(Central Islip, N.Y., May 5, 2012) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Camden Riversharks 13-5 on Saturday night before a past-capacity crowd of 6,112 at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME VIDEO: Lew Ford’s solo homer, Ryan Garko’s two-run homer and Kraig Binick’s diving catch
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Ryan Garko, Kraig Binick and Randy Keisler talk about the victory
The Riversharks lit the scoreboard first on a RBI single to left by Chris Caves in the second inning against Ducks starter Randy Keisler. Long Island responded with six runs in the bottom of the frame off Camden starter Humberto Sanchez, knocking him out of the game. 10 men came to the plate, as Lew Ford’s RBI infield single, back-to-back two-run singles by Dan Lyons and Kraig Binick, and a sac fly to right from Brandon Sing did the damage.
Ford kept the offense going with a solo homer to left in the third, and Ryan Garko added a two-run blast to left in the fourth to increase the lead to 9-2. After a three-run seventh from Camden cut the lead to five, Long Island added two in the seventh and one in the eighth to put the game away. Bases loaded walks to Binick and Bryant Nelson along with a sac fly from James McOwen rounded out the scoring.
Keisler (1-0) earned the win, tossing five innings, allowing two runs on nine hits with three strikeouts. Sanchez (1-1) took the loss, surrendering six runs (five earned) on five hits and three walks in one and one-third innings.
Garko and Ford each had three hits to lead the Flock, while Binick and Lyons chipped in with two. Binick led the way with three RBI while Garko’s three runs paced the offensive attack.
The Ducks and Riversharks wrap up their series on Sunday afternoon. Game time is slated for 1:35 p.m., with the ballpark gates opening at 12:35. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive Ducks Autograph Books, courtesy of Newsday. Righty Mike Loree gets the start for Long Island against Camden’s Mike McGuire.
Fans will be invited onto the field prior to game time for an autograph session with the entire Ducks team as well as after the game for Kids Run the Bases, presented by Bethpage Federal Credit Union. In addition, Bud Harrelson will be signing copies of his new book Turning Two, which will be available for purchase in the Waddle In Shop. The Ducks will also be hosting their first food drive of the season to benefit Long Island Cares and the Harry Chapin Food Bank. Fans are asked to donate non-perishable food items by dropping them off at the collection bins located outside the ballpark.
Tickets for the game and all Ducks home games are available by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark Box Office, calling (631) 940-TIXX, or visiting www.liducks.com. Fans unable to attend the game can follow the action live on the radio at MyCountry 96.1 FM and online at LIDucks.com by clicking the Watch Live icon on the homepage. Streaming video and audio will be available on the Ducks’ official YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/ducksbaseball, courtesy of the Internet Broadcast Network.
DUCK TALES: With three hits, Ryan Garko extended his team-leading hitting streak to eight games. He’s also reached base safely in all nine games this year. Garko entered the game sixth in the Atlantic League in batting (.387) and 11th in on-base percentage (.457)…Lew Ford’s solo homer in the third was his second longball of the season. It was also the team’s eighth home run of the year. Ford hit 10 homers during the 2011 season with Long Island…Garko’s two-run blast in the fourth was his first home run of the year. The infielder hit 55 homers at the Major League level with the Indians, Giants and Rangers…With the win, Randy Keisler remained undefeated as a Duck, improving to 6-0. The southpaw was 5-0 with a 3.65 ERA as a member of the Flock in 2010…With 13 runs, the Ducks have now scored 26 runs in the last two games. Long Island scored 29 runs combined during their first seven games of the season.
