Cleary Jr. collects four hits, three RBIs in victory

(Waldorf, Md., July 7, 2016) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 5-3 in the opener of a four-game series at Regency Furniture Stadium.

GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the victory

Delta Cleary Jr.’s RBI singles in the first and second innings gave the Ducks a 2-0 lead. In the fourth, Southern Maryland evened the score on Zach Wilson’s two-run single. Mark Minicozzi’s solo home run gave Long Island a 3-2 advantage in the sixth, but the Blue Crabs tied the game on Michael Snyder’s RBI single in the bottom of the frame.

Long Island took a 4-3 advantage in the seventh on Cleary Jr.’s sacrifice fly. The Ducks added another in the eighth on Cody Puckett’s RBI single, making it 5-3.

Neither starter factored in the decision. Long Island’s Kevin Vance tossed three shutout innings of one-hit ball, striking out two and walking one. Tim Sexton allowed three runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and three walks in five and two-thirds innings. Dustin Richardson (1-0) collected the win despite allowing one run on two hits with one strikeout in one inning. Orlando Santos (1-4) took the loss, allowing one unearned run on one hit in one and one-third innings. Todd Coffey saved his 12th game with a scoreless ninth.

Mike Blanke and Dan Lyons each tallied two hits, while Anthony Vega had two hits and scored three runs.

The Ducks and Blue Crabs continue their four-game series on Friday. Game time from Regency Furniture Stadium is set for 7:05 p.m. and fans can follow all of the action live on the Ducks’ flagship radio station, 103.9-FM LI News Radio. Streaming audio will be available online by CLICKING HERE. Right-hander John Brownell (5-3, 2.90 ERA) gets the start for the Ducks against righty Brian Grening (3-3, 3.99 ERA).

Long Island returns home on Friday, July 15 to start a three-game series with the Somerset Patriots. 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). The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive Ducks Aluminum Water Bottles, courtesy of Fairfield Properties. It’s also a Fowl Pole Friday and an OK Petroleum Friday, and the Ducks will be running their Friday night Pizza Hut K-Man promotion. 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{f7b134541f126dcd33819b5eec9a91dff238b58155023223dba97c27371a7fb5} of the US population.

For more information, please visit www.atlanticleague.com.

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 Game Date: 07/07/2016 Long Island Ducks 5 AT Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 3 YTD YTD L Island AB R H BI AVG S Maryland AB R H BI AVG Vega, A LF 4 3 2 0 .286 Garcia, E SS 4 0 1 0 .233 Lentini, F RF 4 1 1 0 .317 Nelson, B 3B 2 1 1 0 .269 Cleary Jr., D CF 4 0 4 3 .304 Myers, D CF 3 1 1 0 .275 Puckett, C 2B 5 0 1 1 .288 Walton, J LF 4 1 1 0 .272 Lyons, D SS 5 0 2 0 .330 Snyder, M DH 3 0 2 1 .305 Minicozzi, M 1B 3 1 1 1 .300 Wilson, Z 1B 4 0 1 2 .251 Dowd, M C 3 0 1 0 .305 Sanchez, A 2B 3 0 1 0 .234 Blanke, M DH 4 0 2 0 .238 Dziomba, J 2B,PR 1 0 0 0 .235 Wessinger, M 3B 4 0 0 0 .204 David, C C 3 0 0 0 .143 Rodriguez, R RF 3 0 0 0 .176 36 5 14 5 30 3 8 3 L Island 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 - 5 14 0 S Maryland 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 - 3 8 1 2B--Garcia, E SS (9), Walton, J LF (11). HR--Minicozzi, M 1B (2). RBI--Cleary Jr., D CF 3 (15), Puckett, C 2B (40), Minicozzi, M 1B (3), TOTALS 5 (0), Snyder, M DH (26), Wilson, Z 1B 2 (34), TOTALS 3 (0). HP--Vega, A LF (4). SF--Cleary Jr., D CF (3). SH--Nelson, B 3B (0), Myers, D CF (0), David, C C (0). SB--Vega, A LF 2 (15). CS--Cleary Jr., D CF 2 (4). E--David, C C (1). LOB--L Island 9, S Maryland 5. DP--C. Puckett(2B) - M. Wessinger(3B) - M. Minicozzi(1B), C. Puckett(2B) - D. Lyons(SS) - M. Minicozzi(1B), T. Sexton(P) - E. Garcia(SS) - A. Sanchez(2B) - Z. Wilson(1B), J. Dziomba(2B) - B. Nelson(3B) - Z. Wilson(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA L Island Vance, K 3.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 5.24 DeJiulio Jr., F 1.0 3 2 2 1 1 0 1.04 Struck, N 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.66 Richardson, D (W,1-0) 1.0 2 1 1 0 1 0 1.59 Diaz, A 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.51 De La Rosa, E 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.54 Coffey, T (S,12) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.42 9 8 3 3 2 6 0 S Maryland Sexton, T 5.2 8 3 3 3 3 1 5.03 Santos, O (L,1-4) 1.1 1 1 0 0 2 0 6.47 Stem, C 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 6.25 Carson, R 1.0 3 1 1 0 2 0 6.89 9 14 5 4 3 7 1 HB--Sexton, T (3). SO--Vega, A, Lentini, F, Puckett, C 2, Lyons, D 2, Blanke, M, Myers, D, Walton, J 2, David, C, Rodriguez, R 2. BB--Lentini, F, Minicozzi, M, Dowd, M, Nelson, B, Snyder, M. BF--Vance, K 10 (99), DeJiulio Jr., F 6 (64), Struck, N 3 (84), Richardson, D 5 (24), Diaz, A 4 (110), De La Rosa, E 4 (120), Coffey, T 3 (101), Sexton, T 26 (275), Santos, O 5 (109), Stem, C 4 (32), Carson, R 6 (51). P-S--Vance, K 45-28, DeJiulio Jr., F 21-11, Struck, N 13-9, Richardson, D 20-18, Diaz, A 14-12, De La Rosa, E 12-8, Coffey, T 12-9, Sexton, T 88-58, Santos, O 14-9, Stem, C 19-10, Carson, R 18-14. T--2:50. A--2632 Plate Umpire - John Grasso, Field Umpire #1 - Kris Engstrand, Field Umpire #2 - Silvio Martinez, Jr.