(Central Islip, N.Y., May 26, 2012) –The Long Island Ducks defeated the Bridgeport Bluefish 15-5 on Saturday night before a past-capacity crowd of 6,319 at Bethpage Ballpark in the third game of a four-game set.
POSTGAME VIDEO: James McOwen, Dan Lyons and Jared Lansford talk about the blowout victory
Long Island struck first in the bottom of the third with an eight-run inning, sending 12 batters to the plate. Bryant Nelson and Matt Esquivel started the scoring with two-run doubles off Bridgeport starter Raymar Diaz. Ray Navarrete and Dan Lyons added RBI singles, and James McOwen highlighted the inning with a two-run homer to right field. A run-scoring groundout in the fourth by McOwen made it 9-0.
Bridgeport would get on the scoreboard in the fifth on a Pedro Lopez RBI single and a two-run homer from Prentice Redman off Ducks starter Bob Zimmermann. Two more in the sixth after the Ducks scored a run cut the Ducks lead to 10-5. However, a run in the sixth, two in the seventh, and two in the eighth for the Ducks would put the game away. McOwen collected a RBI triple and a two-run single, while Lyons hit a two-run homer to left.
Zimmermann (3-1) earned the win, tossing five and one-third innings, allowing five runs on seven hits while striking out three. Diaz (0-3) suffered the loss, yielding eight runs on eight hits in two and one-third innings of work.
McOwen, Navarrete and Josh Johnson paced the Ducks with three hits each at the plate, while every Duck collected at least one hit and scored at least one run. McOwen’s six RBI led the way.
The Ducks and Bluefish wrap up their four-game set on Sunday afternoon. Game time is slated for 1:35 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 12:35. Every Sunday is a “family fun day” at Bethpage Ballpark. Fans will be invited onto the field for an autograph session with the Ducks prior to the game. Then after the game, kids (and kids at heart) can take part in Kids Run the Bases, presented by Bethpage Federal Credit Union.
The Ducks will also join Long Island Cares and the Harry Chapin Food Bank in hosting a food drive at the ballpark. Fans are asked to donate non-perishable food items by dropping them off in the collection bins outside the ballpark to help in the fight to end hunger on Long Island.
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.
Duck Tales: With three hits, Ray Navarrete has now reached base safely in his last 13 games. The seven-year Duck has driven in 15 runs during that span and has collected hits in 11 of those 13 games…James McOwen returned to the starting lineup and drove in six runs, a season-high for a Duck in a game. Bryant Nelson had the previous high of five RBI on May 4. McOwen has now driven in 15 runs this season…Dan Lyons hit his first home run of the season with a two-run shot in the eighth. Lyons hit two homers for the Ducks last year. The Ducks have now hit 31 home runs this season…The Ducks collected 17 hits in the game, a new season high. The previous high was 15 on May 23 vs. Lancaster. The 15 runs scored by Long Island were one shy of the season-high of 16, which was done on May 10th in the second game of a doubleheader vs. York…With the win, the Ducks continued to hold the best home record in the Atlantic league at 12-3. Dating back to last season, when the Ducks won a franchise record 51 games, the Flock has now gone 63-23 at Bethpage Ballpark in the regular season.
GAME DATE: 05/26/2012 Bridgeport Bluefish 5 AT Long Island Ducks 15 YTD YTD Bridgeport AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG K.Jones CF 5 0 1 1 .311 K.Binick CF 5 1 1 0 .267 P.Lopez DH 1 1 1 2 .270 B.Nelson 3B 4 3 2 2 .257 P.Redman RF 4 1 1 2 .308 B.Sing 1B 3 2 1 1 .228 L.Lopez 3B 4 0 2 0 .268 M.Esquivel RF 6 1 1 2 .342 R.Vazquez 2B 5 0 0 0 .253 R.Navarrete DH 4 2 3 1 .294 B.Peterson 1B 4 0 0 0 .202 J.McOwen LF 4 1 3 6 .325 L.Rodriguez C 4 1 1 0 .238 W.Ortiz 2B 5 1 1 0 .281 E.Rogers SS 4 2 3 0 .265 J.Johnson C 4 3 3 0 .250 P.Barrows LF 3 0 1 0 .333 D.Lyons SS 5 1 2 3 .289 34 5 10 5 40 15 17 15 Bridgeport 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 - 5 10 1 L Island 0 0 8 1 1 1 2 2 x - 15 17 1 2B--E.Rogers (5), B.Nelson 2 (8), M.Esquivel (1), R.Navarrete (9). 3B--J.McOwen (1). HR--P.Redman (3), J.McOwen (2), D.Lyons (1). RBI--K.Jones (19), P.Lopez 2 (9), P.Redman 2 (18), B.Nelson 2 (21), B.Sing (22), M.Esquivel 2 (6), R.Navarrete (19), J.McOwen 6 (15), D.Lyons 3 (17). HP--B.Peterson (2), E.Rogers (3), K.Binick (8), B.Sing (1). SF--P.Lopez (2). SB--M.Esquivel (2). E--L.Lopez (4), D.Lyons (4). LOB--Bridgeport 12, L Island 10. DP--D. Lyons(SS) - W. Ortiz(2B) - B. Sing(1B), L. Lopez(3B) - R. Vazquez(2B), D. Lyons(SS) - W. Ortiz(2B) - B. Sing(1B), L. Lopez(3B) - B. Peterson(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Bridgeport R.Diaz (L,0-3) 2.1 8 8 8 2 1 1 11.78 W.Pelzer 1.0 2 1 0 1 0 0 14.73 M.Tarsi 2.2 4 2 2 0 3 0 3.52 J.English 2.0 3 4 4 4 3 1 4.24 8 17 15 14 7 7 2 L Island B.Zimmermann (W,3-1) 5.1 7 5 5 5 3 1 3.68 J.Lansford 1.2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 E.Niesen 1.0 1 0 0 2 1 0 4.11 J.Esposito 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.75 9 10 5 5 7 4 1 WP--W.Pelzer 2 (2), J.English (1), B.Zimmermann (1). PB--J.Johnson. HB--W.Pelzer (1), M.Tarsi (2), B.Zimmermann (5), J.Lansford (1). SO--K.Jones, R.Vazquez, B.Peterson, P.Barrows, K.Binick, B.Sing 2, M.Esquivel, W.Ortiz 2, J.Johnson. BB--P.Lopez 3, P.Redman, L.Lopez, L.Rodriguez, P.Barrows, B.Nelson 2, B.Sing 2, R.Navarrete, J.McOwen, J.Johnson. BF--R.Diaz 16 (98), W.Pelzer 7 (7), M.Tarsi 13 (35), J.English 13 (72), B.Zimmermann 27 (162), J.Lansford 7 (11), E.Niesen 6 (72), J.Esposito 4 (148). P-S--R.Diaz 60-37, W.Pelzer 32-16, M.Tarsi 52-32, J.English 47-25, B.Zimmermann 114-67, J.Lansford 20-12, E.Niesen 25-15, J.Esposito 11-5. T--3:42. A--6319 Umpires: Plate Ump - Matt Beaver, Field Ump #1 - Matt Hensel, Field Ump #2 - Chase Edmondson