(Bridgeport, Conn., July 27, 2012) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Bridgeport Bluefish 3-2 on Friday night in the first game of a four-game series at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard. In the game, Bryant Nelson earned the 2,000th hit of his minor league career in his 1,838th game.

GAME AUDIO: Bryant Nelson’s 2,000th career hit

GAME AUDIO: Kraig Binick’s RBI single

Both teams remained scoreless until the bottom of the third inning when the Bluefish put up a three-spot against Ducks starter Mike Loree. RBI singles from Prentice Redman and Brock Peterson along with a sacrifice fly off the bat of Luis Lopez did the damage.

The two sides would exchange zeroes again until the top of the seventh when Long Island scored two runs against Bridgeport starter Gilbert De La Vara. Kraig Binick’s RBI single and a run-scoring fielder’s choice off the bat of Dan Lyons highlighted the inning. Long Island put the tying run in scoring position in the eighth and ninth but could not pull even.

De La Vara (6-5) collected the win, tossing six innings and allowing two runs on three hits with three strikeouts. Loree (4-6) suffered the loss, yielding three runs on 11 hits while striking out four in seven innings. Juan Rincon picked up his third save with a scoreless ninth.

Reid Gorecki led the Ducks at the plate with two hits.

The Ducks and Bluefish continue their series on Saturday evening with a single admission doubleheader consisting of two seven-inning games. Game time for the opener is slated for 5:05 p.m. from the ballpark at Harbor Yard, with game two beginning approximately 30 minutes after the completion of game one. Fans can follow all the action for game one of the twinbill live online at LIDucks.com by clicking the Listen Live icon on the homepage. Radio coverage on MyCountry 96.1 FM will begin at 5:50 p.m.

Long Island returns home on Friday, August 3 to kick-off a three-game series against the Bluefish. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 6:05. The Ducks will be running their Friday Night Pizza Hut K-Man promotion. If the Pizza Hut K-Man strikes out in the game, fans can redeem their game ticket for free breadsticks at a participating Pizza Hut location. Tickets for the game and all Ducks home games are available by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark Box Office, calling (631) 940-TIXX, or going online to www.liducks.com.

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 GAME DATE: 07/27/2012 Long Island Ducks 2 AT Bridgeport Bluefish 3 YTD YTD L Island AB R H BI AVG Bridgeport AB R H BI AVG R.Gorecki CF 5 0 2 0 .268 K.Jones LF 4 1 4 0 .289 J.Brodin 1B 5 0 0 0 .000 E.Rogers SS 3 1 1 0 .262 R.Navarrete 2B 3 0 0 0 .306 P.Redman RF 4 0 1 1 .265 B.Sing DH 2 1 0 0 .273 B.Peterson 1B 3 0 1 1 .305 B.Nelson 3B 3 1 1 0 .262 L.Lopez 3B 2 0 2 1 .281 T.Perez RF 3 0 0 0 .193 B.Dowdy 3B,PR 0 0 0 0 .200 K.Binick LF 4 0 1 1 .263 S.Hillenbrand DH 2 0 0 0 .149 J.Johnson C 2 0 0 0 .192 L.Rodriguez C 4 0 0 0 .266 S.Williams PH 1 0 0 0 .291 J.Simmons CF 4 0 0 0 .266 M.Canham C 0 0 0 0 .219 L.Figueroa 2B 4 1 2 0 .294 D.Lyons SS 4 0 1 1 .275 32 2 5 2 30 3 11 3 L Island 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 - 2 5 0 Bridgeport 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 x - 3 11 0 RBI--K.Binick (19), D.Lyons (42), P.Redman (45), B.Peterson (57), L.Lopez (43). SF--L.Lopez (3). SH--E.Rogers (0). SB--R.Gorecki 2 (17), D.Lyons (9). LOB--L Island 9, Bridgeport 9. DP--R. Navarrete(2B) - D. Lyons(SS) - J. Brodin(1B), J. Johnson(C) - B. Nelson(3B), R. Navarrete(2B) - D. Lyons(SS) - J. Brodin(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA L Island M.Loree (L,4-6) 7.0 11 3 3 2 4 0 5.32 C.Graham 1.0 0 0 0 2 2 0 3.29 8 11 3 3 4 6 0 Bridgeport G.De La Vara (W,6-5) 6.0 3 2 2 3 3 0 3.75 J.DePaula 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.61 R.Lewis 1.0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1.56 J.Rincon (S,3) 1.0 1 0 0 1 3 0 2.46 9 5 2 2 6 8 0 SO--R.Gorecki, J.Brodin 3, B.Nelson, K.Binick, J.Johnson, S.Williams, E.Rogers, P.Redman, L.Rodriguez, J.Simmons 2, L.Figueroa. BB--R.Navarrete, B.Sing 2, B.Nelson, T.Perez, M.Canham, B.Peterson, L.Lopez, S.Hillenbrand 2. BF--M.Loree 31 (397), C.Graham 5 (172), G.De La Vara 24 (415), J.DePaula 4 (44), R.Lewis 5 (142), J.Rincon 5 (49). P-S--M.Loree 104-68, C.Graham 20-12, G.De La Vara 90-53, J.DePaula 14-10, R.Lewis 21-12, J.Rincon 24-16. T--3:01. A--1704 Umpires: Plate Ump - Eric Diaz, Field Ump #1 - Pat McLaughlin, Field Ump #3 - Mike Terry