Long Island rallies in game two after Bridgeport squeaks by in opener

(Central Islip, N.Y., June 30, 2014) – The Long Island Ducks split a single-admission doubleheader with the Bridgeport Bluefish on Monday night at Bethpage Ballpark. Bridgeport won game one 4-3, while the Ducks took game two 10-3.

GAME AUDIO: Highlights from game two of the doubleheader

POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Brendan Harris and Fehlandt Lentini talk about the twinbill split

Bridgeport grabbed a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning of game one on a grand slam from Denny Almonte off Ducks starter Rob Whitenack. The Ducks responded in the bottom of the first on a RBI single from Randy Ruiz off Bluefish starter Matt Iannazzo.

Long Island trimmed the deficit in half in the third on a RBI single from Cody Puckett. Brendan Harris drew a bases loaded walk in the seventh to bring the Ducks within one, but Long Island failed to even the ballgame.

Iannazzo (2-2) earned the win, yielding two runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out four over five innings. Whitenack (1-1) received the loss, allowing four runs on three hits and four walks with two strikeouts in three innings. Ryan Harvey earned his first save of the season despite allowing one run on two walks and two hit-batsman over two innings.

Puckett, Harris and Ruiz each paced the Ducks bats with two hits.

In game two, the Bluefish took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first on a three-run home from J.R. Towles off Ducks starter Bob Zimmermann. However, Long Island answered with four runs in the bottom of the first off Bridgeport starter Joe Bateman. A Randy Ruiz RBI single and an Adam Bailey three-run home run highlighted the inning.

The Flock increased their lead to 5-3 in the bottom of the third inning on a RBI double from Brendan Harris. Long Island added three more runs in the bottom of the fifth on a wild pitch and RBI singles from Jan Vazquez and Fehlandt Lentini. A two-run bottom of the sixth capped the scoring.

Zimmerman received a no-decision, yielding three runs on two hits and four walks with three strikeouts in three innings. Eric Niesen (2-0) earned the win, tossing two scoreless innings of relief with two strikeouts and two walks. Bateman (0-3) took the loss, surrendering five runs on seven hits while striking out three over three innings of work.

Lentini led the Ducks with four hits, while both Harris and Bailey each recorded three hits.

Long Island and Bridgeport continue their five-game set on Tuesday night. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 6:05. It’s Irish Night at the ballpark! The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive Souvenir Cups, courtesy of Shandon Court. Right-hander Shaun Garceau takes the hill for the Ducks against Bluefish righty Tomo Ohka.

Tickets for the game and every Ducks regular season home game are now on sale. Fans can purchase their tickets by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark box office, calling 631-940-TIXX or by CLICKING HERE. Those unable to make the game can follow all the action with live streaming video and audio available on the Ducks official YouTube channel by CLICKING HERE.

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Duck Tales: With the split, the Ducks are now 10-4 this season in doubleheader games. The Flock had swept their previous two doubleheaders and have three sweeps and four splits on the year. The last time the Ducks were swept in a twinbill was on June 19, 2013 at Camden. Long Island went 6-6 in doubleheader games last season…With four hits in game two of the doubleheader, Fehlandt Lentini now is tied for the team-lead with three four-hit games this year. Lew Ford also has three four-hit games. Lentini leads the Atlantic League with 89 hits on the season. With three steals combined in the two games, Lentini now leads the Atlantic League with 28 stolen bases on the season. In addition, he is a perfect 28-for-28 on the basepaths when stealing a base. The Major League record for consecutive stolen bases without being caught stealing is 50, set by Vince Coleman of the St. Louis Cardinals from September 18, 1988 through July 26, 1989…In the two games, Brendan Harris combined to reach base in seven of his eight plate appearances, including consecutive multi-hit games. The former big leaguer now has 12 multi-hit games on the season…Adam Bailey’s three-run home run in game two was his ninth of the year, which is two behind Lew Ford (11) for the team lead. Bailey now has 40 runs batted in on the year, which also ranks second on the Ducks behind Ford’s 52…With a split of the doubleheader, the Ducks now lead the Bluefish 4-3 in this year’s Ferry Cup Series standings. The Ducks have won the Ferry Cup three times since its inception (2009, 2011, 2013), and no team has ever won it in back-to-back seasons.

