Three-run eighth inning not enough for Long Island
(Central Islip, N.Y., Sept. 7, 2013) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Sugar Land Skeeters 5-3 in 10 innings on Saturday night before a past-capacity crowd of 7,057 at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME AUDIO: Ray Navarrete’s two-run homer and Josh Barfield’s solo blast
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez and Ray Navarrete talk about the game
Sugar Land scratched out a run in the first inning on Aaron Bates’ sacrifice fly to right off Ducks starter Bill Murphy. It stayed that way until the sixth when Ryan Langerhans connected for a two-run homer to right, extending the lead to three.
Long Island answered back with a pair of longballs in the eighth to tie the game at three. Ray Navarrete’s two-run blast and Josh Barfield’s solo longball did the damage. Sugar Land took the lead back for good though in the 10th on a two-run single to center by Steve Moss.
Neither starter factored into the decision. Murphy allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits while striking out six in five and one-third innings, and Ben Kozlowski allowed just one hit with two strikeouts in five innings. Clay Hensley (2-0) earned the win, allowing just one hit while striking out four in one and one-third innings. Erick Threets (0-1) suffered the loss, yielding two runs (one earned) on three hits with two strikeouts in two innings. Roberto Giron earned his third save with a scoreless 10th inning.
The Ducks and Skeeters continue their four-game set on Sunday afternoon. Game time is slated for 1:35 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 12:35. Right-hander Shaun Garceau gets the start for the Ducks against Skeeters righty David Pauley. It’s the First Annual Hunger Awareness Day at the ballpark, presented by Long Island Cares and NBTY Helping Hands. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive Commemorative Orange T-Shirts while the first 5,000 fans through the gates will take home Commemorative Pamphlets. In conjunction with Hunger Awareness Day, the Ducks will be wearing special orange jerseys which will be auctioned off through the seventh inning stretch of Sunday’s game. Fans can place their bids by visiting the auction tables located outside the Waddle In Shop, and net proceeds from the auction will benefit Long Island Cares.
In addition, it’s a Sunday Family Funday at the Duck Pond! Prior to the game, fans will be invited onto the field for an autograph session with the Ducks. Following the game, kids and kids at heart can take part in Kids Run the Bases, presented by Bethpage Federal Credit Union. The fun continues after Kids Run the Bases, as the Ducks present “Movie Night at the Duck Pond!” Enjoy the popular movie, “Shrek” as the film is played on the Duck Vision Video Board.
Tickets for the game and all Ducks regular season home games 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 make the game can follow all the action live on the radio home of the Ducks, 103.9-FM, WRCN, and online with streaming video and audio on the Ducks official YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/ducksbaseball.
###
Duck Tales: With a single in the sixth inning, Lew Ford has now earned hits in each of the 10 games he has played with the Ducks this season. He is batting .381 (16-for-42) in those 10 games and has driven in four runs while scoring five runs. The former big leaguer had a hit in 15 of the 19 games he played with the Ducks in 2012 before getting signed by the Baltimore Orioles organization…Ray Navarrete’s two-run homer was his sixth longball of the year while Josh Barfield’s solo shot was his seventh of the season. It was Navarrete’s first homer since August 17 and Barfield’s first since August 25. Tonight was also Long Island’s first multi-homer game since August 26 against Lancaster. Long Island has now hit 113 home runs as a team this season…With two hits, Bryant Nelson picked up his 32nd two-hit game of the year which leads all Ducks players. He has also earned two hits in three consecutive games. The switch hitter became the second Duck this season to amass 40 multi-hit games, joining Joash Brodin who leads the team with 42 multi-hit contests…Saturday’s crowd of 7,057 was the Ducks’ 12th past-capacity crowd of the season at Bethpage Ballpark and second-largest of the year. The Ducks welcomed 7,416 fans on July 4 against Somerset, the second-largest crowd ever at the Duck Pond. Long Island is now 8-4 this season when there is a past-capacity crowd at Bethpage Ballpark. The Ducks have hosted 627 sellouts all-time, an Atlantic League record.
