Long Island sets new franchise record in sweep of Bluefish
(Central Islip, N.Y., June 22, 2015) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Bridgeport Bluefish 4-1 on Monday night in the finale of a four-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the record-setting win
The Ducks took a 1-0 lead in the opening inning on Lew Ford’s solo home run to left field off of Bluefish starter D.J. Mitchell. Long Island extended the advantage to four with three runs in the third, all with two outs. A two-run double by Jose Morales and a RBI double by Reegie Corona highlighted the inning.
Bridgeport scratched out their only run of the game in the sixth on a RBI single to left by Luis Rodriguez off of Ducks starter Andrew Barbosa. However, they would get no closer.
Barbosa (4-0) earned the win, pitching seven innings, allowing just one run on two hits and two walks while striking out seven. Mitchell (3-4) took the loss, giving up four runs on nine hits and two walks with two strikeouts in seven innings. Ryan Kussmaul earned his 17th save of the year with a scoreless ninth.
Randy Ruiz led the Flock with two hits, and eight of the nine Ducks starters registered at least one hit.
Long Island hits the road on Tuesday for a six-game series in Texas against the Sugar Land Skeeters. Game time is slated for 8:05 p.m. EDT at Constellation Field. Right-hander Ian Marshall takes the mound for the Ducks against Skeeters righty Josh Geer. Fans can follow all of the action live on the Ducks’ official YouTube channel. Streaming audio will be available online by CLICKING HERE.
The Ducks will return home on Monday, June 29 to open a four-game series against the Lancaster Barnstormers. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 5:35 (5:20 for season ticket holders). It will be a 20K Match Game Monday at the ballpark! One lucky fan could win $20,000 if the last six digits of their driver’s license number match the six digits of a featured VIN (Vehicle Identification Number).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.
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Duck Tales: With the win, the Ducks set a franchise record by earning their 13th consecutive victory at home. The previous record was 12, done from July 5-20, 2006. Long Island has now won 10 consecutive games overall for the second time this month. The Ducks also won 10 in a row from June 1-10. In addition, the Ducks have won 20 of their last 21 contests, all during the month of June. The team record for wins in a single month was 22, done in August of 2000 and July of 2003…Andrew Barbosa remained undefeated by picking up his fourth victory in seven starts as a Duck. In addition, Long Island is now 7-0 in games which Barbosa pitches. The southpaw struck out seven batters, marking the fourth time this season in which he has struck out seven more in a single game…Lew Ford’s solo homer in the first inning was his sixth of the season. It was also his third at Bethpage Ballpark, all of which have come against the Bluefish. In addition, the longball was the outfielder’s first since June 4 at Camden, a span of 16 games for the former big leaguer. Ford entered Monday’s action as the Atlantic League leader in batting average (.341), RBI (45), hits (71), doubles (19), total bases (107), extra-base hits (25) and slugging percentage (.514)…Bryan Sabatella collected a hit in Monday’s game and has now hit safely in 15 of his last 16 games. The only game in which he didn’t get a hit was on Saturday night, when he struck out after taking over as a defensive replacement. During his last 16 contests, the Long Island native is batting .386 (27-for-70) with two doubles, one triple, 10 RBI and 14 runs scored. The outfielder currently leads the league in runs (41), at-bats (224) and stolen bases (15) and is second in hits (67)…Reegie Corona and Prentice Redman each hit safely in all four games of the series after collecting a hit apiece on Monday. During the set, Corona batted .438 (7-for-16) with two doubles, one triple, four RBI and four runs. Redman, a former member of the Bluefish, hit .500 (8-for-16) with two RBI and three runs scored…Amalio Diaz tossed another scoreless inning of relief in the eighth inning. The right-hander has now made 11 consecutive appearances without allowing a run. In addition, he has given up just one run in his last 21 outings. During those 21 games, Diaz has combined to pitch 21 innings, yielding just 11 hits and one walk while striking out 27 batters.
Game Date: 06/22/2015 Bridgeport Bluefish 1 AT Long Island Ducks 4 YTD YTD Bridgeport AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG J.Luce LF 4 0 0 0 .217 B.Sabatella RF 4 0 1 0 .299 L.Rodriguez 2B 4 0 2 1 .292 D.Cleary Jr. CF 4 0 0 0 .313 W.Dotel RF 4 0 1 0 .285 L.Ford DH 4 1 1 1 .340 J.Alonso 1B 4 0 0 0 .244 R.Ruiz 1B 4 1 2 0 .342 J.Morales C 3 0 0 0 .239 C.Puckett 3B 4 1 1 0 .290 A.Rodriguez DH 3 0 0 0 .180 J.Morales C 4 1 1 2 .271 J.Simmons CF 3 0 0 0 .226 R.Corona 2B 2 0 1 1 .303 M.Wessinger 3B 2 1 0 0 .196 P.Redman LF 3 0 1 0 .238 M.Burns SS 2 0 0 0 .120 D.Lyons SS 2 0 1 0 .314 29 1 3 1 31 4 9 4 Bridgeport 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - 1 3 0 L Island 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 x - 4 9 1 2B--J.Morales (5), R.Corona (8). HR--L.Ford (6). RBI--L.Rodriguez (15), L.Ford (46), J.Morales 2 (14), R.Corona (22). E--A.Barbosa (1). LOB--Bridgeport 3, L Island 5. DP--R. Corona(2B) - D. Lyons(SS) - R. Ruiz(1B), J. Simmons(CF) - J. Alonso(1B), L. Rodriguez(2B) - M. Burns(SS) - J. Alonso(1B), R. Corona(2B) - R. Ruiz(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Bridgeport D.Mitchell (L,3-4) 7.0 9 4 4 2 2 1 2.47 C.Povich 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 8.53 8 9 4 4 2 3 1 L Island A.Barbosa (W,4-0) 7.0 2 1 1 2 7 0 1.85 A.Diaz 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.29 R.Kussmaul (S,17) 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.95 9 3 1 1 2 9 0 SO--J.Luce 2, L.Rodriguez 2, W.Dotel, J.Morales 2, J.Simmons, M.Wessinger, D.Cleary Jr., R.Ruiz, J.Morales. BB--M.Wessinger, M.Burns, R.Corona, D.Lyons. BF--D.Mitchell 30 (269), C.Povich 3 (31), A.Barbosa 25 (155), A.Diaz 3 (105), R.Kussmaul 3 (113). P-S--D.Mitchell 110-67, C.Povich 13-10, A.Barbosa 105-64, A.Diaz 11-6, R.Kussmaul 10-8. T--2:23. A--5709 Plate Umpire - Mike Williams, Field Umpire #1 - David Speranza, Field Umpire #2 - Warren Nicholson