Long Island ends first half on five-game winning streak

(Central Islip, N.Y., July 6, 2014) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Camden Riversharks 8-7 in waddle-off fashion on Sunday evening at Bethpage Ballpark in the final game of a three-game series.

GAME AUDIO: Highlights from Long Island’s dramatic victory

POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Joash Brodin and Jon Myers talk about the series sweep and the first half

Camden struck first with three runs in the top of the first inning off Ducks starter Shaun Garceau. A RBI double from Paddy Matera and a two-run home run off the bat of Jose Julio-Ruiz did the damage. Long Island responded in the bottom of the first on a Lew Ford RBI double and a Jon Myers RBI infield single off Riversharks starter Nick DeBarr to trim the deficit to 3-2.

Ryan Strieby increased the Camden lead to two with a RBI single in the top of the third inning. However, the Ducks answered with four runs in the bottom of the third to take a 6-4 lead. With the bases loaded, Myers was hit by a pitch, Sergio Miranda drew a walk and Dan Lyons hit a two-run single put the Flock in front.

Fehlandt Lentini added a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth to increase the Long Island lead to three, but a three-run home run from Alex Hudak in the top of the ninth tied the game at seven. However, the Ducks won the ballgame in the bottom of the frame when Ford singled, Adam Bailey walked and Joash Brodin delivered a walk-off RBI double.

Neither starter factored into the decision. Garceau allowed four runs over six innings on seven hits and four walks with five strikeouts. DeBarr yielded six runs on five hits, three walks and two hit-batsmen in two innings. Jeremy Accardo (4-5) picked up the win despite allowing three runs on three hits in one inning of relief. T.J. Hose (2-5) took the loss, giving up one run on two hits and a walk without recording an out.

Ford paced the Ducks’ bats with two hits apiece, while Lyons added two hits and two RBI.

Long Island continues their homestand when they open a three-game set with the Sugar Land Skeeters on Monday night. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 6:05. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive Ducks Drawstring Backpacks, courtesy of the People’s Alliance Federal Credit Union. Right-hander Jared Lansford takes the mound for the Ducks against Sugar Land righty David Pauley.

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 with live streaming video and audio available on the Ducks official YouTube channel by CLICKING HERE.

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Duck Tales: The waddle-off win on Sunday was the third of the year for the Flock. The first came on a RBI double from Cody Puckett in a 12-inning victory against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs on May 21. The second came on a Joash Brodin RBI single against the Somerset Patriots on May 30…Fehlandt Lentini earned another hit on Saturday and has now hit safely 30 of his last 31 games. In that span, he is batting .377 (49-for-130). Lentini  currently leads the league in hits (97), doubles (24), stolen bases (30) and at-bats (291)…Lyons earned his third consecutive multi-hit and multi-RBI game with two apiece on the night. The fourth-year Duck now has 11 multi-hit games and seven multi-RBI contests…Jon Myers drove in two runs Sunday for the first time this year. Myers has now hit safely in his last eight games and has doubled in four of his last five contests…Lew Ford collected three hits Sunday to take over the team lead for three-hit games with eight. He was previously tied with Cody Puckett. The former big leaguer now has multiple hits in four of his last five games and has 12 hits in his last 21 at-bats, good for a .571 batting average. Ford leads the Flock with 28 multi-hit games this year and leads the Atlantic League in RBI (56) and runs (54)… The Ducks have now won five consecutive games, tying their longest winning streak of the year. Long Island previously won five straight from May 19-23. All five wins have been come-from-behind victories, and the Ducks have now totaled 23 comeback wins this season. In addition, the Ducks are now a season-best 11 games above .500…With their 40th win of the first half, the Ducks tied the franchise record for most victories in a single first half. Long island previously won 40 games in the first half during the 2000, 2004 and 2011 seasons. The most wins in any single half of the season by the Ducks was 42, done in the second half of the inaugural 2000 season.

