Two more Ducks homer as Blue Crabs salvage series split
(Central Islip, N.Y., Sept. 7, 2015) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 3-2 on Monday afternoon in the finale of a four-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the series finale
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez and Darin Downs talk about the game and upcoming road trip
Southern Maryland took a 2-0 lead in the second on a RBI triple from Casey Frawley and a sacrifice fly from Antone DeJesus against Ducks starter Darin Downs. Cody Puckett’s solo homer in the fifth off Blue Crabs starter Daryl Thompson got Long Island on the scoreboard and made it a 2-1 ballgame.
In the sixth, DeJesus’ RBI single put Southern Maryland in front 3-1. A solo homer from Elmer Reyes in the seventh cut the lead to 3-2, but the Ducks could not complete the comeback.
Thompson (6-6) picked up the win, surrendering two runs on seven hits in six and one-third innings. He walked one and struck out seven. Downs (4-5) was saddled with the loss. The lefty allowed three runs on eight hits in six innings while walking two and striking out four. Blue Crabs closer Cody Eppley earned his sixth save of the season in the ninth. Nick Struck, J.C. Romero, and Amalio Diaz each threw a scoreless inning of relief for the Ducks.
Reyes finished the day with a pair of hits, including a homer, one RBI, and one run scored to pace Long Island.
The Ducks now travel to Camden for a three-game series with the Riversharks. First pitch for Tuesday’s series opener is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. from Campbell’s Field. Right-hander John Brownell gets the start for Long Island against Camden southpaw Bill Murphy. Fans can follow all of the live on the Ducks’ official YouTube channel. Streaming audio will be available online by CLICKING HERE.
Long Island returns home on Friday, September 11 to begin a three-game set with the Sugar Land Skeeters. Game time is slated for 6:35 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 5:35 (5:20 for full season ticket holders). It will be a Fowl Pole Friday at the ballpark! If a select Ducks player hits a home run off of either foul pole during the game, one lucky Ducks fan will win $50,000. The Ducks will be running their Friday night Pizza Hut K-Man promotion as well. If the K-Man strikes out during the game, fans will be able to redeem their game ticket for an order of free breadsticks at a participating Pizza Hut location. It will also be an Air Trampoline Sports Friday at the Duck Pond! Ducks staff members will be handing out coupons with a special offer from Air Trampoline Sports to fans as they exit the ballpark. 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.
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Duck Tales: Cody Puckett’s solo home run in the fifth inning was his eighth of the year. It was also his first longball since August 7 at Sugar Land, ending a 29-game homerless drought. The infielder has now hit two home runs this season against Southern Maryland and has launched 18 homers total in two seasons with the Flock…Elmer Reyes’ solo blast in the seventh inning was his second home run in eight games with the Ducks. His first came back on September 2 in the 12-0 win over the Bridgeport Bluefish. The infielder hit 24 career home runs in seven seasons with the Braves organization before coming to Long Island. As a team, the Ducks have now hit 83 longballs this season, including six in the last two games…Despite the loss, Darin Downs tossed his fourth consecutive quality start. In those four starts, the left-hander is 2-2 with a 2.88 ERA, allowing eight earned runs in 25 innings of work. In addition, he has yielded 24 hits and six walks in that span while striking out 23 batters. Downs has now given up three runs or less in eight of his 11 starts with the Ducks…Nick Struck threw another scoreless inning of relief on Monday. The right-hander has now made 10 consecutive appearances without allowing a single run. In that span, he has two wins and has given up five hits and 10 walks while striking out 13 batters in 13 innings.
Game Date: 09/07/2015 Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 3 AT Long Island Ducks 2 YTD YTD S Maryland AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG F.Lewis DH 5 0 3 0 .248 F.Lentini RF 4 0 1 0 .304 C.Stevenson 3B 4 0 0 0 .277 D.Cleary Jr. CF 3 0 0 0 .312 B.Nelson 2B 4 0 0 0 .289 D.Lyons SS 4 0 0 0 .300 J.Rosa 1B 3 1 1 0 .272 R.Ruiz DH 3 0 1 0 .338 K.Castillo C 4 0 1 0 .265 C.Hughes PR 0 0 0 0 .188 J.Walton LF 2 1 1 0 .281 S.Burroughs 1B 4 0 1 0 .357 G.Zawadzki LF 1 0 0 0 .176 M.Blanke C 4 0 1 0 .287 C.Frawley SS 3 1 1 1 .261 C.Puckett 3B 4 1 1 1 .278 A.DeJesus CF 3 0 1 2 .255 E.Reyes 2B 4 1 2 1 .281 T.Wagner RF 4 0 2 0 .230 A.Vega LF 4 0 1 0 .267 33 3 10 3 34 2 8 2 S Maryland 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - 3 10 1 L Island 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 - 2 8 0 2B--F.Lewis (11). 3B--C.Frawley (3). HR--C.Puckett (8), E.Reyes (2). RBI--C.Frawley (40), A.DeJesus 2 (24), C.Puckett (49), E.Reyes (4). SF--A.DeJesus (4). SH--G.Zawadzki (0). SB--A.Vega (16). E--B.Nelson (3). LOB--S Maryland 8, L Island 7. DP--B. Nelson(2B) - C. Frawley(SS) - J. Rosa(1B), D. Lyons(SS) - S. Burroughs(1B), E. Reyes(2B) - D. Lyons(SS) - S. Burroughs(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA S Maryland D.Thompson (W,6-6) 6.1 7 2 2 1 7 2 3.70 O.Santos 0.2 0 0 0 1 1 0 2.86 J.Berg 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.85 C.Eppley (S,6) 1.0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3.25 9 8 2 2 2 11 2 L Island D.Downs (L,4-5) 6.0 8 3 3 2 4 0 3.80 N.Struck 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2.15 J.Romero 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.10 A.Diaz 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.63 9 10 3 3 3 6 0 WP--D.Thompson (4). SO--F.Lewis, K.Castillo, G.Zawadzki, C.Frawley, T.Wagner 2, F.Lentini 2, D.Cleary Jr. 2, D.Lyons, R.Ruiz, C.Puckett 2, E.Reyes, A.Vega 2. BB--C.Stevenson, J.Rosa, C.Frawley, D.Cleary Jr., R.Ruiz. BF--D.Thompson 27 (408), O.Santos 3 (274), J.Berg 3 (175), C.Eppley 3 (172), D.Downs 28 (263), N.Struck 4 (192), J.Romero 3 (124), A.Diaz 3 (208). P-S--D.Thompson 106-69, O.Santos 16-7, J.Berg 8-5, C.Eppley 14-9, D.Downs 116-74, N.Struck 14-7, J.Romero 8-7, A.Diaz 19-12. T--2:56. A--4427 Plate Umpire - John Grasso, Field Umpire #1 - Tom Magier, Field Umpire #2 - Tony Senia