Ducks unable to overcome early deficit against Patriots
(Central Islip, N.Y., July 28, 2015) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Somerset Patriots 3-2 on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the series opener
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez and Dan Lyons talk about the game
Somerset opened the scoring in the third inning with solo home runs by Jonny Tucker and Aharon Eggleston off of Ducks starter Bruce Kern. It stayed that way until the seventh when Michael Burgess hit a solo homer to right, increasing the advantage to 3-0.
Long Island closed the gap to one in the eighth on a RBI triple to right-center by Dan Lyons and a run-scoring infield single from Fehlandt Lentini. However, they could not pull even.
Patriots starter Sean Bierman (10-2) earned the win, tossing seven scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and one walk while striking out seven. Kern (5-2) suffered the hard luck loss, giving up two runs on five hits while striking out eight in six innings. Jon Hunton collected his 24th save of the year with a scoreless ninth.
Lentini and Delta Cleary, Jr. led the Flock with two hits apiece.
The Ducks and Patriots continue their three-game set on Wednesday night. 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). Wednesday will be the first-ever Star Wars Night at the Duck Pond! Characters from the popular movie will be making an appearance at the ballpark, including Darth Vader! Fans can take pictures with the characters as they walk along the concourse. There will also be Star Wars music and video clips played throughout the game. It will also be a Winning Inning Wednesday at the ballpark, where one lucky fan could win $10,000! Right-hander Ian Marshall takes the mound for the Ducks against Patriots righty Lucas Irvine.
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. Those unable to make the game can follow all of the action live on the Ducks’ official YouTube channel. Streaming video and audio will be available online by CLICKING HERE.
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Duck Tales: Bruce Kern tied a season high by striking out eight batters in the game. He also struck out eight in his last start, a 9-4 win over Somerset on July 5 at Bethpage Ballpark. In four starts with the Flock this year, the Long Island native has compiled a 2.70 ERA, allowing just six earned runs in 20 innings of work. In that span, he has surrendered just 15 hits and two walks while striking out 18…Dan Lyons picked up a triple for the second straight game in the eighth inning. He also tripled in the eighth on Sunday at Bridgeport. Lyons is now tied with Reegie Corona for the team-lead in triples this season with five. Last year, the shortstop led the Flock and was tied for fifth in the Atlantic League with seven triples…J.C. Romero tossed another scoreless inning of relief in the eighth inning. He has now made seven consecutive scoreless appearances out of the bullpen. In that span, he has given up just three hits and six walks while striking out four. The former big leaguer has allowed only two runs in 10 and two-thirds with the Ducks (1.69 ERA)…In his first game back with the Ducks this season, Fehlandt Lentini collected two hits and a run batted in. Last year, the California native collected led the Ducks with 37 two-hit games and finished the season with 49 multi-hit games overall. Lentini also totaled 63 runs batted in in 2014, which ranked fourth on the Flock.
Game Date: 07/28/2015 Somerset Patriots 3 AT Long Island Ducks 2 YTD YTD Somerset AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG O.Linton RF 5 0 1 0 .214 F.Lentini RF 4 0 2 1 .500 A.Eggleston LF 3 1 1 1 .322 B.Sabatella DH 4 0 0 0 .282 T.Neal 1B 3 0 0 0 .284 D.Cleary Jr. CF 4 0 2 0 .290 D.Vidal C 4 0 0 0 .273 M.Blanke C 4 0 0 0 .292 M.Burgess DH 4 1 1 1 .240 C.Puckett 3B 4 0 1 0 .269 G.Hopkins 3B 4 0 1 0 .265 J.Griffin 1B 2 1 0 0 .235 R.Andino SS 4 0 1 0 .265 S.McQuail LF 3 0 0 0 .186 N.Spears 2B 2 0 0 0 .272 B.Davis 2B 3 0 0 0 .227 J.Tucker CF 3 1 2 1 .238 D.Lyons SS 2 1 1 1 .300 V.Zarrillo CF,PH 1 0 1 0 .225 33 3 8 3 30 2 6 2 Somerset 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 3 8 0 L Island 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 - 2 6 0 3B--D.Lyons (5). HR--A.Eggleston (2), M.Burgess (6), J.Tucker (4). RBI--A.Eggleston (27), M.Burgess (26), J.Tucker (25), F.Lentini (1), D.Lyons (42). HP--A.Eggleston (12). SB--D.Cleary Jr. (19). CS--O.Linton (1), D.Cleary Jr. (4). LOB--Somerset 7, L Island 3. DP--J. Griffin(1B) - D. Lyons(SS), N. Spears(2B) - G. Hopkins(3B) - T. Neal(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Somerset S.Bierman (W,10-2) 7.0 4 0 0 1 7 0 1.79 A.Carignan 1.0 2 2 2 1 1 0 4.31 J.Hunton (S,24) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.41 9 6 2 2 2 8 0 L Island B.Kern (L,5-2) 6.0 5 2 2 0 8 2 2.55 P.Crider 1.0 1 1 1 1 0 1 3.13 J.Romero 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1.69 R.Kussmaul 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 2.98 9 8 3 3 3 9 3 WP--J.Romero (3). HB--J.Romero (1). SO--O.Linton 2, T.Neal, M.Burgess 2, G.Hopkins, R.Andino, N.Spears 2, F.Lentini, B.Sabatella, M.Blanke, C.Puckett, J.Griffin 2, S.McQuail 2. BB--T.Neal, N.Spears 2, J.Griffin, D.Lyons. BF--S.Bierman 23 (452), A.Carignan 6 (134), J.Hunton 3 (134), B.Kern 22 (206), P.Crider 5 (152), J.Romero 5 (46), R.Kussmaul 5 (170). P-S--S.Bierman 85-58, A.Carignan 25-15, J.Hunton 7-7, B.Kern 82-55, P.Crider 19-10, J.Romero 20-10, R.Kussmaul 25-17. T--2:27. A--4705 Plate Umpire - Dave Speranza, Field Umpire #1 - John Grasso, Field Umpire #2 - Frank Iurilli