Palmeiro ties game in sixth, Blanke wins it in eighth for Southern Maryland
(Photo courtesy of Bert Hindman)
(Waldorf, Md., April 21, 2017) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 6-5 on Friday night in the second game of a four-game series at Regency Furniture Stadium.
GAME VIDEO: Nate Freiman and Alex Burg hit Long Island’s first two homers of 2017
The Ducks struck for three runs in the opening inning against Blue Crabs starter Pat Misch. A sacrifice foul fly off the bat of Nolan Reimold and a mammoth two-run home run to left-center field by Nate Freiman highlighted the inning. Alex Burg crushed a solo homer to left in the second follow a one-hour, seven-minute rain delay to increase the lead to four.
Southern Maryland closed to within one with three runs in the third off Ducks starter Rafael Perez. An RBI single by Danny Muno and a two-run base hit by Zach Wilson made it a 4-3 game. Long Island answered in the fourth with a two-out RBI single from Burg to push the lead back up to two.
Patrick Palmeiro tied the game in the sixth with a two-run homer to left. In the eighth, Mike Blanke lifted a solo home run to left to give the Blue Crabs the lead for good.
Neither starter factored into the decision. Perez lasted three innings, giving up three runs on six hits while striking out four. Misch pitched just one inning, yielding three runs on three hits. Robert Carson (1-0) collected the win after pitching a scoreless eighth inning, and Chin-Hui Tsao (0-1) suffered the loss, surrendering the game-winning home run in one inning of work. Cody Eppley earned his first save with a perfect ninth.
Elmer Reyes led the Flock with three hits on the night. Freiman and Burg each added two hits and drove in two runs.
The Ducks and Blue Crabs continue their four-game set on Saturday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. from Regency Furniture Stadium. Fans can follow all the action online, with live HD streaming video and audio on the Ducks’ official Facebook page and YouTube channel, and at LIDucks.com. Right-hander and Long Island native Keith Couch takes the mound for the Ducks against Blue Crabs righty and Maryland native Daryl Thompson.
Long Island will return home on Friday, April 28 for the 2017 home opener against the New Britain Bees. Game time is slated for 6:35 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 5:35 (5:20 for full season ticket holders). The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive Rich Hill Bobbleheads, courtesy of P.C. Richard and Son. Fans are also encouraged to arrive early for player introductions along with traditional Opening Night pomp and circumstance. 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.
The Long Island Ducks are members of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and play their home games at Bethpage Ballpark. For further information, call (631) 940-DUCK or visit www.liducks.com.
About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)
The Atlantic League has been a leader in professional baseball and a gateway to Major League Baseball since 1998. Over 36 million fans have attended Atlantic League games and more than 800 players and 50 managers and coaches have joined MLB organizations directly from the ALPB. The Atlantic League emphasizes winning baseball games, showcasing the talent of top-caliber players and offering affordable family entertainment to metropolitan markets serving nearly 15{fe96d6e17d87505a1465284f96a4c69c9ad7d7051973bed0757ffc13536530ff} of the US population.
For more information, please visit www.atlanticleague.com.
###
Game Date: 04/21/2017 Long Island Ducks 5 AT Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 6 YTD YTD L Island AB R H BI AVG S Maryland AB R H BI AVG Lentini, F RF 4 1 1 0 .222 Brown, G CF 5 1 1 0 .222 Cleary Jr., D CF 3 0 0 0 .250 Muno, D 2B 5 1 4 1 .667 Reimold, N LF 3 0 0 1 .143 Wilson, Z 1B 4 0 1 2 .333 Krauss, M DH 3 1 1 0 .571 Snyder, M DH 4 0 1 0 .250 Freiman, N 1B 4 1 2 2 .429 Vaughn, C LF 4 0 0 0 .000 Puckett, C 3B 3 1 0 0 .143 Cone, Z RF 3 1 1 0 .333 Lyons, D SS 4 0 0 0 .000 Palmeiro, P 3B 4 1 1 2 .143 Burg, A C 4 1 2 2 .333 Garcia, E SS 3 1 1 0 .286 Reyes, E 2B 3 0 3 0 .750 Blanke, M C 3 1 1 1 .143 31 5 9 5 35 6 11 6 L Island 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 5 9 0 S Maryland 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 1 x - 6 11 0 2B--Krauss, M DH (1), Reyes, E 2B (2). 3B--Muno, D 2B (1). HR--Freiman, N 1B (1), Burg, A C (1), Palmeiro, P 3B (1), Blanke, M C (1). RBI--Reimold, N LF (1), Freiman, N 1B 2 (3), Burg, A C 2 (2), TOTALS 5 (0), Muno, D 2B (1), Wilson, Z 1B 2 (2), Palmeiro, P 3B 2 (2), Blanke, M C (1), TOTALS 6 (0). SF--Reimold, N LF (1). SH--Cleary Jr., D CF (0). SB--Lentini, F RF (2), Puckett, C 3B (1), Muno, D 2B (1), Cone, Z RF (1). LOB--L Island 3, S Maryland 9. DP--D. Muno(2B) - E. Garcia(SS) - Z. Wilson(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA L Island Perez, R 3.0 6 3 3 0 4 0 9.00 OGrady, D 2.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 Treece, Z 0.1 1 2 2 3 0 1 13.50 Wilson, T 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Diaz, A 1.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0.00 Tsao, C (L,0-1) 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 1 4.50 8 11 6 6 4 9 2 S Maryland Misch, P 1.0 3 3 3 0 0 1 27.00 Fleet, A 2.2 2 2 2 1 2 1 6.75 Runion, S 1.1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Beal, J 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 Hebner, C 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Carson, R (W,1-0) 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 6.75 Eppley, C (S,1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 9 9 5 5 2 8 2 SO--Lentini, F, Reimold, N, Krauss, M 2, Lyons, D 2, Burg, A 2, Brown, G 3, Wilson, Z, Snyder, M, Vaughn, C 2, Palmeiro, P, Garcia, E. BB--Krauss, M, Puckett, C, Wilson, Z, Cone, Z, Garcia, E, Blanke, M. BF--Perez, R 15 (15), OGrady, D 7 (7), Treece, Z 5 (9), Wilson, T 2 (7), Diaz, A 5 (9), Tsao, C 5 (10), Misch, P 6 (6), Fleet, A 10 (10), Runion, S 5 (5), Beal, J 4 (4), Hebner, C 3 (5), Carson, R 4 (9), Eppley, C 3 (3). P-S--Perez, R 51-36, OGrady, D 32-22, Treece, Z 27-12, Wilson, T 11-6, Diaz, A 21-11, Tsao, C 22-17, Misch, P 25-17, Fleet, A 43-23, Runion, S 23-17, Beal, J 19-11, Hebner, C 11-8, Carson, R 18-9, Eppley, C 12-9. T--3:13. A--3753 Rain delay of 1 hour, 7 minutes after top of 1st inning Plate Umpire - Ian Kelley, Field Umpire #1 - Calvin Baker, Field Umpire #2 - Silvio Martinez