(Bridgewater, N.J., Apr. 26, 2012) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Somerset Patriots 9-4 on Thursday night at TD Bank Ballpark, securing their seventh consecutive victory in the first game of the season.

GAME AUDIO: Ray Navarrete’s fifth hit of the game, a two-run homer

GAME AUDIO: Jon Meloan records the final out of the game

POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Navarrete, and Mike Loree discuss the season opening win

POSTGAME AUDIO: Navarrete talks about the opening night victory

Somerset took an early 2-0 lead in the second inning against Ducks starter Mike Loree on a two-run homer to right by Adam Mathews. Long Island rallied back to jump in front 3-2 on Brandon Sing’s sac fly to right in the fifth and RBI doubles from Lew Ford and Josh Johnson in the sixth.

After a run-scoring triple by Freddy Sandoval tied the game in the sixth, Long Island put up a pair of three-run innings in the eighth and ninth to blow the game open. A sac fly from Reid Gorecki and a two-run single by Bryant Nelson did the damage in the eighth, while a two-run homer by Ray Navarrete and a sac fly by Kraig Binick highlighted the ninth.

Navarrete led the Ducks at the plate with his first five-hit game as a Duck. The second baseman finished 5-for-5 with two doubles, a homer, two RBI and three runs scored. Johnson added three hits, a run batted in and two runs in the win as well.

Neither starter factored into the decision. Loree allowed three runs on six hits while striking out six in five and one-third innings while Mike MacDonald pitched four scoreless innings, allowing three hits. Jeff Lyman (1-0) got the win in relief, tossing a perfect one and two-thirds innings, and Anthony Claggett (0-1) took the loss, yielding three runs on three hits in one and one-third innings of work.

The Ducks continue their four-game set with the Patriots on Friday night. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m. from TD Bank Ballpark. Lefty Dan Meyer will get the start for Long Island against Somerset’s Justin Cassel. Fans can follow all the action live on the radio at MyCountry 96.1 FM, with Chris King calling the play-by-play. The game can also be heard online at www.liducks.com by clicking the Listen Live icon on the home page. Fans can keep track of the game pitch-by-pitch via Pointstreak’s GameLive application by visiting www.atlanticleague.com.

Long Island will return home on Friday, May 4 for Opening Night, as the Ducks take on the Camden Riversharks. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 6:05. The first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive a “Whistle Guy” Bobblehead, courtesy of P.C. Richard & Son. Tickets for the game and all Ducks home games are available by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark Box Office, calling (631) 940-TIXX, or visit www.liducks.com.

 GAME DATE: 04/26/2012 Long Island Ducks 9 AT Somerset Patriots 4 YTD YTD L Island AB R H BI AVG Somerset AB R H BI AVG K.Binick LF 4 0 1 1 .250 J.Tucker CF 4 2 3 0 .750 B.Nelson 3B 5 0 2 2 .400 F.Bynum 2B 4 0 1 0 .250 B.Sing 1B 4 0 0 1 .000 F.Sandoval 1B 3 0 1 2 .333 R.Garko DH 4 0 0 0 .000 J.Hoorelbeke DH 4 0 0 0 .000 J.McOwen PR 0 1 0 0 .000 J.Nettles 3B 3 1 0 0 .000 R.Navarrete 2B 5 3 5 2 1.000 A.Mathews LF 4 1 1 2 .250 L.Ford CF 4 3 2 1 .500 J.Drennen RF 4 0 1 0 .250 R.Gorecki RF 2 0 0 1 .000 A.Donachie C 1 0 1 0 1.000 J.Johnson C 5 2 3 1 .600 Y.Carter C 2 0 0 0 .000 D.Lyons SS 3 0 0 0 .000 R.Rundgren SS 3 0 0 0 .000 36 9 13 9 32 4 8 4 L Island 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 3 - 9 13 0 Somerset 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 - 4 8 0 2B--R.Navarrete 2 (2), L.Ford (1), J.Johnson (1), J.Tucker (1). 3B--F.Sandoval (1). HR--R.Navarrete (1), A.Mathews (1). RBI--K.Binick (1), B.Nelson 2 (2), B.Sing (1), R.Navarrete 2 (2), L.Ford (1), R.Gorecki (1), J.Johnson (1), F.Sandoval 2 (2), A.Mathews 2 (2). HP--L.Ford (1), D.Lyons 2 (2). SF--K.Binick (1), B.Sing (1), R.Gorecki (1), F.Sandoval (1). SB--J.Tucker (1), F.Bynum (1). LOB--L Island 11, Somerset 3. DP--J. Nettles(3B) - F. Sandoval(1B), K. Binick(LF) - B. Sing(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA L Island M.Loree 5.1 6 3 3 1 6 1 5.06 J.Lyman (W,1-0) 1.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 J.Hill 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 0 9.00 J.Meloan 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 9 8 4 4 1 8 1 Somerset M.MacDonald 4.0 3 0 0 2 1 0 0.00 C.Smith 1.0 2 1 1 1 0 0 9.00 D.Quinowski 1.0 3 2 2 0 0 0 18.00 A.Claggett (L,0-1) 1.1 3 3 3 0 1 0 20.26 T.Bowyer 0.2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 T.Hose 1.0 1 3 3 2 1 1 27.00 9 13 9 9 5 4 1 WP--A.Claggett (1). HB--A.Claggett (1), T.Hose 2 (2). SO--K.Binick, B.Nelson, B.Sing, R.Garko, F.Bynum, F.Sandoval 2, J.Hoorelbeke 2, J.Nettles, Y.Carter 2. BB--K.Binick, B.Nelson, R.Garko, R.Gorecki 2, J.Nettles. BF--M.Loree 21 (21), J.Lyman 5 (5), J.Hill 5 (5), J.Meloan 3 (3), M.MacDonald 16 (16), C.Smith 6 (6), D.Quinowski 6 (6), A.Claggett 8 (8), T.Bowyer 3 (3), T.Hose 8 (8). P-S--M.Loree 75-49, J.Lyman 17-11, J.Hill 15-12, J.Meloan 9-6, M.MacDonald 75-44, C.Smith 23-14, D.Quinowski 17-11, A.Claggett 21-14, T.Bowyer 11-7, T.Hose 32-15. T--3:06. A--5026 Weather: Overcast; occasional drizzle Umpires: Plate Ump - Eric Diaz, Field Ump #1 - James Pattison, Field Ump #3 - Ronnie Whiting