GAME DATE: 09/07/2013 Sugar Land Skeeters 5 AT Long Island Ducks 3 (EXTRA INNINGS) YTD YTD Sugar Land AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG A.Godwin CF 3 2 0 0 .287 L.Ford CF 5 0 1 0 .381 J.Dominguez 2B 5 0 1 0 .270 J.Barfield 2B 4 1 1 1 .301 S.Moss LF 1 1 1 2 .324 B.Nelson 3B 4 0 2 0 .290 A.Bates DH 4 0 0 1 .315 B.Hall SS 4 0 0 0 .243 R.Langerhans RF 5 1 2 2 .281 A.Bailey RF 4 0 0 0 .257 K.Clemens C 4 0 1 0 .220 R.Castro C 4 0 0 0 .253 R.Mitchell 1B 4 0 1 0 .212 R.Strieby 1B 3 1 0 0 .249 D.Ramos 3B 4 0 0 0 .220 R.Navarrete DH 4 1 1 2 .236 K.Rios SS 4 1 1 0 .257 P.Phillips LF 4 0 0 0 .222 34 5 7 5 36 3 5 3 Sugar Land 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 - 5 7 0 L Island 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 - 3 5 2 2B--R.Langerhans (11). HR--R.Langerhans (5), J.Barfield (7), R.Navarrete (6). RBI--S.Moss 2 (39), A.Bates (57), R.Langerhans 2 (28), J.Barfield (31), R.Navarrete 2 (36). SF--A.Bates (9). SH--A.Godwin (0). SB--A.Godwin (50), S.Moss (13). E--R.Castro (5), E.Threets (2). LOB--Sugar Land 7, L Island 4. DP--B. Nelson(3B) - J. Barfield(2B) - R. Strieby(1B), J. Barfield(2B) - B. Hall(SS) - R. Strieby(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Sugar Land B.Kozlowski 5.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1.80 J.Wells 1.0 1 0 0 0 3 0 4.40 R.Corcoran 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.56 T.Schlichting 0.2 2 3 3 1 0 2 4.91 C.Hensley (W,2-0) 1.1 1 0 0 0 4 0 0.73 R.Giron (S,3) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.14 10 5 3 3 1 10 2 L Island B.Murphy 5.1 4 3 2 5 6 1 5.31 J.Lansford 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.48 E.Ramos 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 P.Budkevics 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 5.79 E.Threets (L,0-1) 2.0 3 2 1 0 2 0 6.30 10 7 5 3 6 10 1 WP--J.Wells (13), C.Hensley (2). SO--A.Godwin, J.Dominguez 2, A.Bates, R.Langerhans 2, R.Mitchell, D.Ramos, K.Rios 2, L.Ford, J.Barfield, B.Hall 2, A.Bailey 2, R.Castro, R.Strieby, R.Navarrete, P.Phillips. BB--A.Godwin, S.Moss 4, K.Clemens, R.Strieby. BF--B.Kozlowski 16 (133), J.Wells 5 (205), R.Corcoran 3 (227), T.Schlichting 5 (43), C.Hensley 5 (45), R.Giron 3 (229), B.Murphy 24 (570), J.Lansford 2 (184), E.Ramos 3 (27), P.Budkevics 3 (196), E.Threets 10 (95). P-S--B.Kozlowski 53-35, J.Wells 24-17, R.Corcoran 12-9, T.Schlichting 32-17, C.Hensley 23-15, R.Giron 11-8, B.Murphy 110-61, J.Lansford 6-5, E.Ramos 14-9, P.Budkevics 13-6, E.Threets 37-21. T--3:26. A--7057 Umpires: Plate Ump - Tim McCaffrey, Field Ump #1 - Dan Kiley, Field Ump #2 - Matt Beaver