Harris single in the ninth caps thrilling comeback
(Central Islip, N.Y., Sept. 20, 2014) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 4-3 on Saturday night at Bethpage Ballpark in the middle game of a three-game series.
GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the waddle-off victory
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Brendan Harris and Bobby Blevins talk about the comeback win
Southern Maryland grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a Jake Opitz two-run home run to right-center field off Ducks starting pitcher Bobby Blevins. Long Island answered with a Cody Puckett solo home run to left in the bottom of the second inning off Blue Crabs starter Gaby Hernandez.
A Joash Brodin bases-loaded walk in the sixth tied the game at two, and a Brandon Bantz sacrifice fly to left in the eighth put the Flock in front 3-2. The Blue Crabs evened the ballgame in the top of the ninth on a two-out solo home run to left-center from C.J. Ziegler.
However, Dan Lyons led off the bottom of the frame with an infield single and was advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Fehlandt Lentini. That set the stage for Brendan Harris, who won the ballgame with a RBI single to left field.
Neither starting pitcher factored into the decision. Blevins tossed eight innings of two-run ball on five hits while striking out six. Hernandez yielded two runs over six innings on eight hits and one walk with nine strikeouts. Kris Regas (1-0) picked up the win despite allowing a run in one inning of relief. Sean Keeler (0-1) took the loss, surrendering one run on two hits in one-third of an inning of relief.
Puckett led the Ducks with three hits, while Lew Ford, C.J. Retherford and Lyons each added two.
The Ducks wrap up the regular season against the Blue Crabs on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 1:35 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 12:35. Right-hander Shaun Garceau will make the start for the Ducks against Blue Crabs righty Ian Marshall.
Sunday will be Fan Appreciation Day at the ballpark featuring the Great Gift Card Giveaway, presented by Pepsi. Throughout the game, fans are encouraged to post their photos from the ballpark on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and use #FlockPhoto when posting. The Ducks will then be choosing a lucky winner every inning who will take home a $100 gift card to a Long Island restaurant! In addition, it’s the final Sunday Family Funday of the season. Prior to the game, fans will be invited onto the field for an autograph session with the Ducks from 12:50 to 1:05 p.m. Following the game, kids and kids at heart can take part in Kids Run the Bases, presented by Bethpage Federal Credit Union. Join the Flock this Sunday as we say thank you to the best fans in all of baseball!
Tickets for the game and every Ducks regular season home game are now on sale. Fans can purchase their tickets by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark box office, calling 631-940-TIXX or by CLICKING HERE. Those unable to make the game can follow all the action online, with live streaming video and audio available on the Ducks official YouTube channel by CLICKING HERE. The game can also be heard on Long Island’s home for news, traffic and weather, 103.9-FM LI News Radio.
###
Duck Tales: With three more hits on Saturday, Cody Puckett has now hit safely in 10 consecutive games and has earned multi-hit games in five of his last six contests. During the streak, he is batting .462 (18-for-39) with three doubles, two homers, five RBI, five runs and three walks. It also marked the 14th three-hit and 46th multi-hit game of the year for Puckett…With two hits on Saturday, Lew Ford earned his 34th two-hit and team-leading 55th multi-hit game of the season. The fifth-year Duck has already set a new Atlantic League record for hits in a single season with 186. In addition, Ford’s double in the first inning was his league-leading 39th of the year…C.J. Retherford recorded his second consecutive multi-hit game on Saturday. It was the first-year Duck’s fifth two-hit and sixth multi-hit game since joining Long Island. He has now hit safely in 14 of his 17 games since joining the team on September 2…Bobby Blevins tossed his 21st quality start of the season on Saturday after allowing two runs over eight innings. The third-year Duck finishes his season with a 2.99 earned run average, third-best in the Atlantic League. In addition, Blevins did not walk a batter in the outing. It marked the 12th start this season in which Blevins allowed zero walks…The waddle-off win was the fifth of the season for Long Island and the second of the homestand. Brendan Harris also had the game-winning RBI hit in the Ducks’ last waddle-off victory on Thursday against Lancaster…Saturday’s crowd of 6,656 was the Ducks’ 12th past-capacity crowd of the season. Long Island has now hosted 639 sold out crowds all-time, an Atlantic League record.
Game Date: 09/20/2014 Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 3 AT Long Island Ducks 4 YTD YTD S Maryland AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG A.DeJesus RF 3 1 0 0 .000 F.Lentini RF 4 0 0 0 .289 B.Stevens DH 3 0 1 0 .257 B.Harris 3B 5 0 1 1 .287 J.Opitz 2B 4 1 1 2 .281 L.Ford CF 4 0 2 0 .344 C.Ziegler 1B 4 1 1 1 .276 A.Bailey LF 4 1 1 0 .300 J.Mitchell CF 4 0 1 0 .279 C.Retherford DH 4 1 2 0 .323 M.Schwartz LF 3 0 0 0 .258 C.Puckett 2B 4 1 3 1 .296 A.Chavez 3B 3 0 0 0 .270 B.Bantz C 3 0 0 1 .257 J.Skelton C 3 0 0 0 .242 J.Brodin 1B 3 0 1 1 .257 J.Arrojo SS 3 0 2 0 .571 D.Lyons SS 4 1 2 0 .256 30 3 6 3 35 4 12 4 S Maryland 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 3 6 1 L Island 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 - 4 12 0 2B--B.Stevens (21), L.Ford (39), J.Brodin (21). 3B--D.Lyons (7). HR--J.Opitz (17), C.Ziegler (16), C.Puckett (10). RBI--J.Opitz 2 (76), C.Ziegler (77), B.Harris (52), C.Puckett (77), B.Bantz (29), J.Brodin (60). HP--A.DeJesus (1). SF--B.Bantz (3). SH--B.Stevens (0), F.Lentini (0). SB--J.Arrojo (1), J.Brodin (28). E--J.Arrojo (1). LOB--S Maryland 2, L Island 9. DP--B. Blevins(P) - D. Lyons(SS) - J. Brodin(1B), B. Blevins(P) - D. Lyons(SS) - J. Brodin(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA S Maryland G.Hernandez 6.0 8 2 2 1 9 1 4.73 B.Grening 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 6.16 C.Manning 1.0 2 1 0 0 0 0 4.50 S.Keeler (L,0-1) 0.1 2 1 1 0 0 0 3.38 8.1 12 4 3 1 10 1 L Island B.Blevins 8.0 5 2 2 0 6 1 2.99 K.Regas (W,1-0) 1.0 1 1 1 0 0 1 4.50 9 6 3 3 0 6 2 WP--C.Manning (7). HB--B.Blevins (10). SO--B.Stevens, J.Opitz, C.Ziegler, A.Chavez 2, J.Skelton, F.Lentini, B.Harris, L.Ford, A.Bailey, C.Retherford, C.Puckett, B.Bantz 3, D.Lyons. BB--J.Brodin. BF--G.Hernandez 27 (675), B.Grening 3 (257), C.Manning 5 (211), S.Keeler 3 (25), B.Blevins 28 (767), K.Regas 4 (25). P-S--G.Hernandez 105-73, B.Grening 15-12, C.Manning 16-11, S.Keeler 10-6, B.Blevins 98-69, K.Regas 14-10. T--2:43. A--6656 Bottom 6: Blue Crabs mound visit by pitching coach...Bottom 9: Blue Crabs mound visit by manager Plate Umpire - Dave Speranza, Field Umpire #1 - John Grasso, Field Umpire #2 - Derek Moccia