Strong start and pair of homers lead Ducks to victory
(Central Islip, N.Y., Aug. 2, 2015) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Bridgeport Bluefish 4-3 on Sunday evening in the third game of a four-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the victory
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Dan Lyons and Jon Griffin talk about the win
The Ducks got the scoring started in the second, taking a 2-0 lead on Jon Griffin’s two-run homer off of Bluefish starter Matt Iannazzo. Dan Lyons added a run with a solo homer in the third, putting the Ducks ahead by three. Lyons’ second solo shot came in the sixth, giving Long Island the 4-0 advantage.
After being no-hit through seven and two-thirds innings, the Bluefish got on the board in the eighth with a bases loaded walk off of Ducks reliever Donnie Veal. Wilson Batista then hit a two-run single in the ninth off of Ducks closer Ryan Kussmaul to cut the lead to 4-3. However, Patrick Crider was able to come in and secure three outs for the victory.
Rich Hill (1-0) earned the win for the Ducks in his Long Island debut, throwing five no-hit innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. Iannazzo (4-6) suffered the loss, allowing four runs on six hits in seven and one-third frames. He walked none and struck out three. J.C. Romero and Nick Struck each tossed a hitless inning of relief for the Ducks. Crider earned his first save of the season in the ninth by getting three straight outs.
Dan Lyons led the way for Long Island with the pair of solo homers, two RBI, and two runs.
The Ducks conclude their four-game series with the cross-sound rival Bluefish on Monday morning. Game time is slated for 11:05 a.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 10:05. It’s our annual Camp Day at the ballpark, and you can cheer on the Flock with camps from across Long Island! In addition, it’s a 20K Match Game Monday. During the game, the Ducks will post a special Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) of a featured vehicle. If the last six digits of YOUR driver’s license number match that number, you’ll be the lucky winner of $20,000! To be eligible to win, fans must sign up at the Long Island Ducks Ticket Kiosk prior to first pitch. Righty Bruce Kern toes the rubber for the Ducks against Bluefish right-hander Cody Scarpetta.
Tickets to the game and all Ducks home games are available by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark box office, calling (631) 940-TIXX or CLICKING HERE. Those unable to make the game can follow all of the action live on the Ducks’ official YouTube channel. Streaming video and audio will be available online by CLICKING HERE.
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Duck Tales: The Ducks came within four outs of a no-hitter for the second time this season. Rich Hill, J.C. Romero, Nick Struck and Donnie Veal combined to allow just two walks in the first seven and two-thirds innings before a single from Luis Rodriguez ended the bid. Previously, Mickey Jannis tossed seven and two-thirds innings of no-hit baseball on June 2 before conceding an infield single to Wilson Valdez…Dan Lyons became the fifth Duck this season to pick up a multi-homer game in 2015. The last to do it was Steve McQuail on July 18 against Somerset. Lew Ford, Jon Griffin and Cody Puckett are the others to hit multiple home runs in a game this year. The shortstop now has eight home runs in 2015, which is a new career-high. His previous high was seven, done in 2008 combined between Single-A Hagerstown and Advanced-A Potomac…Jon Griffin launched his team-leading 13th home run of the season. He is now tied with Chris Wallace of the Skeeters for the Atlantic League lead in home runs this season. The first baseman has now hit a four home runs against the Bluefish this season, tied with Lyons for the team lead…Ducks pitchers combined to strike out nine more Bluefish batters in the game and have now struck out 27 batters in three game this series. As a pitching staff, the Ducks have struck out a league-high 747 batters in 2015. That’s 79 more than any other team in the Atlantic League (Lancaster, 668).
Game Date: 08/02/2015 Bridgeport Bluefish 3 AT Long Island Ducks 4 YTD YTD Bridgeport AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG J.Prince CF 3 0 0 1 .272 F.Lentini LF 4 0 0 0 .333 B.Nelson 2B 4 0 0 0 .324 D.Lyons SS 4 2 2 2 .304 W.Dotel RF 2 1 0 0 .325 D.Cleary Jr. CF 3 0 1 0 .285 J.Alonso 1B 4 1 1 0 .269 C.Puckett 3B 3 0 0 0 .269 W.Batista DH 4 0 1 2 .225 B.Sabatella RF 3 0 0 0 .286 S.Burroughs 3B 2 0 0 0 .322 S.McQuail DH 3 1 1 0 .189 L.Rodriguez C 4 1 1 0 .177 J.Griffin 1B 3 1 1 2 .233 B.Jones LF 4 0 1 0 .247 D.Coury C 3 0 1 0 .217 M.Wessinger SS 2 0 0 0 .201 C.Hughes 2B 3 0 0 0 .000 29 3 4 3 29 4 6 4 Bridgeport 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 - 3 4 0 L Island 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 x - 4 6 0 2B--J.Alonso (24). HR--D.Lyons 2 (8), J.Griffin (13). RBI--J.Prince (10), W.Batista 2 (11), D.Lyons 2 (46), J.Griffin 2 (56). HP--W.Dotel (6). SH--S.Burroughs (0). LOB--Bridgeport 5, L Island 1. DP--C. Hughes(2B) - D. Lyons(SS) - J. Griffin(1B), S. Burroughs(3B) - J. Alonso(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Bridgeport M.Iannazzo (L,4-6) 7.1 6 4 4 0 3 3 4.38 S.Shuman 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.96 8 6 4 4 0 3 3 L Island R.Hill (W,1-0) 5.0 0 0 0 1 7 0 0.00 J.Romero 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.42 N.Struck 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2.79 D.Veal 1.0 2 1 1 2 1 0 2.25 R.Kussmaul 0.0 2 2 2 0 0 0 3.35 P.Crider (S,1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.03 9 4 3 3 4 9 0 HB--R.Kussmaul (4). SO--J.Prince, B.Nelson, W.Dotel, J.Alonso, W.Batista 2, B.Jones 2, M.Wessinger, C.Puckett, S.McQuail, C.Hughes. BB--J.Prince, W.Dotel, S.Burroughs, M.Wessinger. BF--M.Iannazzo 27 (303), S.Shuman 2 (33), R.Hill 16 (16), J.Romero 3 (52), N.Struck 3 (124), D.Veal 7 (33), R.Kussmaul 3 (177), P.Crider 3 (158). P-S--M.Iannazzo 81-54, S.Shuman 7-4, R.Hill 68-48, J.Romero 12-8, N.Struck 17-10, D.Veal 24-12, R.Kussmaul 15-9, P.Crider 7-6. T--2:14. A--5664 Plate Umpire - Frank Iurilli, Field Umpire #1 - James Grillo, Field Umpire #2 - Richard Katz