Ducks take a pair to open four-game set
(Central Islip, N.Y., June 8, 2013) – The Long Island Ducks swept a day/night doubleheader against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs on Saturday at Bethpage Ballpark, winning the opener 2-0 before taking the nightcap 9-2.
GAME ONE AUDIO: Bryant Nelson and Ben Broussard’s solo homers
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Bill Hall and Ralph Henriquez talk about the doubleheader sweep
Bryant Nelson put the Ducks on top in the second inning of game one with a solo home run to right off Blue Crabs starter Daryl Thompson. Both teams would exchange scoreless innings until the sixth when Ben Broussard led off the frame with a solo homer to right.
Southern Maryland put the tying runs on with no outs in the seventh inning, but Leo Rosales struck out two and induced a ground out to end the game. Dontrelle Willis (3-2) earned the win, tossing five shutout innings, allowing just four hits and four walks while striking out five. Thompson (4-4) took the loss, yielding two runs on six hits with four strikeouts in six innings. Rosales earned his 10th save with a scoreless seventh.
Both sides remained scoreless until the fourth inning of game two when Long Island put up a five-spot against Blue Crabs starter Michael Ballard. A grand slam to center field by Bill Hall and a RBI single to center by Danny Perales did the damage. Southern Maryland answered with a run in the fifth on Cyle Hankerd’s solo homer to left off Ducks starter John Brownell.
The Ducks got the run back in the bottom of the frame on a wild pitch that scored Broussard from third and added three more in the sixth to open up an eight-run lead. Another run-scoring wild pitch and a two-run double to center by Hall highlighted the scoring.
Brownell (4-4) earned the win, allowing just two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts in seven innings of work. Ballard (3-3) suffered the loss, surrendering six runs on seven hits in just four innings.
The Ducks and Blue Crabs continue their four-game series with another day/night doubleheader on Sunday. Game time for the opener, which is slated for seven innings, is 1:35 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 12:35. It’s Stranger Safety Awareness/Rose Brucia Educational Foundation Day, and the first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive Ducks logo baseballs. It’s also a Sunday Family Funday! Prior the game, fans will be invited onto the field for an autograph session with the Ducks, and after the game, kids and kids at heart can take part in Kids Run the Bases, presented by Bethpage Federal Credit Union.
First pitch for the nightcap, which is scheduled for nine innings, is at 7:05 p.m., with the ballpark gates opening at 6:05. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive 2012 Atlantic League Champions T-shirts, courtesy of LIU Brentwood/Riverhead. The Ducks will also be running their Pizza Hut K-Man promotion, and Ducks staff members will be handing out coupons for $5 off a purchase of two lunch entrees at Outback Steakhouse to fans.
Tickets for both games 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 for Ducks baseball, 103.9-FM WRCN and online, with streaming video and audio available on the Ducks official YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/ducksbaseball.
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Duck Tales (Game One): Bryant Nelson’s solo homer in the second inning was his sixth home run of the season. All six of Nelson’s home runs have come batting left-handed, and four of his six longballs have come at Bethpage Ballpark…The switch-hitter has also gone deep in two of the last three home games…Ben Broussard’s solo homer in the sixth inning was his fourth of the season and first at Bethpage Ballpark. Since returning from an injury on May 31, the former big leaguer is batting .517 (15-for-29) with four doubles, three home runs, seven RBI and three runs scored…With a scoreless sixth inning, Jared Lansford has now made 15 consecutive scoreless appearances. The right-hander has not allowed a run since May 3 at York. In that span, he has allowed just five hits and two walks while striking out 17 in 15 and two-thirds innings…The Ducks improved to 3-0 in the first game of doubleheaders this season. Long Island defeated Somerset 6-5 in game one on May 11 and Southern Maryland 3-2 in the opener on May 26 as well. The Ducks also earned their fourth shutout of the season and second consecutive shutout after defeating Bridgeport 5-0 in their last game on June 5.
Duck Tales (Game Two): The grand slam by Bill Hall in the fourth inning was his first hit and first home run as a Long Island Duck. It was also the team’s second grand slam of the season. Danny Perales hit a grand slam on April 26 against the Sugar Land Skeeters…Hall’s six runs batted in the game were the most by a Duck in a single game this season. The previous high was five, done by Ben Broussard on the road May 31 against the York Revolution…The past-capacity crowd of 6,515 was the largest attendance of the season and the second sellout of 2013. A crowd of 6,010 watch the Ducks play the Blue Crabs at Bethpage Ballpark on May 26. Long Island has now hosted 617 sold out crowds all-time, an Atlantic League record.