 Game Date: 07/06/2014 Camden Riversharks 7 AT Long Island Ducks 8 YTD YTD Camden AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG Y.Gomez LF 4 2 4 0 .329 F.Lentini CF 4 1 1 1 .333 P.Matera 2B 5 1 1 1 .230 C.Puckett 2B 5 1 1 0 .277 B.Van Kirk DH 4 1 1 0 .254 L.Ford DH 5 2 3 1 .366 J.Julio-Ruiz 1B 5 1 1 2 .309 A.Bailey RF 2 1 0 0 .261 R.Strieby RF 2 1 1 1 .294 J.Brodin 1B 4 1 1 1 .253 A.Hudak CF 5 1 1 3 .311 J.Myers LF 3 1 1 2 .227 B.Pounds 3B 5 0 2 0 .297 S.Miranda 3B 2 1 1 1 .205 Z.MacPhee SS 3 0 1 0 .231 J.Vazquez C 3 0 1 0 .235 M.Albaladejo C 4 0 0 0 .236 D.Lyons SS 3 0 2 2 .276 37 7 12 7 31 8 11 8 Camden 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 - 7 12 0 L Island 2 0 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 - 8 11 1 2B--Y.Gomez (10), P.Matera (14), F.Lentini (24), L.Ford (17), J.Brodin (11). HR--J.Julio-Ruiz (10), A.Hudak (6). RBI--P.Matera (27), J.Julio-Ruiz 2 (39), R.Strieby (33), A.Hudak 3 (37), F.Lentini (36), L.Ford (56), J.Brodin (34), J.Myers 2 (8), S.Miranda (7), D.Lyons 2 (22). HP--R.Strieby (3), A.Bailey (1), J.Brodin (3), J.Myers (2). SF--F.Lentini (5). SH--Z.MacPhee (0), D.Lyons (0). E--S.Garceau (1). LOB--Camden 10, L Island 9. DP--Z. MacPhee(SS) - J. Julio-Ruiz(1B), P. Matera(2B) - B. Pounds(3B) - J. Julio-Ruiz(1B), C. Puckett(2B) - S. Miranda(3B) - J. Brodin(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Camden N.DeBarr 2.0 5 6 6 3 2 0 38.58 J.Lujan 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 7.72 C.Kimball 2.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1.29 S.Teufel 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8.49 S.Toler 1.0 1 1 1 1 0 0 4.50 T.Hose (L,2-5) 0.0 2 1 1 1 0 0 2.31 8 11 8 8 5 4 0 L Island S.Garceau 6.0 7 4 4 4 5 1 4.58 E.Niesen 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2.03 B.Lorin 1.0 2 0 0 0 2 0 2.54 J.Accardo (W,4-5) 1.0 3 3 3 0 0 1 5.04 9 12 7 7 5 8 2 WP--S.Garceau (4). HB--N.DeBarr 2 (2), S.Teufel (2), J.Accardo (1). SO--P.Matera, B.Van Kirk, J.Julio-Ruiz, A.Hudak 2, B.Pounds 3, C.Puckett, L.Ford, J.Vazquez, D.Lyons. BB--Y.Gomez, B.Van Kirk, R.Strieby 2, Z.MacPhee, A.Bailey 2, S.Miranda 2, J.Vazquez. BF--N.DeBarr 16 (21), J.Lujan 6 (46), C.Kimball 8 (33), S.Teufel 3 (58), S.Toler 5 (120), T.Hose 3 (117), S.Garceau 29 (386), E.Niesen 4 (139), B.Lorin 5 (118), J.Accardo 6 (133). P-S--N.DeBarr 54-24, J.Lujan 25-16, C.Kimball 28-18, S.Teufel 9-6, S.Toler 12-7, T.Hose 13-6, S.Garceau 104-64, E.Niesen 16-9, B.Lorin 23-14, J.Accardo 23-12. T--3:15. A--4908 Plate Umpire - Frank Leparik, Field Umpire #1 - Warren Nicholson, Field Umpire #2 - Fred DeJesus