 Game Date: 06/30/2014 (GAME ONE) Bridgeport Bluefish 4 AT Long Island Ducks 3 YTD YTD Bridgeport AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG J.Simmons CF 3 1 1 0 .297 F.Lentini RF 3 2 1 0 .326 P.Redman RF 3 0 0 0 .257 C.Puckett 2B 3 0 2 1 .290 R.Castro 3B 4 0 0 0 .243 L.Ford CF 3 1 1 0 .359 J.Towles DH 2 1 0 0 .333 R.Ruiz DH 4 0 2 1 .284 L.Lopez 1B 2 1 0 0 .209 B.Harris 3B 2 0 2 1 .273 D.Almonte LF 3 1 2 4 .210 A.Bailey LF 4 0 1 0 .262 L.Rodriguez C 2 0 0 0 .196 J.Brodin 1B 3 0 0 0 .249 J.Martinez 2B 3 0 0 0 .213 K.Castillo C 2 0 0 0 .236 M.Richard SS 2 0 0 0 .280 D.Lyons SS 3 0 0 0 .267 24 4 3 4 27 3 9 3 Bridgeport 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 4 3 0 L Island 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 - 3 9 0 2B--D.Almonte (9), L.Ford (13), R.Ruiz (10). HR--D.Almonte (6). RBI--D.Almonte 4 (21), C.Puckett (34), R.Ruiz (30), B.Harris (15). HP--J.Simmons (7), F.Lentini (1), L.Ford (7), K.Castillo (1). SB--M.Richard (9), F.Lentini 2 (27). LOB--Bridgeport 5, L Island 9. DP--J. Martinez(2B) - M. Richard(SS) - L. Lopez(1B), M. Iannazzo(P) - M. Richard(SS) - L. Lopez(1B), J. Martinez(2B) - M. Richard(SS) - L. Lopez(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Bridgeport M.Iannazzo (W,2-2) 5.0 9 2 2 1 4 0 2.47 R.Harvey (S,1) 2.0 0 1 1 2 1 0 3.00 7 9 3 3 3 5 0 L Island R.Whitenack (L,1-1) 3.0 3 4 4 4 2 1 3.00 J.Lansford 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.24 J.Accardo 2.0 0 0 0 1 4 0 4.61 7 3 4 4 5 6 1 WP--M.Iannazzo (1), R.Whitenack (1), J.Accardo (3). HB--M.Iannazzo (2), R.Harvey 2 (2), R.Whitenack (1). SO--J.Simmons, R.Castro 2, J.Towles, D.Almonte, L.Rodriguez, C.Puckett, L.Ford, R.Ruiz, J.Brodin 2. BB--P.Redman, J.Towles, L.Lopez, L.Rodriguez, M.Richard, C.Puckett, B.Harris 2. BF--M.Iannazzo 24 (179), R.Harvey 9 (13), R.Whitenack 17 (50), J.Lansford 6 (103), J.Accardo 7 (117). P-S--M.Iannazzo 79-50, R.Harvey 30-14, R.Whitenack 57-28, J.Lansford 20-14, J.Accardo 30-19. T--2:24. Plate Umpire - Dave Speranza, Field Umpire #1 - Frank Brocato, Field Umpire #2 - Fred DeJesus Game Date: 06/30/2014 (GAME TWO) Bridgeport Bluefish 3 AT Long Island Ducks 10 YTD YTD Bridgeport AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG J.Simmons CF 2 1 1 0 .298 F.Lentini CF 4 1 4 1 .336 P.Redman RF 2 1 1 0 .259 C.Puckett 2B 3 0 0 0 .287 R.Castro 3B 3 0 0 0 .239 L.Ford DH 4 0 0 0 .353 J.Towles DH 3 1 1 3 .333 R.Ruiz 1B 3 3 2 1 .291 D.Almonte LF 2 0 0 0 .208 B.Harris 3B 4 2 3 1 .288 A.Gallagher 1B 2 0 0 0 .152 A.Bailey RF 4 2 3 4 .271 J.Martinez 2B 3 0 1 0 .215 J.Myers LF 3 1 1 0 .212 M.Richard SS 3 0 1 0 .282 S.Miranda SS 2 1 0 1 .203 B.Gonzalez C 3 0 0 0 .214 J.Vazquez C 4 0 1 1 .221 23 3 5 3 31 10 14 9 Bridgeport 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 3 5 1 L Island 4 0 1 0 3 2 x - 10 14 0 2B--J.Simmons (16), F.Lentini (21), R.Ruiz (11), B.Harris (8), J.Myers (5). HR--J.Towles (7), A.Bailey (9). RBI--J.Towles 3 (25), F.Lentini (29), R.Ruiz (31), B.Harris (16), A.Bailey 4 (40), S.Miranda (6), J.Vazquez (8). HP--J.Simmons (8), R.Ruiz (3). SF--S.Miranda (1). SH--R.Castro (0). SB--F.Lentini (28). E--M.Richard (7). LOB--Bridgeport 7, L Island 8. DP--C. Puckett(2B) - S. Miranda(SS) - R. Ruiz(1B), C. Puckett(2B) - S. Miranda(SS) - R. Ruiz(1B), J. Martinez(2B) - M. Richard(SS) - A. Gallagher(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Bridgeport J.Bateman (L,0-3) 3.0 7 5 5 0 3 1 6.92 J.Chapman 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 3.76 M.Sommo 1.0 4 3 3 1 1 0 5.92 K.McMillen 1.0 2 2 0 1 1 0 4.50 6 14 10 8 3 6 1 L Island B.Zimmermann 3.0 2 3 3 4 3 1 7.71 E.Niesen (W,2-0) 2.0 0 0 0 2 2 0 2.17 B.Lorin 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1.75 J.Meloan 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.13 7 5 3 3 6 5 1 WP--J.Chapman (4), M.Sommo (7), K.McMillen (1). HB--M.Sommo (2), B.Zimmermann (2). SO--R.Castro, D.Almonte, J.Martinez, M.Richard, B.Gonzalez, C.Puckett 2, L.Ford, J.Myers, S.Miranda, J.Vazquez. BB--J.Simmons, P.Redman 2, J.Towles, D.Almonte, A.Gallagher, C.Puckett, J.Myers, S.Miranda. BF--J.Bateman 16 (118), J.Chapman 5 (122), M.Sommo 8 (116), K.McMillen 7 (43), B.Zimmermann 15 (25), E.Niesen 8 (130), B.Lorin 5 (104), J.Meloan 3 (61). P-S--J.Bateman 63-50, J.Chapman 16-9, M.Sommo 27-13, K.McMillen 24-12, B.Zimmermann 70-35, E.Niesen 30-14, B.Lorin 21-16, J.Meloan 4-4. T--2:33. A--4732 Plate Umpire - Frank Brocato, Field Umpire #1 - Fred DeJesus, Field Umpire #2 - Dave Speranza