Ducks score three in the eighth but fall by one
(Central Islip, N.Y., May 7, 2014) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Lancaster Barnstormers 6-5 on Wednesday night in the middle game of a three-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME AUDIO: Highlights from Long Island’s comeback effort
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez and Adam Bailey talk about the ballgame
Cole Garner put the Barnstormers in front in the first inning with a RBI single to center off Ducks starter John Brownell. Another run in the fourth inning on a leadoff solo homer to right-center by Fred Lewis increased the lead to 2-0.
Lancaster doubled the advantage to four in the fifth on James Skelton’s leadoff solo homer and a sacrifice fly to center by Blake Gailen. Following a solo homer by Lance Zawadzki in the sixth, the Ducks responded in the bottom of the frame on Adam Bailey’s two-run blast to left-center.
The Ducks trailed 6-2 going into the bottom of the eighth but scored three runs to pull within one. Lew Ford’s RBI single to left and Cody Puckett’s two-run single to right-center cut the deficit to 6-5, but the Ducks could not pull even.
Cody Beck (1-1) earned the win, tossing five scoreless innings, allowing just four hits with one strikeout. Brownell (0-2) took the loss after allowing five runs on nine hits with four strikeouts over six innings of work. Pete Andrelczyk earned his fourth save of the season after pitching a scoreless ninth.
Puckett and Bailey each had three hits and two RBI to pace the Flock.
The Ducks and Barnstormers wrap up their three-game set on Thursday night. Game time is slated for 6:35 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 5:35. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive commemorative Back-to-Back Championship Logo Patches. Right-hander Bobby Blevins toes the rubber for the Ducks against Barnstormers southpaw Clayton Tanner.
Tickets for the game and every 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 Ducks official YouTube channel by CLICKING HERE.
###
Duck Tales: Adam Bailey’s two-run homer in the sixth inning was his team-leading third home run of the year. All three of his longballs have come on this homestand. The Ducks have now hit eight home runs as a team this year and have gone deep in seven of their last eight games…With two hits in the ballgame, Lew Ford earned his third consecutive multi-hit game, and fourth multi-hit contest of the season. The last time he earned three straight multi-hit games with the Ducks was July 19-21, 2011 when he picked up a pair of two-hit games sandwiched around a three-hit contest. Ford has earned hits in four consecutive games, raising his batting average from .185 to .341 in the process. The former big leaguer also picked up his 500th career minor league RBI with his single to left in the eighth inning…Bailey’s three-hit night was his first of the season, and Cody Puckett’s three-hit game was his first of the year. Puckett now is tied with Ford for the team-lead with four multi-hit games while Bailey earned his second…Wednesday’s crowd of 3,816 at Bethpage Ballpark increased the all-time attendance at the Duck Pond to 5,968,039. Long Island is now just 31,961 fans away from reaching the magical 6 million fan mark. Upon doing so, the Ducks will have achieved the milestone faster than any other professional sports team with a ballpark the size of Bethpage Ballpark (capacity 6,002)…Following the game, the Ducks signed and activated catcher Anthony Armenio.
Game Date: 05/07/2014 Lancaster Barnstormers 6 AT Long Island Ducks 5 YTD YTD Lancaster AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG G.Golson DH 4 1 0 0 .200 F.Lentini RF 5 1 1 0 .233 Y.Kajimoto 2B 4 2 3 0 .405 C.McClendon 3B 5 0 1 0 .189 B.Gailen CF 4 0 1 1 .468 J.Brodin DH 5 0 0 0 .149 C.Garner RF 5 0 1 1 .265 L.Ford CF 4 2 2 1 .341 F.Lewis LF 3 1 3 2 .290 A.Bailey LF 4 2 3 2 .222 A.Gallagher 1B 4 0 1 0 .265 R.Strieby 1B 3 0 0 0 .211 C.Frawley 3B 4 0 0 0 .243 C.Puckett 2B 4 0 3 2 .286 L.Zawadzki SS 4 1 2 1 .244 B.Peacock C 4 0 2 0 .333 J.Skelton C 4 1 1 1 .222 S.Miranda SS 4 0 0 0 .200 36 6 12 6 38 5 12 5 Lancaster 1 0 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 - 6 12 0 L Island 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 - 5 12 0 2B--F.Lewis (1), F.Lentini (4), A.Bailey (2). HR--F.Lewis (2), L.Zawadzki (2), J.Skelton (3), A.Bailey (3). RBI--B.Gailen (10), C.Garner (5), F.Lewis 2 (7), L.Zawadzki (5), J.Skelton (7), L.Ford (12), A.Bailey 2 (8), C.Puckett 2 (5). HP--G.Golson (2). SF--B.Gailen (1). SB--G.Golson (4), Y.Kajimoto (2), C.Garner (3), L.Zawadzki (2). LOB--Lancaster 7, L Island 7. DP--S. Miranda(SS) - C. Puckett(2B) - R. Strieby(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Lancaster C.Beck (W,1-1) 5.0 4 0 0 0 1 0 4.70 D.Osterbrock 1.0 2 2 2 0 1 1 6.75 C.Howard 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1.93 F.Ni 0.2 3 3 3 0 1 0 16.20 B.Downs 0.1 1 0 0 1 1 0 4.26 P.Andrelczyk (S,4) 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 3.68 9 12 5 5 1 8 1 L Island J.Brownell (L,0-2) 6.0 9 5 5 1 4 3 5.50 B.Holt 0.2 1 1 1 1 1 0 4.91 S.Garrison 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 F.Hernandez 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.90 E.Niesen 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 9 12 6 6 2 7 3 HB--J.Brownell (1). SO--B.Gailen 2, C.Garner, C.Frawley, L.Zawadzki 2, J.Skelton, F.Lentini, C.McClendon 2, J.Brodin, A.Bailey, C.Puckett, B.Peacock, S.Miranda. BB--Y.Kajimoto, F.Lewis, R.Strieby. BF--C.Beck 19 (64), D.Osterbrock 5 (22), C.Howard 3 (18), F.Ni 5 (8), B.Downs 3 (27), P.Andrelczyk 4 (33), J.Brownell 27 (74), B.Holt 4 (18), S.Garrison 2 (23), F.Hernandez 4 (39), E.Niesen 3 (20). P-S--C.Beck 70-51, D.Osterbrock 24-14, C.Howard 13-10, F.Ni 11-9, B.Downs 16-8, P.Andrelczyk 14-11, J.Brownell 101-66, B.Holt 19-10, S.Garrison 8-5, F.Hernandez 15-9, E.Niesen 12-8. T--2:57. A--3816 Lancaster pitcher Brodie Downs ejected in the bottom of the eighth inning by HP umpire Richard Katz Plate Umpire - Richard Katz, Field Umpire #1 - Frank Leparik, Field Umpire #2 - David Speranza