RBI singles by Krauss and Cleary Jr. give Flock first comeback win of season

(Waldorf, Md., April 23, 2017) – The Long Island Ducks split a single admission doubleheader with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs at Regency Furniture Stadium on Sunday afternoon, dropping the opener 6-1 before rallying to take game two 3-2.

GAME VIDEO: Highlights from the comeback win in game two

Southern Maryland opened the scoring with four runs in the second inning off Ducks starter Keith Couch. A two-run single by Mike Blanke and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Gary Brown highlighted the inning. Long Island closed to within three in the fourth on a mammoth solo home run to left field by Nate Freiman off Blue Crabs starter Daryl Thompson.

Brown regained the Blue Crabs’ four-run lead with a solo homer of his own to left in the bottom of the fourth. A run-scoring wild pitch in the fifth rounded out the game’s scoring.

Thompson (1-0) earned the win with six innings of one-run ball, allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out seven. Couch (0-1) took the loss, surrendering four runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts in three innings.

A two-run first inning gave the Blue Crabs an early lead in game two, with Zach Wilson’s RBI single and a sac fly from Cory Vaughn doing the damage. The Ducks closed to within 2-1 in the second on a sac fly to left off the bat of Dan Lyons.

It stayed that way until the top of the sixth when Nolan Reimold doubled and then came home on an RBI single by Marc Krauss, tying the game at two. One inning later, Dominic Blanco drew a two-out walk, Fehlandt Lentini pinch ran and stole second, and Delta Cleary Jr. followed with a two-strike, two-out RBI single to give the Ducks the lead for good.

Neither starter factored into the decision. Ducks starter Tim Melville lasted four innings, giving up two runs on three hits and a walk with one strikeout. Blue Crabs starter Brian Grening pitched six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk with one strikeout. David Aardsma (1-0) earned the win with a scoreless sixth inning, striking out two, and Cody Eppley (0-1) suffered the loss, yielding a run on one hit and one walk in the seventh. Amalio Diaz picked up his first save of the year with a scoreless seventh, striking out a pair.

Krauss and Cody Puckett had two hits apiece in the second game of the twinbill to lead the Flock.

Following a day off on Monday, the Ducks will continue their season-opening road trip on Tuesday night when they open a three-game series with the Somerset Patriots. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. from TD Bank Ballpark. Fans can follow all the action online on the Long Island Ducks Broadcast Network. Live HD streaming video and audio will be available via BoxCast on the Ducks’ official Facebook page, YouTube channel and at LIDucks.com. Right-hander Matt Larkins gets the start for the Ducks against Patriots righty Tyler Cloyd.

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.

