(Central Islip, N.Y., June 28, 2012) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Sugar Land Skeeters 9-8 in waddle-off fashion on Thursday night in their first ever meeting at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME VIDEO: Brandon Sing’s solo homer, Ray Navarrete’s three-run double and Shawn Williams’ waddle-off single
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Williams and Navarrete talk about the dramatic victory
The Ducks jumped in front with two runs in the first off Skeeters starter Heath Phillips on a sac fly by Ray Navarrete and a solo home run by Brandon Sing. The Skeeters would tie it in the fourth with a RBI double by Bubba Bell and a run-scoring single by Octavio Martinez off Ducks starter Bob Zimmermann.
Two more runs in the fifth on RBI hits by Josh Pressley and Steve Moss gave Sugar Land a 4-2 lead. it was short lived though, as Navarrete cleared the bases with a two-out, three-run double in the bottom of the frame to put the Ducks back on top.
The Skeeters would regain the lead with a pair of two-run innings in the eighth and ninth, highlighted by a two-run homer from Matt Hagen, a sac fly from Moss and a RBI single by Bell. However, the Ducks would rally to score four runs in the bottom of the ninth to win the game. RBI singles from Navarrete and Sing, a sac fly off the bat of Bryant Nelson and a walk-off single from Shawn Williams gave the Flock the win.
Neither starter factored into the decision. Zimmermann tossed seven innings, allowing nine hits and four runs while striking out seven, and Phillips lasted six innings, yielding five runs on nine hits with four strikeouts. Armando Benitez (1-0) earned the win despite allowing two runs in one inning of relief, while Gary Majewski (2-1) suffered the loss, allowing four runs on four hits in one and one-third innings.
Sing and James McOwen paced the Flock with three hits apiece, while Navarrete’s five RBI led the way.
The Ducks continue their four-game set with the Skeeters on Friday night. Game time is slated for 7:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 6:05 on Food-Tastic Friday at the ballpark. Fans will have a chance to win an order of FREE breadsticks from Pizza Hut in the Friday night Pizza Hut K-Man promotion, and fans will receive samples of BIGS Sunflower Seeds, the official sunflower seed of the Ducks, and the brand new Pepsi Next soft drink as they exit the ballpark. Right-hander Mike Loree gets the start for the Flock against former Skeeters southpaw Jason Lane.
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 make 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 provided by iBN, the Internet Broadcast Network.
Duck Tales: The waddle-off win was the Ducks’ fifth walk-off victory in 2012 and the fourth with Shawn Williams at the plate. The 28-year-old was at the plate for a walk-off wild pitch on June 16 against Southern Maryland, hit a walk-off home run on June 7 against the Bridgeport Bluefish, and hit a walk-off single to defeat the Somerset Patriots on May 20…With five RBI, Ray Navarrete now the team lead with 43 RBI. It was his first five RBI game this season and just the third time a Ducks has driven in five or more runs in a game this season. Navarrete’s double extended his league-leading total to 23 two-baggers…Bob Zimmermann struck out seven batters which tied his season-high, done on June 23 against the Blue Crabs. Zimmermann leads the Ducks with 56 strikeouts on the season…Tonight’s game was the first ever meeting between the Ducks and Skeeters at Bethpage Ballpark. The last time a new Atlantic League franchise played its first game at the Duck Pond was on May 8, 2008 when the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs visited the Ducks.
GAME DATE: 06/28/2012 Sugar Land Skeeters 8 AT Long Island Ducks 9 YTD YTD Sugar Land AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG M.Negron LF 2 1 1 0 .340 K.Binick LF 4 1 2 0 .282 L.Figueroa 2B 4 2 1 0 .136 R.Gorecki CF 3 3 1 0 .268 J.Pressley DH 5 0 1 1 .254 R.Navarrete 2B 3 1 2 5 .333 O.Castro 3B 5 2 2 0 .311 B.Sing DH 4 2 3 2 .249 S.Moss RF 4 0 1 2 .176 B.Nelson 3B 4 0 1 1 .248 B.Bell CF 5 2 4 2 .293 S.Williams 1B 3 0 1 1 .280 O.Martinez C 5 0 3 1 .316 J.McOwen RF 4 0 3 0 .247 M.Hagen 1B 4 1 1 2 .244 J.Johnson C 3 0 0 0 .213 I.Suarez SS 4 0 0 0 .224 M.Canham C,PH 1 0 0 0 .174 D.Lyons SS 3 2 0 0 .279 38 8 14 8 32 9 13 9 Sugar Land 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 2 2 - 8 14 1 L Island 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 4 - 9 13 0 2B--B.Bell 3 (19), O.Martinez (8), R.Navarrete (23). HR--M.Hagen (3), B.Sing (11). RBI--J.Pressley (34), S.Moss 2 (7), B.Bell 2 (21), O.Martinez (14), M.Hagen 2 (8), R.Navarrete 5 (43), B.Sing 2 (34), B.Nelson (39), S.Williams (26). HP--K.Binick (16). SF--S.Moss (2), R.Navarrete (5), B.Nelson (5). SB--O.Castro (1), R.Gorecki (9). CS--M.Negron (2). E--O.Martinez (6). LOB--Sugar Land 8, L Island 7. DP--I. Suarez(SS) - L. Figueroa(2B) - M. Hagen(1B), I. Suarez(SS) - L. Figueroa(2B) - M. Hagen(1B), O. Castro(3B) - L. Figueroa(2B) - M. Hagen(1B), I. Suarez(SS) - L. Figueroa(2B) - M. Hagen(1B), I. Suarez(SS) - L. Figueroa(2B) - M. Hagen(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Sugar Land H.Phillips 6.0 9 5 5 2 4 1 3.89 G.Parcell 1.0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0.00 K.Villa 0.1 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.75 G.Majewski (L,2-1) 1.1 4 4 4 1 0 0 2.10 8.2 13 9 9 7 4 1 L Island B.Zimmermann 7.0 9 4 4 3 7 0 3.76 J.Lansford 1.0 3 2 2 0 0 1 4.80 A.Benitez (W,1-0) 1.0 2 2 2 1 0 0 17.36 9 14 8 8 4 7 1 HB--H.Phillips (2). SO--L.Figueroa, J.Pressley 3, S.Moss 3, B.Sing, J.Johnson 2, D.Lyons. BB--M.Negron 3, L.Figueroa, R.Gorecki 2, R.Navarrete, B.Sing, S.Williams 2, D.Lyons. BF--H.Phillips 27 (199), G.Parcell 5 (5), K.Villa 2 (62), G.Majewski 8 (120), B.Zimmermann 32 (346), J.Lansford 5 (65), A.Benitez 6 (30). P-S--H.Phillips 93-60, G.Parcell 25-8, K.Villa 11-5, G.Majewski 21-13, B.Zimmermann 112-72, J.Lansford 18-11, A.Benitez 26-16. T--3:06. A--5571 Umpires: Plate Ump - Eric Diaz, Field Ump #1 - Mike Terry, Field Ump #2 - Pat McLaughlin