Righty pitches seven scoreless innings for second straight win

(Central Islip, N.Y., May 20, 2014) – The Long Island Ducks shut out the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 5-0 on Tuesday night in the second game of a four-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.

GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the shutout victory

POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Shaun Garceau and Cody Puckett talk about the win

Newcomer Randy Ruiz put the Ducks on top in the first with a two-out RBI single to center off Blue Crabs starter Ryan Hinson. Three more runs in the fourth pushed the lead to 4-0. Cody Puckett’s two-run homer to left and a RBI triple to center off the bat of Fehlandt Lentini did the damage.

Lew Ford tacked on another run in the fifth with a long solo home run to left. The Blue Crabs put runners at second and third with nobody out in the seventh, but they could not push across a run.

Ducks starter Shaun Garceau (2-1) cruised to earn the win. The righty tossed seven innings of three-hit shutout baseball, allowing two walks while striking out six. Hinson (0-2) took the loss, yielding five runs (three earned) on five hits and four walks in four innings.

Lentini led the Ducks with two hits at the plate. Puckett drove in two runs while Ford scored twice.

The Ducks and Blue Crabs continue their four-game set on Wednesday night. Game time is slated for 6:35 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 5:35. Right-hander Fernando Hernandez toes the rubber for Long Island against Southern Maryland righty Gabriel Hernandez.

Tickets for the game and every Ducks regular season home games 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 live online. Streaming video and audio will be available on the Ducks official YouTube channel by CLICKING HERE.

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Duck Tales: Tonight marked Long Island’s second shutout victory of the season. Their first came on May 10 at Lancaster in what was also a 5-0 win. In 2013, the Ducks held their opponents scoreless nine times…Lew Ford extended his on-base streak to 16 consecutive games with a walk in the third inning. That’s the longest by a Duck this season and the longest in the Atlantic League in 2014. Chad Tracy of York previously had the longest on-base streak in the league this year at 15 games from May 1 to 17. Ford has also now hit safely in eight consecutive games…Ford’s home run was his fourth of the season, tying him with Adam Bailey for the team-lead. The former big leaguer has now gone deep in two of the past three games. As a team, the Ducks have now launched 15 home runs this season…Cody Puckett’s two-run homer was his first with the Ducks. The second baseman combined to hit 17 home runs with Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte in the White Sox organization during the 2013 season. Puckett has now collected at least one hit in 12 of his last 13 games…Jon Meloan made his season debut by pitching a scoreless eighth inning. The right-hander previously pitched with the Ducks in 2012, going 4-0 with a 0.99 ERA and 11 saves in 23 appearances before earning a contract with the New York Yankees organization…Tuesday’s crowd of 4,078 at Bethpage Ballpark increased the all-time attendance at the Duck Pond to 5,991,279, which is an Atlantic League record. Long Island is now just 8,721 fans away from reaching the magical 6 million fan mark.

 Game Date: 05/20/2014 Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 0 AT Long Island Ducks 5 YTD YTD S Maryland AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG B.Barton LF 3 0 0 0 .160 F.Lentini RF 2 0 2 1 .281 A.Zazueta SS 4 0 1 0 .287 B.Harris 3B 4 0 0 0 .250 C.Hankerd DH 4 0 0 0 .300 L.Ford CF 3 2 1 1 .375 C.Ziegler 3B 3 0 1 0 .266 J.Brodin 1B 3 0 0 0 .222 J.Julio-Ruiz 1B 4 0 1 0 .284 R.Ruiz DH 3 1 1 1 .333 D.Sappelt CF 4 0 1 0 .368 C.Puckett 2B 4 1 1 2 .295 J.McDonald 2B 3 0 0 0 .296 J.Myers LF 4 0 0 0 .190 A.de San Miguel C 2 0 0 0 .179 K.Castillo C 4 0 0 0 .194 J.Mitchell RF 3 0 0 0 .200 D.Lyons SS 4 1 1 0 .262 30 0 4 0 31 5 6 5 S Maryland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 4 2 L Island 1 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 x - 5 6 1 2B--J.Julio-Ruiz (6), D.Lyons (6). 3B--F.Lentini (1). HR--L.Ford (4), C.Puckett (1). RBI--F.Lentini (15), L.Ford (22), R.Ruiz (1), C.Puckett 2 (11). HP--B.Barton (2), R.Ruiz (1). SB--C.Ziegler (1), J.McDonald (2), F.Lentini 2 (9). E--A.Zazueta (4), C.Ziegler (2), K.Castillo (2). LOB--S Maryland 6, L Island 7. DP--F. Lentini(RF) - J. Brodin(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA S Maryland R.Hinson (L,0-2) 4.0 5 5 3 4 3 2 4.82 P.Parise 2.0 1 0 0 0 3 0 2.63 J.Brown 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.80 J.Warden 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.69 8 6 5 3 4 6 2 L Island S.Garceau (W,2-1) 7.0 3 0 0 2 6 0 8.20 J.Meloan 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 E.Niesen 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 9 4 0 0 2 10 0 HB--J.Brown (1), S.Garceau (1). SO--B.Barton 2, C.Ziegler 2, D.Sappelt, J.McDonald, A.de San Miguel, J.Mitchell 3, B.Harris, J.Myers, K.Castillo 2, D.Lyons 2. BB--C.Ziegler, A.de San Miguel, F.Lentini 2, L.Ford, J.Brodin. BF--R.Hinson 22 (100), P.Parise 7 (61), J.Brown 4 (59), J.Warden 3 (41), S.Garceau 26 (122), J.Meloan 4 (4), E.Niesen 3 (53). P-S--R.Hinson 89-51, P.Parise 25-21, J.Brown 9-6, J.Warden 10-8, S.Garceau 91-56, J.Meloan 18-11, E.Niesen 10-8. T--2:33. A--4078 Plate Umpire - David Speranza, Field Umpire #1 - Derek Moccia, Field Umpire #2 - Manolo Alejandro