Harris’ RBI double in the ninth caps comeback effort

(Central Islip, N.Y., Sept. 17, 2014) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Lancaster Barnstormers 6-5 in walk-off fashion on Wednesday evening at Bethpage Ballpark in the middle game of a three-game series.

GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the walk-off victory

POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Brendan Harris and Cody Puckett talk about the comeback win

Lancaster took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a Blake Gailen solo home run off Ducks starting pitcher Jared Lansford. The Barnstormers extended their lead to 3-0 in the third on a RBI single from Olmo Rosario and a sacrifice fly from Andrew Clark.

Long Island trimmed the deficit to two in the bottom of the third on a run-scoring fielder’s choice from Lew Ford off Barnstormers’ starter Shunsuke Watanabe. Lancaster responded with a two-out, two-run home run from Wilson Batista in the fifth before a Brendan Harris RBI groundout in the bottom of the inning brought the Ducks back within three runs.

The Ducks made it a two-run game in the seventh on a Fehlandt Lentini RBI groundout, and a Cody Puckett RBI double to right-center in the eighth evened the ballgame at five. Brendan Harris eventually won the game in the bottom of the ninth with a walk-off RBI double to left-center field.

Neither starting pitcher factored into the decision. Lansford went five innings, allowing five runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out seven batters. Watanabe yielded two runs over five innings on two hits and three walks with four strikeouts. Brett Lorin (3-4) earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief. Ian Kadish (0-1) took the loss after allowing a run on one hit and one walk in one-third of an inning of relief.

Seven different Ducks recorded a hit, while Harris and Puckett led the way with two runs batted in apiece.

The Ducks conclude their three-game series with the Barnstormers on Thursday evening. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 5:35. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive 2014 Team Photos, courtesy of PinkTie.org and HomeBuyingTips.com. Right-hander John Brownell will make the start for the Ducks against Lancaster righty Chris Schwinden.

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.

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Duck Tales: Lew Ford continued his outstanding play against the Lancaster Barnstormers this season with one hit, one RBi and one run on Wednesday. The former big leaguer leads all Ducks players with a .434 (33-for-76) batting average, 24 RBI, 16 runs, 33 hits and 10 walks in 19 games against the ‘Stormers. In addition, Ford now has a team-leading 93 RBI this year and trails Chad Tracy of York by two for the league lead (95)…The Ducks bullpen tossed four scoreless innings of relief on Wednesday. As a whole, the bullpen has now allowed three runs over their last 17 and two-thirds innings (1.53 ERA) on 12 hits and four walks with 21 strikeouts. Tommy Organ worked a scoreless inning and has now made 10 consecutive appearances without allowing a run. The first-year Duck has only allowed a run in one of his 18 appearances this season (3, 8/24 vs. Somerset)…With a double in the eighth inning on Wednesday, Cody Puckett has now hit safely in seven consecutive games. During the streak he is batting .370 (10-for-27) with three doubles, one homer, four RBI, three runs and two walks…The walk-off win was the fourth of the season for Long Island and the first since July 6 against the Camden Riversharks. In addition, the four-run comeback matched the largest come-from-behind victory of the season (4, July 31 at Camden).

 Game Date: 09/17/2014 Lancaster Barnstormers 5 AT Long Island Ducks 6 YTD YTD Lancaster AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG B.Gailen CF 5 2 3 1 .346 F.Lentini RF 4 0 0 1 .293 O.Rosario 2B 5 0 2 1 .369 B.Harris 3B 4 0 1 2 .290 C.Garner LF 3 1 1 0 .313 L.Ford CF 4 1 1 1 .343 A.Clark DH 3 0 0 1 .283 A.Bailey LF 4 0 0 0 .302 B.Carroll RF 4 0 0 0 .261 C.Retherford DH 4 1 1 0 .283 W.Batista 3B 4 1 1 2 .302 C.Puckett 2B 3 0 1 2 .288 G.Jacobo 1B 4 0 1 0 .279 B.Bantz C 4 1 1 0 .258 L.Zawadzki SS 3 0 0 0 .233 J.Brodin 1B 2 2 1 0 .256 K.Castillo C 4 1 2 0 .264 D.Lyons SS 2 1 1 0 .255 35 5 10 5 31 6 7 6 Lancaster 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 - 5 10 0 L Island 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 2 1 - 6 7 1 2B--B.Harris (21), C.Puckett (17), D.Lyons (16). HR--B.Gailen (15), W.Batista (8). RBI--B.Gailen (48), O.Rosario (14), A.Clark (49), W.Batista 2 (40), F.Lentini (62), B.Harris 2 (51), L.Ford (93), C.Puckett 2 (76). HP--C.Garner (12), L.Zawadzki (4), J.Brodin (10). SF--A.Clark (4). SH--F.Lentini (0). SB--J.Brodin (26). E--B.Bantz (6). LOB--Lancaster 8, L Island 7. DP--C. Puckett(2B) - D. Lyons(SS) - J. Brodin(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Lancaster S.Watanabe 5.0 2 2 2 3 4 0 3.42 D.Loop 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 P.Andrelczyk 1.2 1 1 1 1 2 0 3.75 S.Patterson 1.0 3 2 2 0 0 0 4.05 I.Kadish (L,0-1) 0.1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1.80 8.1 7 6 6 5 7 0 L Island J.Lansford 5.0 9 5 5 1 7 2 3.22 E.Niesen 1.0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3.12 S.Perez 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2.37 T.Organ 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.62 B.Lorin (W,3-4) 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.52 9 10 5 5 2 12 2 WP--T.Organ (2). HB--S.Watanabe (15), S.Perez (1), T.Organ (1). SO--B.Gailen, O.Rosario, C.Garner, A.Clark, B.Carroll 4, G.Jacobo 2, L.Zawadzki, K.Castillo, B.Harris, A.Bailey, C.Retherford 2, C.Puckett, B.Bantz 2. BB--C.Garner, A.Clark, B.Harris, C.Puckett, J.Brodin, D.Lyons 2. BF--S.Watanabe 21 (485), D.Loop (23), P.Andrelczyk 7 (397), S.Patterson 6 (66), I.Kadish 3 (25), J.Lansford 25 (675), E.Niesen 3 (243), S.Perez 5 (82), T.Organ 4 (64), B.Lorin 3 (216). P-S--S.Watanabe 86-51, D.Loop 6-3, P.Andrelczyk 38-22, S.Patterson 25-18, I.Kadish 12-5, J.Lansford 104-65, E.Niesen 15-10, S.Perez 17-10, T.Organ 19-9, B.Lorin 9-5. T--3:21. A--4266 Top 3: Ducks mound visit by pitching coach Plate Umpire - Dave Speranza, Field Umpire #1 - Richard Katz, Field Umpire #2 - Frank Leparik