Ducks and Patriots to play winner-take-all game for third time in four years
(Central Islip, N.Y., Sept. 24, 2016) – The Long Island Ducks shut out the Somerset Patriots 2-0 on Saturday night in Game Four of the Liberty Division Championship Series at Bethpage Ballpark. The best-of-five series is now tied at two games apiece.
GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the shutout victory
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Jarret Leverett and Anthony Vega talk about the win
All of Long Island’s offense came in the third inning. Tyler Colvin doubled down the left field line to begin the inning. Two batters later, Anthony Vega cranked a first pitch two-run home run to right field to give the Ducks the early lead.
Somerset threatened several times during the game but failed to dent home plate. Yovan Gonzalez and Scott Kelly hit back-to-back singles with one out in the third and two outs in the fifth but were stranded on base both times. Carlos Guzman and Brian Van Kirk also hit consecutive singles with one out in the seventh, but Gonzalez struck out and Kelly popped out to end the threat.
Jarret Leverett (1-0) was stellar to earn the victory for the Ducks. The southpaw tossed seven shutout innings, yielding just six hits and a walk while striking out five. Shaun Garceau (0-1) suffered the loss, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks over six and two-thirds innings with four strikeouts. After Amalio Diaz pitched a scoreless inning in the eighth, Todd Coffey fired a scoreless ninth to earn the save.
The Ducks and Patriots will now play a winner-take-all Game Five of the Liberty Division Championship Series on Sunday evening. Game time is slated for 5:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 4:05 (3:50 for full season ticket holders). The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive Playoff Rally Towels, courtesy of News 12 Long Island. Right-hander John Brownell takes the mound for the Ducks against Patriots righty Will Oliver.
Tickets to the game and all Ducks home postseason 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 the action live on the Ducks’ official YouTube channel. Streaming video and audio will be available online by 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{508e0238204740d3d9c141f5965096b8721e890fc8446b80b243ba5070871f7e} of the US population.
For more information, please visit www.atlanticleague.com.
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Game Date: 09/24/2016 Somerset Patriots 0 AT Long Island Ducks 2 YTD YTD Somerset AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG Kelly, S SS 4 0 2 0 .533 Lentini, F RF 4 0 0 0 .353 Eggleston, A LF 4 0 1 0 .250 Lyons, D SS 3 0 1 0 .200 Farris, E CF 4 0 0 0 .167 Cleary Jr., D CF 4 0 1 0 .059 LaHair, B 1B 4 0 0 0 .176 Ford, L DH 3 0 0 0 .200 Vidal, D 2B 3 0 0 0 .333 Puckett, C 3B 3 0 0 0 .267 Roller, K DH 4 0 1 0 .143 Gotay, R 2B 2 0 0 0 .308 Guzman, C 3B 4 0 1 0 .333 Colvin, T 1B 3 1 1 0 .214 Van Kirk, B RF 4 0 1 0 .167 Dowd, M C 3 0 0 0 .154 Gonzalez, Y C 3 0 2 0 .308 Vega, A LF 3 1 1 2 .400 Kral, R PH 1 0 0 0 .000 35 0 8 0 28 2 4 2 Somerset 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 8 0 L Island 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 x - 2 4 0 2B--Colvin, T 1B (1). HR--Vega, A LF (1). RBI--Vega, A LF 2 (3), TOTALS 2 (0). LOB--Somerset 9, L Island 6. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Somerset Garceau, S (L,0-1) 6.2 4 2 2 2 4 1 2.70 Nieves, E 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 De La Torre, J 1.0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0.00 8 4 2 2 4 6 1 L Island Leverett, J (W,1-0) 7.0 6 0 0 1 5 0 0.00 Diaz, A 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Coffey, T (S,1) 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 9 8 0 0 1 5 0 SO--Farris, E, Vidal, D, Roller, K 2, Gonzalez, Y, Lyons, D, Cleary Jr., D 2, Puckett, C 2, Dowd, M. BB--Vidal, D, Lyons, D, Ford, L, Puckett, C, Gotay, R. BF--Garceau, S 26 (26), Nieves, E (5), De La Torre, J 5 (8), Leverett, J 28 (28), Diaz, A 4 (13), Coffey, T 4 (7). P-S--Garceau, S 88-56, Nieves, E 3-3, De La Torre, J 21-11, Leverett, J 98-67, Diaz, A 12-9, Coffey, T 17-9. T--2:30. A--2716 Plate Umpire - Don Gollar, Field Umpire #1 - Fred DeJesus, Field Umpire #2 - John Grasso, Field Umpire #3 - Richard Katz