(Central Islip, N.Y., May 24, 2012) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Bridgeport Bluefish 5-4 on Thursday night in the first game of a four-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME VIDEO: Josh Johnson’s solo homer and RBI singles from Matt Esquivel and Reid Gorecki
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Johnson and Wilberto Ortiz talk about the tough defeat
The Bluefish cracked the scoreboard first with four runs in the second inning off Ducks starter Joe Esposito. A RBI sac fly off the bat of Ramon Vazquez and RBI singles from Luis Rodriguez, Kennard Jones and Pedro Lopez did the damage. Collin DeLome added a solo homer in the following frame putting Bridgeport up 5-0.
The Ducks got their first run with a solo home run to left by Josh Johnson off Bluefish starter Gilbert De La Vara in the fifth. Johnson drove in another run with a single to left-center in the sixth. Both Matt Esquivel and Reid Gorecki added RBI singles in the seventh, cutting the lead to one, but that was all Long Island could muster.
De La Vara (2-1) picked up the win, tossing six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on seven hits while striking out two. Esposito (2-3) got the loss, giving up five runs on eight hits in two and one-third innings of work. Jorge Julio earned his fourth save with a scoreless ninth.
Johnson, Esquivel, Gorecki and Wilberto Ortiz led the Ducks with two hits.
The Ferry Cup Series continues at Bethpage Ballpark on Friday night, as the Ducks continue their four-game set against the Bridgeport Bluefish. Game time is slated for 7:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 6:05. The first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive a Ducks Jersey T-Shirt, courtesy of CYA Action Fun Wear. In addition, the Ducks will be running their weekly Pizza Hut K-Man promotion. If the Pizza Hut K-Man strikes out during the game, everyone in attendance will receive a free order of breadsticks, courtesy of Pizza Hut. Left-hander Gustavo Chacin gets the start for Long Island against Bridgeport lefty Paul Oseguera.
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. Fans unable to attend the game can follow the action live on the radio at MyCountry 96.1 FM and online at LIDucks.com by clicking the Watch Live icon on the homepage. Streaming video and audio will be available courtesy of iBN, the Internet Broadcast Network.
Duck Tales: With a walk, Ray Navarrete has now reached base safely in his last 11 games. The seven-year Ducks has driven in 14 runs during that span and has collected hits in nine of those 11 games… Josh Johnson hit his second home run of the season and his first at Bethpage Ballpark. Johnson hit a career-high nine homers with the Road Warriors last year…The Ducks bullpen did a terrific job in relief of Joe Esposito. In six and two-thirds innings, Connor Graham, Dan Meyer, Eric Niesen and Jeremy Hill combined to allow just one hit while striking out two.
GAME DATE: 05/24/2012 Bridgeport Bluefish 5 AT Long Island Ducks 4 YTD YTD Bridgeport AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG K.Jones LF 5 0 1 1 .318 K.Binick CF 5 0 0 0 .270 P.Lopez 2B 5 0 1 1 .275 W.Ortiz 3B 3 1 2 0 .291 P.Redman RF 4 0 0 0 .305 B.Sing DH 3 1 0 0 .222 C.DeLome CF 3 2 1 1 .357 M.Esquivel LF 5 0 2 1 .429 L.Lopez 3B 5 0 0 0 .242 R.Navarrete 1B,2B 4 0 0 0 .267 R.Vazquez DH 2 0 1 1 .256 J.McOwen PR 0 0 0 0 .303 B.Peterson 1B 4 1 3 0 .198 S.Williams 1B,C 5 1 1 0 .382 L.Rodriguez C 2 1 1 1 .225 R.Gorecki RF 4 0 2 1 .304 E.Rogers SS 3 1 1 0 .255 J.Johnson C 3 1 2 2 .234 B.Nelson 2B,PH 1 0 0 0 .248 D.Lyons SS 4 0 1 0 .289 33 5 9 5 37 4 10 4 Bridgeport 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 5 9 1 L Island 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 - 4 10 1 2B--B.Peterson 2 (5). HR--C.DeLome (5), J.Johnson (2). RBI--K.Jones (18), P.Lopez (7), C.DeLome (22), R.Vazquez (7), L.Rodriguez (7), M.Esquivel (4), R.Gorecki (3), J.Johnson 2 (6). SF--R.Vazquez (1). SH--E.Rogers (0). SB--C.DeLome 2 (4), W.Ortiz (1), J.McOwen (4). CS--R.Gorecki (1). E--P.Lopez (2), M.Esquivel (1). LOB--Bridgeport 9, L Island 11. DP--R. Navarrete(2B) - W. Ortiz(3B) - S. Williams(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Bridgeport G.De La Vara (W,2-1) 6.0 7 2 1 2 2 1 4.08 J.Bayliss 1.0 2 2 2 3 1 0 3.20 R.Lewis 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.13 J.Julio (S,4) 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 9.00 9 10 4 3 5 4 1 L Island J.Esposito (L,2-3) 2.1 8 5 5 1 1 1 6.97 C.Graham 2.2 0 0 0 1 2 0 5.60 D.Meyer 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1.98 E.Niesen 1.2 0 0 0 3 0 0 4.40 J.Hill 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.50 9 9 5 5 6 3 1 SO--K.Jones, P.Lopez, P.Redman, M.Esquivel, S.Williams, J.Johnson, D.Lyons. BB--P.Redman, C.DeLome 2, R.Vazquez, L.Rodriguez 2, W.Ortiz 2, B.Sing 2, R.Navarrete. BF--G.De La Vara 27 (135), J.Bayliss 8 (82), R.Lewis 3 (62), J.Julio 4 (33), J.Esposito 16 (144), C.Graham 8 (83), D.Meyer 5 (62), E.Niesen 8 (66), J.Hill 4 (69). P-S--G.De La Vara 98-60, J.Bayliss 37-20, R.Lewis 13-10, J.Julio 14-9, J.Esposito 59-37, C.Graham 25-15, D.Meyer 14-8, E.Niesen 28-13, J.Hill 13-10. T--2:57. A--5316 Umpires: Plate Ump - Matt Hensel, Field Ump #1 - Chase Edmondson, Field Ump #2 - Matt Beaver