Ducks squander late lead in series opener

(Bridgeport, Conn., June 23, 2016) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Bridgeport Bluefish 6-5 in 10 innings on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard.

GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the game

Dan Lyons’ solo home run in the top of the second gave the Ducks a 1-0 advantage. In the bottom of the inning, the Bluefish took a 3-1 lead on an RBI single from Luis Nunez, an RBI groundout from Rossmel Perez, and an RBI single from Anthony Giansanti.

The Ducks pulled to within 3-2 on Ruben Gotay’s RBI groundout in the third. Bridgeport took a 4-2 lead in the fourth on an error, but in the fifth, Delta Cleary Jr.’s RBI single cut Long Island’s deficit back to one at 4-3. Matt Wessinger’s two-run single in the eighth gave the Ducks a 5-4 lead.

The Bluefish tied the game at five in the eighth on a sacrifice fly from Josh Vitters. Luis Nunez’s single in the bottom of the 10th drove in the game-winning run, as Bridgeport won 6-5.

Neither starter factored into the decision. Long Island starter Darin Downs surrendered four runs (three earned) on six hits with four strikeouts and two walks over six innings. D.J. Mitchell allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks over five innings. R.J. Hively (1-4) collected the win, tossing a scoreless tenth inning, allowing one hit and one strikeout. Todd Coffey (1-1) took the loss, pitching two-thirds of an inning allowing one run on two hits with one strikeout and one walk.

Wessinger and Lyons each nabbed two hits to lead the way offensively for Long Island. Fehlandt Lentini reached base five times.

The Ducks and Bluefish continue their four-game set on Friday. Game time is slated for 7:12 p.m. from the Ballpark at Harbor Yard. Fans can follow all the action live on the Ducks’ flagship radio station, 103.9-FM LI News Radio. Streaming audio will also be available online by CLICKING HERE. Righty Bruce Kern (0-1, 2.32 ERA) takes the baseball for the Ducks against Bridgeport right-hander Jonathan Albaladejo (5-2, 5.40).

Long Island returns home on Monday, June 27 to open a four-game set against the Revolution. 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 the 10th Annual Health Night at the ballpark, presented by Northwell Health, and the first 3,000 fans in attendance will receive Commemorative T-Shirts. In addition, it’s the first LaVida Massage Monday of the season! Free massages will be available on the concourse, and one lucky fan will go home with a special massage package, courtesy of LaVida Massage of Smithtown, the official massage therapy and skin care center of the Ducks. 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: 06/23/2016 Long Island Ducks 5 AT Bridgeport Bluefish 6 (EXTRA INNINGS) YTD YTD L Island AB R H BI AVG Bridgeport AB R H BI AVG Lentini, F RF 3 1 1 0 .335 Hernandez, L SS 5 0 1 0 .269 Cleary Jr., D CF 2 0 1 1 .282 Chavez, E CF 5 0 1 0 .306 Gotay, R 2B 5 0 1 1 .291 Dotel, W RF 5 1 1 0 .348 Johnson, D 1B 5 0 0 0 .217 Cuevas, J DH 5 2 4 0 .318 Puckett, C 3B 4 1 0 0 .268 Galvez, J 1B 2 1 0 0 .337 Lyons, D DH 4 1 2 1 .307 Vitters, J 3B 3 1 0 1 .232 Dowd, M C 5 1 1 0 .279 Nunez, L 2B 5 1 3 2 .269 Vega, A LF 1 0 0 0 .271 Perez, R C 3 0 1 1 .266 Tekotte, B LF,PR 1 0 0 0 .220 Chambers, A PR 0 0 0 0 .150 Wessinger, M SS 5 1 2 2 .216 Gil, J C 0 0 0 0 .000 Giansanti, A LF 3 0 1 1 .226 35 5 8 5 36 6 12 5 L Island 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 - 5 8 2 Bridgeport 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 - 6 12 3 2B--Cuevas, J DH (17). HR--Lyons, D DH (4). RBI--Cleary Jr., D CF (10), Gotay, R 2B (17), Lyons, D DH (21), Wessinger, M SS 2 (13), TOTALS 5 (0), Vitters, J 3B (23), Nunez, L 2B 2 (19), Perez, R C (15), Giansanti, A LF (12), TOTALS 5 (0). HP--Lentini, F RF (3), Vega, A LF (3). SF--Vitters, J 3B (1). SH--Cleary Jr., D CF 3 (0), Galvez, J 1B (0), Perez, R C (0), Giansanti, A LF (0). SB--Lentini, F RF (19), Puckett, C 3B (1), Nunez, L 2B 2 (4), Giansanti, A LF (6). CS--Vega, A LF (3). E--Gotay, R 2B (6), Downs, D P (1), Hernandez, L SS (8), Perez, R C (4), Giansanti, A LF (2). LOB--L Island 10, Bridgeport 8. DP--R. Gotay(2B) - M. Wessinger(SS) - D. Johnson(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA L Island Downs, D 6.0 6 4 3 2 4 0 4.50 De La Rosa, E 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.02 Diaz, A 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 0 3.04 Richardson, D 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Coffey, T (L,1-1) 0.2 2 1 1 1 1 0 2.41 9.2 12 6 5 3 5 0 Bridgeport Mitchell, D 5.0 5 3 2 2 4 1 3.24 Kuzia, J 1.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.76 Moran, B 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.47 Shuman, S 0.1 1 2 2 1 1 0 2.91 Niesen, E 0.2 1 0 0 1 1 0 4.56 Thompson, T 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.46 Hively, R (W,1-4) 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 6.51 10 8 5 4 4 7 1 WP--Richardson, D (1). PB--Dowd, M. HB--Mitchell, D (1), Kuzia, J (2). SO--Cleary Jr., D, Gotay, R, Johnson, D 2, Lyons, D 2, Wessinger, M, Chavez, E, Dotel, W 2, Cuevas, J, Galvez, J. BB--Lentini, F, Puckett, C, Vega, A 2, Galvez, J 2, Vitters, J. BF--Downs, D 26 (303), De La Rosa, E 3 (95), Diaz, A 5 (92), Richardson, D 4 (10), Coffey, T 5 (75), Mitchell, D 24 (109), Kuzia, J 6 (116), Moran, B (102), Shuman, S 3 (98), Niesen, E 4 (114), Thompson, T 3 (112), Hively, R 4 (221). P-S--Downs, D 97-66, De La Rosa, E 8-5, Diaz, A 13-11, Richardson, D 17-13, Coffey, T 20-11, Mitchell, D 98-59, Kuzia, J 13-8, Moran, B 3-3, Shuman, S 16-9, Niesen, E 16-8, Thompson, T 9-6, Hively, R 15-10. T--3:27. A--2645 Weather: Cloudy and Warm Plate Umpire - John Libone, Field Umpire #1 - Richard Katz, Field Umpire #3 - Karl Best