Gustafson P 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Brodin 1B 4 0 1 0 .254 W.Abreu P 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Myers LF 3 1 1 0 .237 A.Gallagher 1B,DH 4 0 0 0 .157 J.Vazquez C 4 1 1 1 .230 L.Rodriguez C 5 0 1 1 .188 J.Martinez 2B 5 1 1 0 .220 M.Richard SS 2 2 1 0 .275 38 7 14 7 33 3 6 2 Bridgeport 1 1 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 - 7 14 2 L Island 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 - 3 6 2 2B--R.Castro (15), M.Richard (6), J.Myers (12). 3B--F.Lentini (3). RBI--J.Simmons 2 (39), P.Redman (37), R.Castro (27), C.Wells (2), L.Lopez (27), L.Rodriguez (21), F.Lentini (39), J.Vazquez (14). HP--J.Simmons (9). SF--J.Simmons (5). SH--M.Richard (0). SB--J.Simmons (11), C.Wells (1), M.Richard (13), F.Lentini (34). CS--J.Simmons (3). E--J.Simmons (5), M.Richard (12), B.Hall 2 (2). LOB--Bridgeport 13, L Island 11. DP--J. Martinez(2B) - M. Richard(SS) - L. Lopez(1B), C. Puckett(2B) - B. Hall(3B) - J. Brodin(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Bridgeport T.Ohka (W,5-6) 6.0 5 3 2 6 1 0 4.52 J.Chapman 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.15 T.Gustafson 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2.01 W.Abreu 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 3.25 9 6 3 2 8 4 0 L Island S.Garceau (L,8-3) 5.0 9 4 4 1 1 0 5.20 R.Whitenack 0.1 1 2 2 2 0 0 4.87 B.Zimmermann 3.2 4 1 1 3 1 0 6.75 9 14 7 7 6 2 0 HB--R.Whitenack (2). SO--L.Rodriguez, J.Martinez, L.Ford, A.Bailey 2, B.Hall. BB--P.Redman, C.Wells, L.Lopez, A.Gallagher, M.Richard 2, F.Lentini 2, C.Puckett, A.Bailey, B.Hall, B.Harris 2, J.Myers. BF--T.Ohka 29 (394), J.Chapman 3 (151), T.Gustafson 4 (166), W.Abreu 5 (116), S.Garceau 26 (438), R.Whitenack 5 (93), B.Zimmermann 16 (70). P-S--T.Ohka 106-57, J.Chapman 11-8, T.Gustafson 18-9, W.Abreu 18-11, S.Garceau 81-53, R.Whitenack 15-5, B.Zimmermann 65-35. T--3:25. A--5029 Luis Lopez was ejected in the middle of the seventh inning for arguing balls and strikes Plate Umpire - Fred DeJesus, Field Umpire #1 - John Torres, Field Umpire #2 - Richard Katz