Long Island earns victory in first home game of 2015 season

(Central Islip, N.Y., May 1, 2015) – The Long Island Ducks shut out the Sugar Land Skeeters 5-0 on Friday night in the 2015 home opener at Bethpage Ballpark.

GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the shutout victory

POSTGAME VIDEO: John Brownell, Bryan Sabatella and Jose Morales talk about the Opening Night win

Long Island struck first in the opening inning on Lew Ford’s RBI single to left field off of Skeeters starter Dan Meadows. Dan Lyons would extend the lead to 3-0 in the second on a two-run double to left over the head of Sugar Land’s Dustin Martin. One at-bat later, Bryan Sabatella’s single to center was mishandled by Denny Almonte, allowing Lyons to score and stretch the lead to four.

The score would remain the same until the bottom of the seventh when Sugar Land reliever Robbie Weinhardt’s wild pitch allowed Sabatella to score from third and make it 5-0 Long Island.

Five runs was plenty of support for Ducks starter John Brownell (2-0), who earned his second win in as many starts. In eight innings of work, the right-hander allowed four hits and two walks while striking out five. Meadows (0-2) suffered the loss, surrendering four runs (three earned) on nine hits with four strikeouts in six innings. Ducks reliever Carmine Giardina finished the game with a scoreless ninth inning.

Sabatella and Jose Morales led the way offensively with three hits apiece. Sabatella also added two runs, while Lyons finished the night with two RBI.

The Ducks continue their three-game series with the Skeeters on Saturday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 5:35. Right-hander Ian Marshall toes the rubber for the Ducks against Skeeters right-hander Shane Loux. Following the game, all fans in attendance will be treated to a Pyrotecnico Fireworks Extravaganza, presented by Astoria Bank. In addition, Ducks staff members will be handing out coupons for discounts at Dick’s Sporting Goods to fans following the fireworks show.

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. Those unable to make the game can follow all the action live on the Ducks’ flagship radio station, 103.9-FM LI News Radio. Live streaming video and audio will also be available via the Ducks official YouTube channel by CLICKING HERE.

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Duck Tales: John Brownell tossed his second consecutive scoreless outing of the season with eight innings of shutout baseball on Friday. In the right-hander’s two starts this year, he has combined to allow just six hits and three walks while striking out nine batters in 15 innings. It was also the first time that Brownell has tossed back-to-back scoreless starts in his Ducks career…Jose Morales and Bryan Sabatella each picked up the first three-hit games by a Duck this season on Friday. Morales collected three singles, while Sabatella had two doubles and a single. Prior to Friday night, Morales had just two total hits in his first 19 at-bats of the season. Sabatella has now collected five hits in his last eight at-bats, scoring three runs and driving in one in the process…With the win, the Ducks have now picked up victories in three of their last four home openers and four of their last six. It was also the second time the Ducks have defeated the Skeeters in the first game of the season at Bethpage Ballpark. Long Island also topped Sugar Land in 2013 by a 10-5 count…The Ducks set a season high with 11 hits and four doubles in the victory. Long Island’s previous highs were 10 hits (April 30 at Southern Maryland) and one double (April 26 at York). The Ducks’ season high in hits and doubles in a single game last year was 20 and five, respectively.

 Game Date: 05/01/2015 Sugar Land Skeeters 0 AT Long Island Ducks 5 YTD YTD Sugar Land AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG D.Martin LF 4 0 2 0 .256 B.Sabatella RF 4 2 3 0 .235 B.Weems SS 4 0 0 0 .400 E.Komatsu LF 4 0 1 0 .111 T.Scott 1B 4 0 0 0 .233 L.Ford CF 3 0 1 1 .219 D.Almonte CF 4 0 1 0 .171 C.Puckett 3B 4 0 0 0 .286 C.Wallace C 4 0 1 0 .382 J.Griffin 1B 4 0 0 0 .143 J.Weber RF 2 0 0 0 .000 J.Morales C 4 1 3 0 .217 P.Palmeiro 3B 3 0 0 0 .214 E.Crawford DH 4 1 1 0 .258 E.Gomez DH 2 0 0 0 .150 R.Corona 2B 3 0 1 0 .286 A.Zazueta 2B 3 0 0 0 .133 D.Lyons SS 3 1 1 2 .185 30 0 4 0 33 5 11 3 Sugar Land 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 4 1 L Island 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 x - 5 11 1 2B--D.Martin (2), B.Sabatella 2 (2), E.Crawford (1), D.Lyons (1). 3B--D.Almonte (1). RBI--L.Ford (5), D.Lyons 2 (4). SB--B.Sabatella (3). E--D.Almonte (2), C.Puckett (2). LOB--Sugar Land 5, L Island 5. DP--A. Zazueta(2B) - P. Palmeiro(3B) - T. Scott(1B), R. Corona(2B) - D. Lyons(SS) - J. Griffin(1B), R. Corona(2B) - D. Lyons(SS) - J. Griffin(1B), A. Zazueta(2B) - B. Weems(SS) - T. Scott(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Sugar Land D.Meadows (L,0-2) 6.0 9 4 3 0 4 0 7.56 R.Weinhardt 1.0 2 1 1 1 1 0 10.80 J.Lujan 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4.91 8 11 5 4 1 7 0 L Island J.Brownell (W,2-0) 8.0 4 0 0 2 5 0 0.00 C.Giardina 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 9 4 0 0 2 6 0 WP--R.Weinhardt (1). PB--C.Wallace. SO--B.Weems, T.Scott 3, D.Almonte, J.Weber, B.Sabatella, C.Puckett, J.Griffin, E.Crawford 2, R.Corona, D.Lyons. BB--J.Weber, E.Gomez, L.Ford. BF--D.Meadows 26 (42), R.Weinhardt 5 (19), J.Lujan 3 (18), J.Brownell 29 (52), C.Giardina 3 (11). P-S--D.Meadows 87-64, R.Weinhardt 19-12, J.Lujan 10-7, J.Brownell 115-73, C.Giardina 10-7. T--2:12. A--5905 Plate Umpire - Derek Moccia, Field Umpire #1 - Nate Caldwell, Field Umpire #2 - John Grasso