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 Game Date: 04/23/2017 (GAME ONE) Long Island Ducks 1 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 3 0 0 0 .167 Brown, G CF 3 1 1 2 .250 Cleary Jr., D CF 3 0 1 0 .273 Muno, D 2B 4 0 1 0 .538 Krauss, M 1B 3 0 0 0 .400 Wilson, Z 1B 2 0 0 0 .273 Freiman, N DH 2 1 1 1 .444 Snyder, M DH 3 0 0 0 .182 Songco, A LF 3 0 0 0 .000 Vaughn, C LF 1 1 1 0 .143 Puckett, C 3B 3 0 1 0 .200 Cone, Z RF 3 2 1 0 .333 Burg, A C 2 0 0 0 .273 Palmeiro, P 3B 3 0 1 0 .200 Reyes, E 2B 3 0 1 0 .636 Garcia, E SS 3 1 1 0 .300 Alfonzo, G SS 3 0 0 0 .000 Blanke, M C 3 1 1 2 .200 25 1 4 1 25 6 7 4 L Island 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - 1 4 2 S Maryland 0 4 0 1 1 0 x - 6 7 0 HR--Freiman, N DH (2), Brown, G CF (1). RBI--Freiman, N DH (4), TOTALS (0), Brown, G CF 2 (2), Blanke, M C 2 (3), TOTALS 4 (0). SF--Brown, G CF (1). SB--Cleary Jr., D CF (3), Muno, D 2B (2), Vaughn, C LF (1). E--Puckett, C 3B (1), Alfonzo, G SS (1). LOB--L Island 5, S Maryland 5. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA L Island Couch, K (L,0-1) 3.0 5 4 3 2 4 0 9.00 Rogers, R 2.0 2 2 2 1 1 1 9.00 Fuller, J 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 6 7 6 5 3 7 1 S Maryland Thompson, D (W,1-0) 6.0 4 1 1 2 7 1 1.50 Beal, J 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 7 4 1 1 2 7 1 WP--Rogers, R (1). SO--Freiman, N, Songco, A 2, Burg, A, Reyes, E, Alfonzo, G 2, Brown, G, Muno, D, Wilson, Z, Snyder, M, Palmeiro, P 2, Blanke, M. BB--Freiman, N, Burg, A, Wilson, Z, Vaughn, C 2. BF--Couch, K 17 (17), Rogers, R 9 (9), Fuller, J 3 (3), Thompson, D 24 (24), Beal, J 3 (7). P-S--Couch, K 57-36, Rogers, R 33-17, Fuller, J 12-8, Thompson, D 89-58, Beal, J 5-4. T--1:48. Plate Umpire - Calvin Baker, Field Umpire #1 - Silvio Martinez, Field Umpire #2 - Ian Kelley Game Date: 04/23/2017 (GAME TWO) Long Island Ducks 3 AT Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 2 YTD YTD L Island AB R H BI AVG S Maryland AB R H BI AVG Cleary Jr., D CF 4 0 1 1 .267 Brown, G CF 2 1 0 0 .214 Songco, A RF 4 0 0 0 .000 Muno, D 2B 3 0 0 0 .438 Reimold, N LF 3 1 1 0 .200 Wilson, Z 1B 3 1 1 1 .286 Krauss, M DH 3 1 2 1 .462 Snyder, M DH 3 0 1 0 .214 Freiman, N 1B 2 0 0 0 .364 Vaughn, C LF 2 0 0 1 .111 Puckett, C 3B 3 0 2 0 .308 Hinshaw, C RF 3 0 0 0 .000 Lyons, D SS 2 0 0 1 .000 Palmeiro, P 3B 2 0 1 0 .250 Reyes, E 2B 3 0 1 0 .571 Garcia, E SS 3 0 1 0 .308 Blanco, D C 2 0 1 0 .500 Wiggins, R C 2 0 0 0 .000 Lentini, F PR 0 1 0 0 .167 Blanke, M PH 1 0 0 0 .182 Burg, A C 0 0 0 0 .273 26 3 8 3 24 2 4 2 L Island 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 - 3 8 0 S Maryland 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 4 0 2B--Reimold, N LF (1), Snyder, M DH (2). RBI--Cleary Jr., D CF (2), Krauss, M DH (2), Lyons, D SS (1), TOTALS 3 (0), Wilson, Z 1B (3), Vaughn, C LF (1), TOTALS 2 (0). HP--Brown, G CF (1). SF--Lyons, D SS (1), Vaughn, C LF (1). SB--Lentini, F PR (3), Brown, G CF (1). LOB--L Island 5, S Maryland 4. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA L Island Melville, T 4.0 3 2 2 1 1 0 4.50 Crider, P 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Aardsma, D (W,1-0) 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 Diaz, A (S,1) 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 7 4 2 2 1 5 0 S Maryland Grening, B 6.0 7 2 2 1 1 0 3.00 Eppley, C (L,0-1) 1.0 1 1 1 1 1 0 4.50 7 8 3 3 2 2 0 HB--Melville, T (1). SO--Freiman, N, Lyons, D, Snyder, M, Vaughn, C, Hinshaw, C, Garcia, E, Blanke, M. BB--Freiman, N, Blanco, D, Palmeiro, P. BF--Melville, T 17 (17), Crider, P 3 (3), Aardsma, D 3 (3), Diaz, A 4 (13), Grening, B 24 (24), Eppley, C 5 (8). P-S--Melville, T 42-29, Crider, P 7-4, Aardsma, D 17-12, Diaz, A 19-10, Grening, B 81-50, Eppley, C 18-10. T--1:48. A--2692 Plate Umpire - Silvio Martinez, Field Umpire #1 - Ian Kelley, Field Umpire #2 - Calvin Baker