Long Island takes over sole possession of first place

(Central Islip, N.Y., July 6, 2013) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Bridgeport Bluefish 4-2 on Saturday night in the middle game of a three-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.

GAME AUDIO: Ray Navarrete’s sac fly and RBI singles by Ralph Henriquez and Kraig Binick

POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez and Dontrelle Willis talk about the win

Long Island jumped on the scoreboard with a three-run first inning against former Duck and Bluefish starter Mike Parisi. A run-scoring error, Ray Navarrete’s sacrifice fly to center and Ralph Henriquez’s RBI single to right gave the Ducks the early lead. Kraig Binick’s two-out RBI single to center in the third extended the lead to four.

It stayed that way until eighth when the Bluefish grabbed a pair of runs on a bloop two-run double to left by Alexis Gomez. However, Bridgeport would get no closer.

Dontrelle Willis (5-3) earned the win, tossing five scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and a walk while striking out three. Parisi (2-11) took the loss, surrendering four runs (two earned) on seven hits in six innings. Leo Rosales earned his 15th save with a scoreless ninth.

Henriquez and Bryant Nelson led the Flock with two hits apiece.

The Ducks and Bluefish wrap up their three-game series on Sunday evening. Game time is slated for 5:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 4:05 as both teams play the final game at the Duck Pond of the 2013 Ferry Cup Series. It’s a Sunday Family Funday at the ballpark! Prior to the game, fans will be invited onto the field for an autograph session with the Ducks. After the game, kids and kids at heart can take part in Kids Run the Bases, presented by Bethpage Federal Credit Union. Southpaw James Houser toes the rubber for Long Island against Bridgeport lefty Miguel Martinez.

Tickets for the game and all Ducks regular season home games are now on sale. Fans can purchase their tickets by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark box office, calling 631-940-TIXX or by CLICKING HERE. Fans unable to make the game can follow all the action live on the radio home of the Ducks, 103.9-FM WRCN and online, with streaming video and audio available on the Ducks official YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/ducksbaseball.

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Duck Tales: Dontrelle Willis continued his dominance on the mound of late with five shutout innings to earn the win. In his last five starts, the Major League veteran is 3-1 with a 1.13 ERA. The southpaw has thrown 32 innings in that span, allowing just four runs on 21 hits and 11 walks while striking out 22…With two hits in the game, Bryant Nelson picked up his 16th two-hit game and 19th multi-hit contest. Ralph Henriquez earned his sixth two-hit game and multi-hit game in the win as well. Joash Brodin leads the Ducks with 24 two-hit games and 32 multi-hit contest this season…Joash Brodin collected a hit for the 17th time in his last 20 games. During those 20 games, he is batting .378 (31-for-82) with four doubles, four homers, 10 RBI and 10 runs scored. He ranks second in the Atlantic League with 93 hits, one shy of Bridgeport’s Daniel Mayora (94)…With four strikeouts on the night, the Ducks pitching staff increased their season total to 534, the most in the Atlantic League this season. Lancaster ranks second behind the Ducks with 523. Last season, the Ducks pitching staff totaled 932 strikeouts which was third-most in the league behind Southern Maryland (962) and Bridgeport (941).

 GAME DATE: 07/06/2013 Bridgeport Bluefish 2 AT Long Island Ducks 4 YTD YTD Bridgeport AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG D.Mayora 2B 4 0 1 0 .324 J.Brodin 1B 4 0 1 0 .330 A.Krum LF 4 1 2 0 .327 J.Barfield 2B 5 1 1 0 .294 P.Redman RF 3 0 0 0 .245 B.Nelson 3B 4 1 2 0 .270 A.Gomez DH 4 0 2 2 .300 B.Hall LF 3 1 1 0 .275 L.Lopez 3B 4 0 0 0 .265 A.Bailey RF 4 1 1 0 .259 J.Simmons CF 4 0 1 0 .257 R.Navarrete DH 3 0 0 1 .253 L.Rodriguez C 4 0 2 0 .262 R.Henriquez C 4 0 2 1 .212 V.Diaz 1B 3 0 0 0 .186 K.Binick CF 3 0 1 1 .235 I.Suarez SS 3 1 0 0 .215 D.Lyons SS 4 0 0 0 .212 33 2 8 2 34 4 9 3 Bridgeport 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 - 2 8 2 L Island 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 x - 4 9 1 2B--A.Gomez (16), J.Barfield (11), A.Bailey (15). RBI--A.Gomez 2 (41), R.Navarrete (18), R.Henriquez (16), K.Binick (3). SF--R.Navarrete (3). E--V.Diaz (4), I.Suarez (8), D.Lyons (12). LOB--Bridgeport 6, L Island 10. DP--D. Lyons(SS) - J. Barfield(2B) - J. Brodin(1B), D. Lyons(SS) - J. Barfield(2B) - J. Brodin(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Bridgeport M.Parisi (L,2-11) 6.0 7 4 2 2 3 0 5.55 A.Hinshaw 1.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 7.20 J.Fulchino 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.86 8 9 4 2 3 5 0 L Island D.Willis (W,5-3) 5.0 4 0 0 1 3 0 2.69 E.Threets 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5.40 I.Snell 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.11 J.Lansford 1.0 2 2 0 1 0 0 2.30 L.Rosales (S,15) 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.95 9 8 2 0 2 4 0 WP--M.Parisi (4). SO--L.Lopez, J.Simmons, V.Diaz, I.Suarez, B.Hall 2, A.Bailey, R.Navarrete, R.Henriquez. BB--P.Redman, V.Diaz, J.Brodin, B.Hall, K.Binick. BF--M.Parisi 29 (402), A.Hinshaw 5 (25), J.Fulchino 4 (83), D.Willis 18 (273), E.Threets 4 (21), I.Snell 3 (125), J.Lansford 7 (126), L.Rosales 3 (124). P-S--M.Parisi 111-67, A.Hinshaw 21-12, J.Fulchino 11-8, D.Willis 73-42, E.Threets 17-10, I.Snell 11-9, J.Lansford 24-15, L.Rosales 11-8. T--2:38. A--4984 Umpires: Plate Ump - Alan Reyes, Field Ump #1 - Matt Hensel, Field Ump #2 - Hank Himmanen