Long Island rallies for extra inning victory after losing lead in ninth

(Sugar Land, Texas, Aug. 20, 2016) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Sugar Land Skeeters 5-4 in 10 innings on Saturday night in the middle game of a three-game series at Constellation Field.

GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the wild victory

Rene Tosoni put the Skeeters ahead in the first inning with an RBI single off Ducks starter Nick Struck. Ruben Gotay responded in the fourth with a two-out, two-run single to left field off Skeeters starter Brett Marshall, putting Long Island in front 2-1. Long Island added two more two-out runs in the fifth on a bases loaded walk to Cody Puckett and an RBI infield single from Gotay.

Sugar Land pulled to within 4-2 in the sixth on Wilfredo Rodriguez’ sacrifice fly to center. They would then rally to tie the game with two outs in the ninth on Tosoni’s two-run single to center.

The Ducks answered back in the 10th inning, as Puckett scored from third on Mike Blanke’s RBI fielder’s choice to give the Flock a 5-4 lead. Sugar Land got the tying run to second base in the bottom of the inning, but they could not extend the game.

Neither starter factored into the decision. Struck lasted five and one-third innings, yielding two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out four. Marshall pitched five innings and surrendered four runs on five hits and five walks with seven strikeouts. Todd Coffey (3-4) collected the win despite allowing two runs on two hits and a walk in one and two-thirds innings. Dan Runzler (0-1) suffered the loss, giving up the winning run on one hit and two walks in one inning.

Gotay, Fehlandt Lentini and Tyler Colvin each had two hits to lead the Flock, with Gotay driving in three runs.

The Ducks and Skeeters wrap up their three-game series on Sunday night. Game time is slated for 7:05 p.m. EDT at Constellation Field. Fans can follow all the action live on the Ducks’ official YouTube channel. Streaming audio will be available online by CLICKING HERE. Right-hander Mike Jackson Jr. toes the rubber for the Ducks against a Skeeters starter to be determined.

Long Island returns home on Tuesday, August 23 to open a three-game set against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 5:35 (5:20 for full season ticket holders). The first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive Good Times, Every Time Beach Balls, courtesy of Dunrite Pools. It’s also a Two-Fer Tuesday, and fans purchasing tickets to the game online at LIDucks.com or via the Ducks mobile app can receive a special buy one, get one free offer by entering the promo code “BOGO” at checkout (max four total tickets per transaction). It’s a Humana Senior Discount Tuesday as well, and senior citizens (65 or older with valid ID) will receive a 25{f7b134541f126dcd33819b5eec9a91dff238b58155023223dba97c27371a7fb5} discount and a special gift package, courtesy of Humana, when purchasing a ticket to the game at the Bethpage Ballpark box office (limited to the first 50 tickets purchased). 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.

The Long Island Ducks are members of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and play their home games at Bethpage Ballpark. For further information, call (631) 940-DUCK or visit www.liducks.com.

About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)

The Atlantic League has been a leader in professional baseball and a gateway to Major League Baseball since 1998. Over 35 million fans have attended Atlantic League games and more than 800 players and 50 managers and coaches have joined MLB organizations directly from the ALPB. The Atlantic League emphasizes winning baseball games, showcasing the talent of top-caliber players and offering affordable family entertainment to metropolitan markets serving nearly 15{f7b134541f126dcd33819b5eec9a91dff238b58155023223dba97c27371a7fb5} of the US population.

For more information, please visit www.atlanticleague.com.

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 Game Date: 08/20/2016 Long Island Ducks 5 AT Sugar Land Skeeters 4 (EXTRA INNINGS) YTD YTD L Island AB R H BI AVG Sugar Land AB R H BI AVG Vega, A LF 3 2 1 0 .263 Prince, J 2B,SS 4 2 1 0 .250 Lentini, F RF 5 2 2 0 .324 Dominguez, J LF 4 1 1 0 .256 Cleary Jr., D CF 3 0 0 0 .321 Tosoni, R CF 4 0 2 3 .291 Puckett, C 3B 3 1 0 1 .276 Barfield, J RF 5 1 2 0 .302 Gotay, R 2B 5 0 2 3 .296 Scott, T DH 3 0 0 0 .263 Dowd, M C 2 0 0 0 .305 Zawadzki, L 3B,SS 5 0 1 0 .244 Colvin, T DH 4 0 2 0 .193 Rodriguez, W C 4 0 0 1 .281 Blanke, M 1B 5 0 0 1 .256 Limonta, J 1B 5 0 0 0 .237 Wessinger, M SS 5 0 0 0 .188 Palmeiro, P 3B 3 0 1 0 .227 Young, D 2B,PH 1 0 0 0 .280 35 5 7 5 38 4 8 4 L Island 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 - 5 7 2 Sugar Land 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 - 4 8 0 RBI--Puckett, C 3B (62), Gotay, R 2B 3 (52), Blanke, M 1B (42), TOTALS 5 (0), Tosoni, R CF 3 (32), Rodriguez, W C (23), TOTALS 4 (0). HP--Dowd, M C (9), Scott, T DH (5). SF--Rodriguez, W C (4). SH--Cleary Jr., D CF (0), Dominguez, J LF (0). SB--Vega, A LF (17), Lentini, F RF (38), Prince, J 2B,SS (18), Dominguez, J LF (13), Tosoni, R CF 2 (10), Barfield, J RF (2). E--Blanke, M 1B 2 (7). LOB--L Island 10, Sugar Land 10. DP--D. Young(2B) - J. Prince(SS) - J. Limonta(1B), L. Zawadzki(SS) - J. Limonta(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA L Island Struck, N 5.1 4 2 2 1 4 0 4.26 Crider, P 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.76 Burawa, D 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 5.56 Diaz, A 1.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 2.32 Coffey, T (W,3-4) 2.0 2 2 2 1 0 0 3.58 10 8 4 4 3 8 0 Sugar Land Marshall, B 5.0 5 4 4 5 7 0 4.96 Weinhardt, R 1.0 0 0 0 1 2 0 2.63 Mattheus, R 2.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 3.49 Zinicola, Z 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.59 Runzler, D (L,0-1) 1.0 1 1 1 2 1 0 1.65 10 7 5 5 8 14 0 WP--Runzler, D (5). PB--Dowd, M. HB--Struck, N (3), Mattheus, R (2). SO--Vega, A 2, Lentini, F, Cleary Jr., D 3, Gotay, R 3, Colvin, T, Blanke, M 2, Wessinger, M 2, Prince, J 2, Dominguez, J, Scott, T, Zawadzki, L 2, Palmeiro, P 2. BB--Vega, A 2, Cleary Jr., D, Puckett, C 2, Dowd, M 2, Colvin, T, Prince, J, Tosoni, R, Scott, T. BF--Struck, N 23 (191), Crider, P 3 (143), Burawa, D 3 (47), Diaz, A 5 (165), Coffey, T 10 (164), Marshall, B 25 (230), Weinhardt, R 4 (205), Mattheus, R 7 (119), Zinicola, Z 3 (206), Runzler, D 6 (73). P-S--Struck, N 80-51, Crider, P 8-6, Burawa, D 11-8, Diaz, A 25-14, Coffey, T 37-22, Marshall, B 89-49, Weinhardt, R 16-9, Mattheus, R 36-21, Zinicola, Z 11-8, Runzler, D 20-12. T--3:22. A--4725 Weather: Partly Cloudy, 90 Degrees Plate Umpire - Greg Oros, Field Umpire #1 - 1B Eric Thompson, Field Umpire #2 - 3B Ryan Morehead