(Sugar Land, Texas, May 16, 2012) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Sugar Land Skeeters 18-5 on Wednesday afternoon in the final game of a six-game series at Constellation Field.
The Ducks jumped out to a 1-0 lead against Skeeters starter Matt Wright on a RBI fielder’s choice off the bat of Lew Ford. Sugar Land answered back in the bottom half of the second with a solo homer by Jimmy Van Ostrand off Long Island starter Randy Keisler.
The Skeeters would get two runs in the fourth on a Ben Harrison two-run double and another in the fifth on a RBI sac fly to right from Ofilio Castro, giving the hosts a 4-1 lead. Sugar Land would put the game away with a 13-run inning in the bottom of the seventh capped by a three-run home run from Jason Botts. Ray Navarette added a three-run homer of his own in the top of the eighth, but it wasn’t enough.
Wright (1-0) picked up the win, tossing seven innings, allowing one run on one hit while striking out seven. Keisler (1-1) suffered the loss, surrendering four runs on 10 hits in six innings of work.
In addition, the Ducks announced that they signed outfielder Matt Esquivel upon his release from the Mexican League. The San Antonio, Texas native begins his third consecutive season with the Ducks and fifth in the Atlantic League. In 2011, Esquivel hit .328 with 15 homers and 69 RBI in 92 games. He was also selected to play in the Atlantic League All-Star Game and named a postseason First Team Atlantic League All-Star.
The Ducks return home on Friday, May 18 to begin a 10-game homestand, as they host the Somerset Patriots for a three-game series. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 6:05. It’s “Don’t Zone Out Night” at the ballpark, and the first 2,500 fans will receive a Ducks Static Cling Decal, courtesy of CSEA.
Tickets for the game and all Ducks home games are available by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark Box Office, calling (631) 940-TIXX, or visiting www.liducks.com. Fans unable to attend the game can follow the action live on the radio at MyCountry 96.1 FM and online at LIDucks.com by clicking the Watch Live icon on the homepage. Streaming video and audio will be available courtesy of iBN, the Internet Broadcast Network.
GAME DATE: 05/16/2012 Long Island Ducks 5 AT Sugar Land Skeeters 18 YTD YTD L Island AB R H BI AVG Sugar Land AB R H BI AVG K.Binick LF 4 1 1 1 .256 B.Bell CF 5 1 2 1 .250 B.Nelson 3B 4 0 1 0 .213 D.Locke RF 5 3 3 4 .256 M.Esquivel PH 1 0 0 0 .000 J.Botts 1B 5 2 2 3 .367 L.Ford CF 3 1 0 1 .333 O.Castro 2B,3B 3 2 1 1 .476 J.McOwen RF 3 1 0 0 .298 J.Pressley DH 4 2 2 1 .247 R.Navarrete DH 4 1 1 3 .233 J.Van Ostrand 3B 4 3 4 3 .348 S.Williams 1B 2 0 0 0 .469 D.Ramos 2B,PH 1 0 0 0 .000 W.Ortiz 2B 4 0 1 0 .286 B.Harrison LF 4 1 1 2 .292 J.Johnson C 4 0 0 0 .255 K.Johnson C 4 1 0 1 .167 D.Lyons SS 3 1 0 0 .293 I.Suarez SS 4 3 3 1 .267 32 5 4 5 39 18 18 17 L Island 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 - 5 4 1 Sugar Land 0 1 0 2 1 0 13 1 x - 18 18 1 2B--O.Castro (3), J.Van Ostrand (6), B.Harrison (4). 3B--K.Binick (1). HR--R.Navarrete (2), D.Locke (1), J.Botts (6), J.Van Ostrand (2). RBI--K.Binick (10), L.Ford (14), R.Navarrete 3 (7), B.Bell (9), D.Locke 4 (10), J.Botts 3 (20), O.Castro (8), J.Pressley (9), J.Van Ostrand 3 (15), B.Harrison 2 (10), K.Johnson (2), I.Suarez (2). HP--K.Binick (7), O.Castro (1), J.Pressley (2), K.Johnson (2). SF--O.Castro (1). SB--K.Binick (5), J.McOwen (3), S.Williams (4). E--B.Nelson (3), I.Suarez (1). LOB--L Island 6, Sugar Land 6. DP--D. Lyons(SS) - R. Keisler(P) - S. Williams(1B), B. Nelson(3B) - W. Ortiz(2B) - S. Williams(1B), D. Lyons(SS) - W. Ortiz(2B) - S. Williams(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA L Island R.Keisler (L,1-1) 6.0 10 4 4 1 5 1 3.38 J.Lyman 0.0 0 3 3 2 0 0 12.96 W.Pelzer 0.0 4 7 7 2 0 0 20.77 E.Niesen 0.1 3 3 2 0 0 1 4.50 R.Gorecki 1.2 1 1 1 0 2 1 5.40 8 18 18 17 5 7 3 Sugar Land M.Wright (W,1-0) 7.0 1 1 1 3 7 0 2.10 S.Morgan 1.0 1 3 3 2 0 1 6.17 H.Phillips 1.0 2 1 1 0 1 0 7.04 9 4 5 5 5 8 1 WP--J.Lyman 2 (6). HB--W.Pelzer 2 (5), R.Gorecki (1), M.Wright (3). SO--K.Binick, M.Esquivel, R.Navarrete, W.Ortiz 2, J.Johnson 3, B.Bell, J.Botts 2, J.Pressley, D.Ramos, K.Johnson 2. BB--L.Ford, J.McOwen, S.Williams 2, D.Lyons, B.Bell, D.Locke, J.Botts, B.Harrison, I.Suarez. BF--R.Keisler 26 (70), J.Lyman 2 (47), W.Pelzer 8 (29), E.Niesen 4 (44), R.Gorecki 8 (8), M.Wright 27 (117), S.Morgan 6 (52), H.Phillips 5 (40). P-S--R.Keisler 97-64, J.Lyman 10-0, W.Pelzer 31-15, E.Niesen 11-9, R.Gorecki 26-16, M.Wright 105-66, S.Morgan 20-8, H.Phillips 14-11. T--3:17. A--6112 Weather: Partly Cloudy-Wind N 9mph-68 Umpires: Plate Ump - Mike Terry, Field Ump #1 - Pat McLaughlin (1B), Field Ump #2 - Eric Diaz (3B)