Southpaw twirls seven scoreless innings to earn victory

(Central Islip, N.Y., July 16, 2016) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Somerset Patriots 7-0 on Saturday night in the middle game of a three-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.

GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the shutout win

POSTGAME VIDEO: Darin Downs, Delta Cleary Jr. and Ruben Gotay talk about the victory

Neither side plated a run until the bottom of the fourth when the Ducks struck for three against Patriots starter Donovan Hand. A leadoff solo home run to right field by Delta Cleary Jr. and a two-out, two-run homer to right by Ruben Gotay did the damage. Four more runs in the fifth on RBI singles by Cleary Jr. and Puckett, and a two-run double by Mark Minicozzi extended the advantage to 7-0.

That was more than enough for Darin Downs (7-5) to earn the win. The southpaw tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing just five hits while striking out seven. Hand (3-2) took the loss, yielding seven runs on eight hits and a walk with three strikeouts in four and one-third innings.

Cleary Jr., Puckett and Minicozzi each had two hits to pace the Flock. Two runs were driven in by Cleary Jr., Minicozzi and Gotay as well.

The Ducks and Patriots wrap up their three-game set on Sunday evening. Game time is slated for 5:05 p.m. with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 4:05 (3:50 for full season ticket holders). The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive Yellow and Navy Baseballs, courtesy of Yellow Dog Lawn Care. It’s also 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 from 4:20 to 4:35. Following the game, kids, and kids at heart, can take part in Kids Run the Bases, presented by Bethpage Federal Credit Union. Right-hander Bruce Kern toes the rubber for the Ducks against Patriots righty Bryce Morrow.

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. Those unable to make the game can follow all the action live online via the Ducks’ official YouTube channel. Streaming video and audio will be available by 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: 07/16/2016 Somerset Patriots 0 AT Long Island Ducks 7 YTD YTD Somerset AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG Jones, M CF 4 0 1 0 .264 Vega, A CF,LF 3 1 0 0 .285 Eggleston, A LF 3 0 1 0 .320 Lentini, F RF 3 0 0 0 .312 Zarrillo, V PH 1 0 0 0 .257 Cleary Jr., D CF 4 2 2 2 .318 Farris, E 2B 3 0 0 0 .298 Hughes, C LF 0 0 0 0 .107 Kelly, S PH 1 0 0 0 .250 Puckett, C 3B 4 1 2 1 .278 Vidal, D 3B 3 0 0 0 .325 Lyons, D SS 3 0 0 0 .321 LaHair, B 1B 3 0 0 0 .256 Minicozzi, M 1B 4 1 2 2 .276 Van Kirk, B DH 3 0 0 0 .077 Gotay, R 2B 4 1 1 2 .281 Robinson, T RF 3 0 1 0 .238 Dowd, M C 3 0 1 0 .313 Gonzalez, Y C 2 0 1 0 .243 Blanke, M DH 3 1 1 0 .240 Mateo, L SS 3 0 1 0 .125 29 0 5 0 31 7 9 7 Somerset 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 5 0 L Island 0 0 0 3 4 0 0 0 x - 7 9 0 2B--Minicozzi, M 1B (1). HR--Cleary Jr., D CF (1), Gotay, R 2B (5). RBI--Cleary Jr., D CF 2 (19), Puckett, C 3B (41), Minicozzi, M 1B 2 (6), Gotay, R 2B 2 (27), TOTALS 7 (0). HP--Lyons, D SS (3). SH--Lentini, F RF (0). SB--Robinson, T RF (12), Cleary Jr., D CF 2 (16), Dowd, M C (2). LOB--Somerset 3, L Island 3. DP--E. Farris(2B) - L. Mateo(SS) - B. LaHair(1B), D. Lyons(SS) - M. Minicozzi(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Somerset Hand, D (L,3-2) 4.1 8 7 7 1 3 2 4.57 Little, C 1.2 1 0 0 0 2 0 3.21 Storey, M 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 6.90 Bryson, R 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.00 8 9 7 7 1 7 2 L Island Downs, D (W,7-5) 7.0 5 0 0 0 7 0 3.64 Struck, N 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 4.64 Diaz, A 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.64 9 5 0 0 1 10 0 HB--Hand, D (3). SO--Jones, M 2, Eggleston, A, Kelly, S, Vidal, D, Van Kirk, B, Robinson, T 2, Gonzalez, Y, Mateo, L, Vega, A 2, Lentini, F, Cleary Jr., D, Lyons, D, Gotay, R 2. BB--Gonzalez, Y, Vega, A. BF--Hand, D 22 (188), Little, C 6 (165), Storey, M 3 (280), Bryson, R 3 (11), Downs, D 24 (406), Struck, N 3 (92), Diaz, A 3 (118). P-S--Hand, D 83-55, Little, C 19-13, Storey, M 10-7, Bryson, R 11-7, Downs, D 99-64, Struck, N 11-6, Diaz, A 15-10. T--2:38. A--6757 Delta Cleary Jr. ejected by Richard Katz in the bottom of the seventh for arguing balls and strikes Plate Umpire - Richard Katz, Field Umpire #1 - Silvio Martinez Jr., Field Umpire #2 - Fred DeJesus