Long Island advances to third consecutive Atlantic League Championship Series
(Waldorf, Md., Sept. 20, 2013) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 4-1 on Friday night in Game Three of the Liberty Division Championship Series at Regency Furniture Stadium. With the win, the Ducks sweep the series three games to none and are the Liberty Division champions for a third consecutive season.
GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the series clinching victory
CLICK HERE to view a game recap article from Newsday
Long Island opened the scoring with Ryan Strieby’s two-out, two-run single in the first inning off Blue Crabs starter Logan Williamson. Ducks starter Bob Zimmermann held the Blue Crabs scoreless until the fifth inning when Jeremy Owens hit a sacrifice fly to put Southern Maryland on the board.
Josh Barfield got the run back with a solo homer to left-center on the first pitch of the seventh inning. Adam Bailey followed with a RBI single later in the frame to stretch the lead to three. Three Ducks relievers combined to throw three scoreless innings secure the series sweep.
Zimmermann (1-0) picked up the win, allowing one run on four hits while striking out five in six innings. Williamson (0-1) took the loss, letting up four runs on 10 hits in six and two-third innings. Leo Rosales pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his first save of the postseason.
Barfield, Bill Hall and Dan Lyons led the Ducks with two hits apiece.
The Ducks advance to the Atlantic League Championship Series for the fourth time in franchise history. The best-of-five series will begin on Wednesday night at Bethpage Ballpark. First pitch is slated for 6:35 p.m., with the ballpark gates opening at 5:35. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive Ducks playoff “Title Towels” courtesy of News 12 Long Island and News 12 Traffic and Weather.
Tickets for Games One and Two of the Atlantic League Championship Series 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 attend the game can follow all the action live online, with streaming video and audio on the Ducks official YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/ducksbaseball.
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Duck Tales: Long Island has now won three consecutive Division Championships for the first time in franchise history. The Ducks are also the second team in Atlantic League history to play in the Atlantic League Championship Series in three consecutive seasons. The only other team to do so was the Somerset Patriots, who played in the ALCS in 1999, 2000 and 2001 as well as 2007, 2008 and 2009. The Flock will play for the Atlantic League championship for the fourth time in franchise history and are 2-1 in their previous three Atlantic League Championship Series. The Ducks won the 2004 ALCS over the Camden Riversharks and the 2012 ALCS over the Lancaster Barnstormers while falling in the 2011 ALCS against the York Revolution…Long Island improved their overall playoff record to 21-20 with the win and has now won five consecutive postseason games at Regency Furniture Stadium. Over the last two seasons, the Ducks have posted a 4-1 record on the road in postseason games…The series win marked Long Island’s third consecutive triumph over the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in the Liberty Division Championship Series. The Ducks won the 2011 LDCS three games to one and the 2012 LDCS three games to two. Long Island has now won three consecutive postseason series overall and improved their postseason record against the Blue Crabs to 11-6 (6-4 at home, 5-2 at Southern Maryland)…With his save in Game Three, Leo Rosales has now earned four postseason saves over his two seasons with the Ducks, all of them coming against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. Long Island’s bullpen as a whole threw six and one-third scoreless innings in the series sweep.
GAME DATE: 09/20/2013 Long Island Ducks 4 AT Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 1 YTD YTD L Island AB R H BI AVG S Maryland AB R H BI AVG J.Barfield 2B 4 1 2 1 .182 R.Osuna SS 5 0 1 0 .385 R.Navarrete DH 4 0 0 0 .000 D.Webb RF 4 0 1 0 .385 P.Phillips PR 0 0 0 0 .000 N.Schwaner 3B 3 0 0 0 .200 B.Nelson 3B 5 1 1 0 .385 J.Opitz 2B 4 0 1 0 .417 B.Hall LF 5 2 2 0 .333 I.Gac DH 4 0 0 0 .077 A.Bailey RF 4 0 1 1 .308 B.Barton LF 4 0 2 0 .571 R.Strieby 1B 3 0 1 2 .583 J.Salas 1B 4 1 2 0 .308 R.Henriquez C 4 0 0 0 .000 A.Colina C 4 0 2 0 .250 K.Binick CF 4 0 1 0 .417 J.Owens CF 2 0 0 1 .125 D.Lyons SS 4 0 2 0 .300 37 4 10 4 34 1 9 1 L Island 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 - 4 10 0 S Maryland 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 1 9 0 2B--J.Barfield (1), B.Hall (2), B.Barton (2), J.Salas (1). HR--J.Barfield (1). RBI--J.Barfield (2), A.Bailey (2), R.Strieby 2 (4), J.Owens (2). HP--R.Navarrete (1). SF--J.Owens (1). LOB--L Island 10, S Maryland 9. DP--D. Lyons(SS) - J. Barfield(2B) - R. Strieby(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA L Island B.Zimmermann (W,1-0) 6.0 4 1 1 2 5 0 1.50 J.Lansford 1.0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 J.Lansford 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 L.Rosales (S,1) 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 9 9 1 1 2 8 0 S Maryland L.Williamson (L,0-1) 6.2 10 4 4 2 6 1 5.40 E.Morlan 0.1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00 C.Manning 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.40 J.Warden 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 9 10 4 4 3 7 1 HB--J.Warden (1). SO--R.Navarrete, B.Hall 2, A.Bailey, R.Henriquez, K.Binick, D.Lyons, R.Osuna, D.Webb 2, J.Opitz, I.Gac, A.Colina, J.Owens 2. BB--J.Barfield, A.Bailey, R.Strieby, N.Schwaner, J.Owens. BF--B.Zimmermann 23 (23), J.Lansford 5 (6), J.Lansford 4 (8), L.Rosales 5 (9), L.Williamson 32 (32), E.Morlan 2 (6), C.Manning 3 (8), J.Warden 4 (4). P-S--B.Zimmermann 102-65, J.Lansford 15-11, J.Lansford 18-12, L.Rosales 12-10, L.Williamson 107-71, E.Morlan 11-6, C.Manning 10-6, J.Warden 16-11. T--3:03. A--5158 Umpires: Plate Ump - Andrew Steinberg, Field Ump #1 - Matt Beaver, Field Ump #2 - Marty Bauer, Field Ump #3 - Dan Kiley