Lew Ford’s three-hit effort leads Long Island

(Central Islip, N.Y., July 2, 2014) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Bridgeport Bluefish 6-5 on Wednesday night at Bethpage Ballpark in the fourth game of a five-game series.

GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the comeback victory

POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Jared Lansford and Lew Ford talk about the win

Bridgeport took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning on a two-out, two-run double from James Simmons off Ducks starter Jared Lansford. Following a 27-minute rain delay in the middle of the sixth inning, the Ducks pulled within a run on an infield single to short by Brendan Harris and a throwing error, which scored Lew Ford.

Bridgeport increased its lead back to two on a RBI double from Ramon Castro in the top of the seventh. However, a five-run bottom of the seventh inning gave Long Island its first lead of the ballgame. Three consecutive RBI singles from Fehlandt Lentini, Cody Puckett and Ford, along with back-to-back bases loaded walks to Randy Ruiz and Harris, provided the damage.

The Bluefish plated two unearned runs in the top of the eighth inning on a RBI fielder’s choice off the bat of Simmons and a throwing error from Dan Lyons. However, Bridgeport could not pull even.

Neither starter factored into the decision. Lansford allowed two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out five over six innings. Mitchell gave up one unearned run in six innings of work on three hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Josh Lansford (4-2) earned the win after allowing one run on three hits with one strikeout in one inning of relief. Ryan Harvey (0-1) took the loss, yielding three runs on three walks without recording an out in relief. Jon Meloan earned his ninth save of the year with a scoreless ninth inning.

Ford paced the Ducks’ bats with three hits, while Lentini and Puckett each contributed with a run batted in and run scoredI.

Long Island and Bridgeport conclude their five-game set on Thursday night. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 6:05. Following the game, all fans in attendance will be treated to a Pyrotecnico Fireworks Extravaganza, presented by Atlantic Hyundai. Right-hander John Brownell takes the mound for the Ducks against Bluefish southpaw Hunter Jones.

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: With three hits on Wednesday night, Lew Ford recorded his sixth three-hit game of the season and his team-leading 25th multi-hit game this year. Ford currently leads the league in RBI (53) and runs (50), while ranking second in home runs (11), batting average (.354) and on-base percentage (.432)…Fehlandt Lentini went 1-for-5 on Wednesday and has now hit safely 26 of his last 27 games. Lentini remains the only player in the Atlantic League that has at least 90 hits. He currently leads the league in hits (91), doubles (21), stolen bases (28) and at-bats (274)…With Long Island’s win, the Ducks now lead the 2014 Ferry Cup Series five games to four. In addition, each team has alternated wins this year through the first nine games of the series. The Ducks have won the Ferry Cup three times since its inception (2009, 2011, 2013), and no team has ever won it in back-to-back seasons. Bridgeport holds a slim 138-136 advantage in the all-time series between the two teams, but the Ducks have a 78-62 lead at Bethpage Ballpark…Wednesday’s crowd of 6,021 was the Ducks’ fourth past-capacity crowd of the 2014 season. Long Island has now hosted 631 sellouts all-time, an Atlantic League record.

 Game Date: 07/02/2014 Bridgeport Bluefish 5 AT Long Island Ducks 6 YTD YTD Bridgeport AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG J.Simmons CF 5 1 2 3 .298 F.Lentini RF 5 1 1 1 .332 P.Redman RF 5 0 1 0 .261 C.Puckett 2B 5 1 1 1 .284 R.Castro 3B 4 0 1 1 .244 L.Ford CF 5 1 3 1 .354 J.Towles DH 3 0 0 0 .333 R.Ruiz 1B 2 0 0 1 .294 L.Lopez 1B 5 0 1 0 .218 B.Harris DH 3 0 1 1 .281 J.Mather PR 0 0 0 0 .261 A.Bailey LF 3 0 0 0 .262 D.Almonte LF 5 0 0 0 .203 S.Miranda 3B 3 1 0 0 .194 L.Rodriguez C 3 1 0 0 .191 J.Vazquez C 2 1 0 0 .214 J.Martinez 2B 4 2 2 0 .222 D.Lyons SS 2 1 0 0 .260 M.Richard SS 4 1 2 0 .279 38 5 9 4 30 6 6 5 Bridgeport 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 - 5 9 1 L Island 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 x - 6 6 3 2B--J.Simmons (17), R.Castro (9), L.Ford (14). RBI--J.Simmons 3 (32), R.Castro (23), F.Lentini (30), C.Puckett (35), L.Ford (53), R.Ruiz (36), B.Harris (17). HP--J.Towles (11), R.Ruiz (4). E--M.Richard (8), C.Puckett (10), J.Vazquez (3), D.Lyons (14). LOB--Bridgeport 10, L Island 9. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Bridgeport D.Mitchell 6.0 3 1 0 2 5 0 3.91 R.Harvey (L,0-1) 0.0 0 3 3 3 0 0 12.00 K.McMillen 0.0 3 2 2 2 0 0 6.30 J.Chapman 1.0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3.62 T.Gustafson 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1.99 8 6 6 5 8 9 0 L Island J.Lansford 6.0 3 2 2 3 5 0 3.77 J.Lansford (W,4-2) 1.0 3 1 1 0 1 0 3.46 J.Accardo 1.0 2 2 0 0 1 0 4.45 J.Meloan (S,9) 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.06 9 9 5 3 3 8 0 WP--R.Harvey 2 (2). HB--D.Mitchell (7), J.Lansford (3). SO--P.Redman, J.Towles, L.Lopez, D.Almonte 3, L.Rodriguez, M.Richard, F.Lentini 2, C.Puckett, B.Harris, A.Bailey 2, S.Miranda, J.Vazquez 2. BB--R.Castro, J.Towles, L.Rodriguez, R.Ruiz, B.Harris, A.Bailey, S.Miranda, J.Vazquez 2, D.Lyons 2. BF--D.Mitchell 24 (321), R.Harvey 3 (16), K.McMillen 5 (48), J.Chapman 3 (125), T.Gustafson 4 (130), J.Lansford 26 (274), J.Lansford 6 (109), J.Accardo 6 (123), J.Meloan 4 (65). P-S--D.Mitchell 90-52, R.Harvey 13-1, K.McMillen 15-4, J.Chapman 14-9, T.Gustafson 14-9, J.Lansford 118-71, J.Lansford 22-14, J.Accardo 13-9, J.Meloan 13-11. T--3:21. A--6021 Rain delay of 27 minutes in middle of sixth inning (9:04-9:31) Plate Umpire - Frank Leparik, Field Umpire #1 - Dave Speranza, Field Umpire #2 - Fred DeJesus