GAME DATE: 05/05/2012 Camden Riversharks 5 AT Long Island Ducks 13 YTD YTD Camden AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG C.Walker LF 5 0 1 0 .194 K.Binick LF 3 2 2 3 .171 P.Matera 2B 4 1 0 1 .125 B.Nelson 3B 3 0 1 1 .257 F.Pie CF 4 1 2 2 .389 B.Sing 1B 3 1 1 2 .222 B.Rice CF 1 0 0 0 .143 R.Garko DH 5 3 3 2 .417 B.Burgamy 1B 2 1 1 0 .406 R.Navarrete 2B 5 0 0 0 .286 L.Turner DH 4 0 2 0 .378 L.Ford CF 5 2 3 2 .351 E.Perez 3B 4 1 1 0 .333 S.Williams RF 1 1 0 0 .615 S.Doetsch RF 4 0 3 0 .500 J.McOwen PH,RF 1 1 1 1 .280 J.Eigsti SS 4 0 1 1 .294 J.Johnson C 3 2 0 0 .292 C.Caves C 4 1 2 1 .400 D.Lyons SS 4 1 2 2 .308 36 5 13 5 33 13 13 13 Camden 0 1 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 - 5 13 1 L Island 0 6 1 2 0 1 2 1 x - 13 13 0 2B--C.Walker (2), F.Pie (3), R.Garko (2), L.Ford (3), J.McOwen (2). HR--F.Pie (3), R.Garko (1), L.Ford (2). RBI--P.Matera (1), F.Pie 2 (9), J.Eigsti (10), C.Caves (1), K.Binick 3 (4), B.Nelson (10), B.Sing 2 (10), R.Garko 2 (6), L.Ford 2 (8), J.McOwen (1), D.Lyons 2 (6). HP--P.Matera (2), B.Burgamy 2 (3), L.Turner (1), E.Perez (1). SF--J.Eigsti (1), B.Sing 2 (3), J.McOwen (1). SB--L.Ford (1), S.Williams (1). E--F.Pie (1). LOB--Camden 12, L Island 7. DP--J. Eigsti(SS) - P. Matera(2B) - B. Burgamy(1B), R. Navarrete(2B) - D. Lyons(SS) - B. Sing(1B), D. Lyons(SS) - C. Graham(P) - B. Sing(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Camden H.Sanchez (L,1-1) 1.1 5 6 5 3 1 0 13.50 M.Mehlich 1.2 1 1 1 1 2 1 8.10 K.Reese 3.0 3 3 3 1 4 1 9.00 B.King 1.0 2 2 2 3 0 0 6.75 J.Bergmann 1.0 2 1 1 0 2 0 2.08 8 13 13 12 8 9 2 L Island R.Keisler (W,1-0) 5.0 9 2 2 1 3 0 3.60 E.Niesen 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.76 W.Pelzer 0.1 2 3 3 1 0 1 81.08 J.Monti 1.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.00 C.Graham 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 11.12 9 13 5 5 2 5 1 WP--H.Sanchez 2 (2), R.Keisler (1). HB--R.Keisler (1), W.Pelzer 2 (2), C.Graham 2 (2). SO--C.Walker, P.Matera, E.Perez, J.Eigsti, C.Caves, B.Sing, R.Garko 2, R.Navarrete, L.Ford, S.Williams, J.Johnson 2, D.Lyons. BB--B.Burgamy, S.Doetsch, K.Binick 2, B.Nelson 2, S.Williams 2, J.Johnson 2. BF--H.Sanchez 11 (20), M.Mehlich 7 (33), K.Reese 13 (13), B.King 8 (21), J.Bergmann 5 (19), R.Keisler 25 (25), E.Niesen 3 (26), W.Pelzer 6 (6), J.Monti 5 (32), C.Graham 5 (31). P-S--H.Sanchez 41-18, M.Mehlich 26-17, K.Reese 45-31, B.King 32-16, J.Bergmann 16-14, R.Keisler 71-45, E.Niesen 7-5, W.Pelzer 15-5, J.Monti 19-11, C.Graham 24-13. T--2:58. A--6112 Umpires: Plate Ump - Ronnie Whitting, Field Ump #1 - Mark Facto, Field Ump #2 - James Pattison