Long Island earns victory in final game before All-Star break
(Central Islip, N.Y., July 5, 2015) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Somerset Patriots 9-4 on Sunday night in the finale of a three-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the series-clinching win
POSTGAME VIDEO: Lew Ford, Bruce Kern and Mike Blanke talk about the victory
Somerset took a 3-0 lead in the first inning on a three-run home run to right field by Michael Burgess off of Ducks starter Brue Kern. Long Island answered in the bottom of the frame with a two-run homer to left by Lew Ford off of Patriots starter Sean Bierman.
The Ducks took their first lead in the fourth on a solo homer to left by Ford and a two-out RBI single down the left field line by Prentice Redman. A solo homer to left by Greg Hopkins in the sixth pulled the Pats even at four, but a RBI double to right-center by Cody Puckett in the bottom of the sixth put the Flock back in front.
Mike Blanke added a solo homer to left in the seventh to extend the lead to 6-4. A three-run eighth by Long Island put the game out of reach. Bases loaded walks to Reegie Corona and Blanke, along with a RBI infield single from Dan Lyons, highlighted the scoring.
Kern (4-1) earned the victory, tossing six innings, allowing four runs on six hits and one walk while striking out eight. Bierman (7-2) suffered the loss, surrendering five runs (four earned) on nine hits with one strikeout in five and one-third innings. J.C. Romero and Ryan Kussmaul worked three scoreless innings of relief, giving up just two hits and a walk while striking out three.
Ford led the Flock offensively with four hits, three RBI and four runs scored.
Following the Atlantic League All-Star Break this week, the Ducks will return to action on Friday night when they hit the road for a three-game series against the Patriots. Game time is slated for 7:05 p.m. at TD Bank Ballpark. Fans can follow all of the action live on the Ducks’ flagship radio station 103.9-FM LI News Radio. Streaming audio will also be available online by CLICKING HERE.
Long Island returns home on Friday, July 17 to open up another three-game set against the Patriots. First pitch is scheduled 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 Ducks Logo T-Shirts, courtesy of the YMCA of Long Island. It will also be a Fowl Pole, Pizza Hut K-Man and Air Trampoline Sports Friday at the ballpark. 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.
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Duck Tales: Lew Ford extended his on-base streak to 28 consecutive games with four hits on Sunday. During the streak, the outfielder/bench coach is batting .432 (48-for-111) with 13 doubles, three homers, 22 RBI and 24 runs. The former big leaguer has hit safely in six consecutive games and in 13 of his last 14 contests, earning 10 multi-hit games in the process. Sunday was his team leading third four-hit game of the year and third three-RBI game of the season. He leads the Flock with 33 multi-hit games and 17 multi-RBI contests. He also became the first Duck this season to score four runs in a game and collected his first multi-home run game of 2015…Bruce Kern earned his first win in three starts with the Ducks this season. He previously started on May 9 against the Barnstormers and June 8 against the Blue Crabs, but picked up no-decisions in both outings. His eight strikeouts were a personal season-high and five more than in any other outing for the right-hander in 2015…Mike Blanke’s solo home run in the seventh was his third of the season and first at Bethpage Ballpark. His previous two came on June 13 and 14 at Bridgeport. Sunday marked the third time the Ducks hit three homers in a game as a team, all of which have come at home. The previous two were May 2 against Sugar Land and May 14 against Bridgeport…Randy Ruiz extended his hitting streak to nine consecutive games with two hits on Sunday. During the streak, the former Major Leaguer is batting .350 (14-for-40) with two homers, 11 RBI and four runs scored. He also collected his second consecutive multi-hit game and fourth during the hitting streak. The second-year Duck now has 12 multi-hit contests in 23 games played with the Ducks this season.
Game Date: 07/05/2015 Somerset Patriots 4 AT Long Island Ducks 9 YTD YTD Somerset AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG N.Spears 2B 5 0 0 0 .263 B.Sabatella RF 5 1 1 0 .302 J.Skelton 1B 3 1 0 0 .265 D.Cleary Jr. CF 4 0 0 0 .326 G.Hopkins 3B 4 2 3 1 .276 L.Ford DH 4 4 4 3 .361 M.Burgess RF 4 1 1 3 .247 R.Ruiz 1B 4 2 2 0 .341 S.Cousins CF 4 0 1 0 .264 C.Puckett 3B 4 1 2 1 .274 R.Andino SS 3 0 2 0 .238 R.Corona 2B 3 0 1 1 .325 M.Gamel DH 4 0 0 0 .142 P.Redman LF 4 0 1 1 .231 V.Zarrillo LF 4 0 1 0 .250 M.Blanke C 3 1 1 2 .310 A.Donachie C 3 0 0 0 .215 D.Lyons SS 3 0 2 1 .327 34 4 8 4 34 9 14 9 Somerset 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - 4 8 0 L Island 2 0 0 2 0 1 1 3 x - 9 14 1 2B--R.Andino (14), B.Sabatella (16), L.Ford (26), C.Puckett (13). HR--G.Hopkins (7), M.Burgess (2), L.Ford 2 (8), M.Blanke (3). RBI--G.Hopkins (26), M.Burgess 3 (13), L.Ford 3 (58), C.Puckett (24), R.Corona (27), P.Redman (17), M.Blanke 2 (18), D.Lyons (38). HP--A.Donachie (2). SH--D.Cleary Jr. (0). CS--G.Hopkins (3), V.Zarrillo (1). E--J.Romero (1). LOB--Somerset 6, L Island 5. DP--N. Spears(2B) - R. Andino(SS) - J. Skelton(1B), S. Bierman(P) - R. Andino(SS) - J. Skelton(1B), S. Bierman(P) - R. Andino(SS) - J. Skelton(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Somerset S.Bierman (L,7-2) 5.1 9 5 4 0 1 2 1.87 P.Smyth 1.2 1 1 1 1 2 1 2.21 K.Newby 1.0 4 3 3 2 1 0 5.67 8 14 9 8 3 4 3 L Island B.Kern (W,4-1) 6.0 6 4 4 1 8 2 3.19 J.Romero 2.0 2 0 0 1 1 0 2.45 R.Kussmaul 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.70 9 8 4 4 2 11 2 WP--J.Romero (2). PB--A.Donachie. HB--B.Kern (3). SO--N.Spears 2, J.Skelton 2, M.Burgess, S.Cousins, R.Andino, M.Gamel, V.Zarrillo, A.Donachie 2, C.Puckett, R.Corona, P.Redman 2. BB--J.Skelton, R.Andino, R.Corona, M.Blanke, D.Lyons. BF--S.Bierman 23 (345), P.Smyth 6 (85), K.Newby 9 (116), B.Kern 25 (149), J.Romero 9 (16), R.Kussmaul 3 (142). P-S--S.Bierman 65-47, P.Smyth 26-18, K.Newby 24-14, B.Kern 85-54, J.Romero 29-18, R.Kussmaul 14-11. T--2:26. A--5574 Plate Umpire - Derek Moccia, Field Umpire #1 - Richard Katz, Field Umpire #2 - Matt Criss