(Central Islip, N.Y., May 4, 2012) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Camden Riversharks 13-2 on Friday night in the 2012 home opener at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME VIDEO: Brandon Sing’s solo homer, Lew Ford’s two-run double and Bryant Nelson’s grand slam
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Bryant Nelson and Bob Zimmermann talk about the opening night victory
Brandon Sing got the Ducks started in the opening inning with a solo blast to center field off Camden starter Keith Weiser. Felix Pie evened the game in the sixth with a solo homer of his own off Ducks starter Bob Zimmermann.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Ducks put the game away with an 11-run inning off Weiser and relief pitcher Joe D’Alessandro. 14 men came to the plate, with a two-run single by Ray Navarrete, a two-run double from Lew Ford, RBI singles by Shawn Williams and Bryant Nelson and a grand slam from Nelson highlighting the scoring. A pinch-hit sac fly in the eighth from Paul Karmas rounded out the scoring for the Ducks.
That was more than enough for Zimmermann (1-0) who earned the win, allowing just one run on four hits in seven innings while striking out seven. Weiser (0-1) took the loss, yielding four runs on five hits in five and one-third innings of work.
Nelson led the Flock with three hits and five RBI at the plate. Sing and Williams each added two hits, while Navarrete and Ford had two RBI apiece.
The Ducks and Riversharks continue their series on Saturday night. Game time is slated for 7:05 p.m., with the ballpark gates opening at 6:05. Following the game, all fans in attendance will be treated to the first of a record-high 14 Grucci Fireworks Extravaganzas this season, presented by New York Community Bank. Left-hander Randy Keisler gets the start for Long Island against Camden righty Humberto Sanchez.
Tickets for the game and all Ducks home games are available by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark Box Office, calling (631) 940-TIXX, or visiting www.liducks.com. Fans unable to attend the game can follow the action live on the radio at MyCountry 96.1 FM and online at LIDucks.com by clicking the Watch Live icon on the homepage. Streaming video and audio will be available on the Ducks’ official YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/ducksbaseball, courtesy of the Internet Broadcast Network.
DUCK TALES: The win improves the Ducks record to 7-6 all-time in home openers. Long Island has now won two of the last three home openers at Bethpage Ballpark…The 11-run sixth inning fell just two runs shy of the franchise record for most runs in an inning. Long Island scored 13 runs in an inning on July 30, 2004 against the Atlantic City Surf. Every Duck also scored a run in the inning…Bryant Nelson’s grand slam was the Ducks’ first grand slam of the season. Long Island hit six grand slams in 2011…With Nelson’s grand slam and Sing’s solo homer, the Ducks have now hit seven home runs in 2012. The Ducks totaled 150 home runs a year ago, once again meeting the Chapey’s Home Run Challenge…With a single, Ryan Garko extended his team-leading hitting streak to seven games. He’s also been on base in all eight games this year.
GAME DATE: 05/04/2012 Camden Riversharks 2 AT Long Island Ducks 13 YTD YTD Camden AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG C.Walker LF 4 0 0 0 .194 K.Binick LF 5 1 0 0 .132 L.Turner 2B 3 0 1 0 .364 B.Nelson 3B 4 2 3 5 .250 P.Matera PH 1 1 1 0 .250 B.Sing 1B 4 2 2 1 .212 F.Pie CF 3 1 1 1 .375 R.Garko DH 3 1 1 1 .387 B.Rice CF 1 0 0 0 .167 P.Karmas DH,PH 0 0 0 1 .000 B.Burgamy 1B 3 0 2 1 .400 R.Navarrete 2B 5 1 1 2 .333 D.Macias RF 4 0 0 0 .133 L.Ford CF 4 1 1 2 .313 E.Perez 3B 4 0 0 0 .345 S.Williams RF 4 1 2 1 .667 C.Roberson DH 3 0 0 0 .059 J.Johnson C 2 2 1 0 .333 J.Eigsti SS 3 0 1 0 .300 D.Lyons SS 2 2 1 0 .273 S.Harris C 3 0 1 0 .174 C.Caves C 0 0 0 0 .000 32 2 7 2 33 13 12 13 Camden 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 - 2 7 0 L Island 1 0 0 0 0 11 0 1 x - 13 12 0 2B--P.Matera (1), L.Ford (2). HR--F.Pie (2), B.Nelson (2), B.Sing (3). RBI--F.Pie (7), B.Burgamy (6), B.Nelson 5 (9), B.Sing (8), R.Garko (4), P.Karmas (1), R.Navarrete 2 (4), L.Ford 2 (6), S.Williams (1). HP--B.Burgamy (1), D.Lyons (4). SF--P.Karmas (1). CS--L.Turner (1). LOB--Camden 4, L Island 4. DP--J. Johnson(C) - D. Lyons(SS), J. Eigsti(SS) - K. Weiser(P) - B. Burgamy(1B), L. Turner(2B) - J. Eigsti(SS) - B. Burgamy(1B), R. Navarrete(2B) - D. Lyons(SS) - B. Sing(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Camden K.Weiser (L,0-1) 5.1 5 4 4 1 3 1 4.32 J.DAlessandro 0.0 4 7 7 3 0 0 81.00 M.Mehlich 0.2 1 1 1 0 0 1 9.00 C.Rollins 2.0 2 1 1 2 0 0 15.00 8 12 13 13 6 3 2 L Island B.Zimmermann (W,1-0) 7.0 4 1 1 0 7 1 2.08 J.Monti 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.46 J.Lyman 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 0 5.40 9 7 2 2 0 8 1 HB--C.Rollins (2), B.Zimmermann (2). SO--C.Walker 2, L.Turner, F.Pie, B.Burgamy, E.Perez 2, C.Roberson, B.Sing, R.Garko, S.Williams. BB--B.Nelson, B.Sing, R.Garko, J.Johnson 2, D.Lyons. BF--K.Weiser 20 (32), J.DAlessandro 7 (14), M.Mehlich 3 (26), C.Rollins 11 (22), B.Zimmermann 25 (53), J.Monti 3 (27), J.Lyman 5 (31). P-S--K.Weiser 64-43, J.DAlessandro 29-15, M.Mehlich 9-4, C.Rollins 42-22, B.Zimmermann 91-61, J.Monti 6-6, J.Lyman 9-6. T--2:39. A--5707 Umpires: Plate Ump - James Pattison, Field Ump #1 - Ronnie Whitting, Field Ump #2 - Mark Facto