GAME DATE: 06/08/2013 (GAME ONE) Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 0 AT Long Island Ducks 2 YTD YTD S Maryland AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG B.Barton LF 3 0 0 0 .284 D.Perales CF 3 0 0 0 .257 J.Owens PH 0 0 0 0 .178 J.Barfield 2B 3 0 0 0 .345 S.Smith CF 3 0 0 0 .221 B.Broussard 1B 3 1 3 1 .406 J.Julio-Ruiz 1B 3 0 0 0 .316 J.Brodin LF 3 0 0 0 .305 R.Mulhern DH 2 0 2 0 .313 B.Hall DH 3 0 0 0 .000 C.Hankerd RF 3 0 1 0 .291 B.Nelson 3B 3 1 1 1 .238 J.Salas C 3 0 0 0 .284 A.Bailey RF 2 0 0 0 .267 C.Nicolas 3B 3 0 1 0 .191 R.Castro C 2 0 1 0 .241 M.Richard SS 3 0 2 0 .314 D.Lyons SS 2 0 1 0 .220 W.Sutil 2B 2 0 0 0 .276 25 0 6 0 24 2 6 2 S Maryland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 6 0 L Island 0 1 0 0 0 1 x - 2 6 0 2B--R.Mulhern (9), M.Richard (2), B.Broussard 2 (7). HR--B.Broussard (4), B.Nelson (6). RBI--B.Broussard (12), B.Nelson (18). SB--M.Richard (4). LOB--S Maryland 9, L Island 4. DP--J. Barfield(2B) - B. Broussard(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA S Maryland D.Thompson (L,4-4) 6.0 6 2 2 0 4 2 3.76 6 6 2 2 0 4 2 L Island D.Willis (W,3-2) 5.0 4 0 0 4 5 0 3.68 J.Lansford 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.75 L.Rosales (S,10) 1.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 1.42 7 6 0 0 5 7 0 WP--D.Willis (4), L.Rosales (2). SO--B.Barton 2, S.Smith, J.Julio-Ruiz, J.Salas, C.Nicolas, W.Sutil, J.Brodin, B.Hall 3. BB--B.Barton, S.Smith, J.Julio-Ruiz, R.Mulhern, W.Sutil. BF--D.Thompson 24 (236), D.Willis 21 (174), J.Lansford 4 (75), L.Rosales 5 (84). P-S--D.Thompson 73-52, D.Willis 81-43, J.Lansford 8-5, L.Rosales 24-14. T--1:56. A--4591 Umpires: Plate Ump - Marty Bauer, Field Ump #1 - Frank Leparik, Field Ump #2 - Dan Kiley
GAME DATE: 06/08/2013 (GAME TWO) Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 2 AT Long Island Ducks 9 YTD YTD S Maryland AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG M.Richard SS 4 0 0 0 .282 D.Perales CF 5 1 2 1 .262 W.Sutil 2B 4 0 0 0 .267 J.Barfield 2B 5 1 3 0 .365 J.Julio-Ruiz 1B 4 0 1 0 .314 B.Broussard DH 3 2 0 0 .388 R.Mulhern DH 3 0 0 0 .306 J.Brodin 1B 5 1 2 0 .308 C.Hankerd RF 4 1 2 1 .295 B.Nelson 3B 3 2 1 0 .240 C.Nicolas 3B 4 1 1 1 .193 B.Hall LF 4 1 2 6 .286 A.Colina C 4 0 1 0 .243 A.Bailey RF 5 0 1 0 .265 J.Owens CF 4 0 1 0 .181 R.Henriquez C 4 1 1 0 .213 S.Smith LF 4 0 3 0 .244 D.Lyons SS 3 0 0 0 .215 35 2 9 2 37 9 12 7 S Maryland 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 - 2 9 1 L Island 0 0 0 5 1 3 0 0 x - 9 12 0 2B--A.Colina (4), J.Barfield (5), B.Hall (1). HR--C.Hankerd (10), C.Nicolas (3), B.Hall (1). RBI--C.Hankerd (28), C.Nicolas (17), D.Perales (28), B.Hall 6 (6). HP--B.Broussard (2), B.Nelson (1). SB--J.Julio-Ruiz (11). E--W.Sutil (7). LOB--S Maryland 7, L Island 11. DP--D. Lyons(SS) - J. Barfield(2B) - J. Brodin(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA S Maryland M.Ballard (L,3-3) 4.0 7 6 6 1 3 1 3.60 L.Williamson 0.2 1 0 0 1 0 0 3.09 J.Stevens 1.0 2 3 3 2 0 0 3.18 K.Mertins 1.1 1 0 0 1 1 0 4.64 B.Vaughan 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.38 8 12 9 9 5 4 1 L Island J.Brownell (W,4-4) 7.0 7 2 2 1 5 2 4.07 E.Niesen 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 4.03 B.Zimmermann 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 9 9 2 2 1 6 2 WP--L.Williamson (1), J.Stevens (2). HB--M.Ballard 2 (4). SO--W.Sutil, J.Julio-Ruiz 2, R.Mulhern, C.Hankerd, J.Owens, D.Perales, B.Nelson, B.Hall, A.Bailey. BB--R.Mulhern, B.Broussard, B.Nelson, B.Hall, R.Henriquez, D.Lyons. BF--M.Ballard 22 (188), L.Williamson 4 (98), J.Stevens 7 (96), K.Mertins 7 (95), B.Vaughan 4 (52), J.Brownell 28 (262), E.Niesen 5 (97), B.Zimmermann 3 (3). P-S--M.Ballard 78-54, L.Williamson 17-9, J.Stevens 33-17, K.Mertins 20-13, B.Vaughan 10-6, J.Brownell 102-68, E.Niesen 19-13, B.Zimmermann 16-10. T--2:58. A--6516 Umpires: Plate Ump - Andrew Steinberg, Field Ump #1 - Dan Kiley, Field Ump #2 - Frank Leparik