Long Island puts up largest run total of season in series opener
(Central Islip, N.Y., Aug. 21, 2015) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Camden Riversharks 14-5 on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the offensive explosion
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Anthony Vega and Nelfi Zapata talk about the victory
Camden broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly to left off the bat of Jose Gil and a RBI single to center by Evan Crawford off of Ducks starter Ian Marshall. Long Island answered with four runs in the bottom of the frame off of Riversharks starter Wes Torrez. A RBI double to left-center by Nelfi Zapata, a run-scoring wild pitch and a two-run home run to right by Anthony Vega did the damage.
Two more runs in the fifth inning on a RBI single by Cody Puckett and a run-scoring fielder’s choice off the bat of Sam DiMatteo extended the advantage to 6-2. After Camden scored a run in the top of the sixth, the Ducks put the game out of reach with seven runs in the bottom half. A two-run single by Mike Blanke and RBI singles from Zapata, Sam DiMatteo and Vega highlighted the inning. A bases loaded walk to Carlos Hughes in the seventh rounded out the scoring for the Ducks.
Marshall (7-6) picked up the win, tossing five and two-thirds innings, allowing three runs on six hits and five walks while striking out four. Torrez (5-6) suffered the loss, surrendering six runs on eight hits and three walks in five innings with one strikeout.
Every Ducks batter had at least one hit in the game. Vega led the Flock with three hits, while Puckett, Zapata, Dan Lyons and Sean Burroughs each added two.
The Ducks and Riversharks continue their three-game set on Saturday night. 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). Following the game, all fans in attendance will be treated to a Pyrotecnico Fireworks Extravaganza, presented by Smithtown Nissan. In addition, Ducks staff members will be handing out coupons for discounts at Dick’s Sporting Goods to fans following the game. Left-hander Darin Downs takes the mound for the Ducks against Riversharks southpaw Jeff Singer.
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. Those unable to make the game can follow all of the action live on the Ducks’ flagship radio station, 103.9-FM LI News Radio. Streaming video and audio will also be available online via the Ducks’ official YouTube channel by CLICKING HERE.
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Duck Tales: The Ducks set a new season high for runs in a single game with 14 in the win. Their previous high was 13, done on June 5 in game two of a doubleheader against the Camden Riversharks, a 13-2 victory. Long Island also came within two hits of their season high of 18, which they accomplished on June 20 against Bridgeport. The Ducks have totaled at least nine hits in 10 consecutive games. In that span, they have scored 69 runs and collected 124 hits, an average of 6.9 runs and 12.4 hits per game…Dan Lyons earned two hits and has now reached base safely in 27 of his last 28 game dating back to July 23. In that span, he is batting .352 (38-for-108). Lyons has also hit safely in 14 straight games and has scored at least one run in 12 of his last 14 contests. In the 14 games, he is batting .390 (23-for-59) with two homers, 13 RBI and 19 runs scored…Cody Puckett added two more hits to extend his on-base streak to 18 consecutive games. During the streak, the infielder is batting .333 (25-for-75) with four doubles, one homer, 14 RBI and eight runs. Dating back to July 23, Puckett has earned hits in 25 of his last 28 games…Anthony Vega had a big night with three hits and three RBI, coming within a double of hitting for the cycle. His two-run homer in the fourth was his third of the season and second with the Ducks. The Patchogue resident picked up his second three-hit game with the Flock and first three-RBI contest. Since rejoining Long Island on August 9, Vega is batting .340 (17-for-50) with one double, three triples, two homers, nine RBI and 13 runs scored…Sam DiMatteo collected his first two RBI as a member of the Ducks with a RBI single and a run-scoring fielder’s choice. The Pennsylvania native also earned his first multi-run game with Long Island, scoring twice in the win…Friday’s win guaranteed Long Island of the season series victory over the Riversharks in 2015. The Ducks lead the series 10 to three with five games remaining between the teams. Long Island has outscored Camden by a count of 93-44 in the 13 games played this year.
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Game Date: 08/21/2015 Camden Riversharks 5 AT Long Island Ducks 14 YTD YTD Camden AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG M.Rockett CF 4 0 0 1 .279 A.Vega CF,LF 6 1 3 3 .289 B.Chaves SS 5 0 1 0 .269 D.Cleary Jr. CF 1 0 1 0 .298 P.Matera 2B 3 0 1 0 .255 S.McQuail LF 4 1 1 0 .171 E.Frain 2B 1 0 0 0 .213 D.Lyons SS 5 2 2 0 .314 C.Guzman RF 3 1 1 0 .285 S.Burroughs 1B 5 2 2 0 .332 J.Guzman 1B,3B 5 2 2 2 .268 C.Puckett 3B 3 1 2 1 .280 R.Strieby 1B 0 1 0 0 .236 M.Blanke C 3 2 1 2 .289 Z.MacPhee 3B 3 1 1 0 .177 N.Zapata DH 3 2 2 2 .455 D.Rockett LF 3 0 1 0 .232 S.DiMatteo RF 4 2 1 2 .250 J.Gil C 0 0 0 1 .237 C.Hughes 2B 4 1 1 1 .229 M.Kerns C 1 0 0 0 .125 E.Crawford DH 3 0 1 1 .245 31 5 8 5 38 14 16 11 Camden 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 2 - 5 8 1 L Island 0 0 0 4 2 7 1 0 x - 14 16 0 2B--P.Matera (13), N.Zapata (4). 3B--A.Vega (8). HR--J.Guzman (10), A.Vega (3). RBI--M.Rockett (33), J.Guzman 2 (63), J.Gil (21), E.Crawford (16), A.Vega 3 (19), C.Puckett (45), M.Blanke 2 (36), N.Zapata 2 (6), S.DiMatteo 2 (2), C.Hughes (3). HP--C.Guzman (3), R.Strieby (5), D.Lyons (12), C.Puckett (8), M.Blanke (2). SF--M.Rockett (4), J.Gil (2). SH--D.Rockett (0). CS--D.Lyons (2). E--E.Englebrook (1). LOB--Camden 10, L Island 11. DP--P. Matera(2B) - R. Strieby(1B), C. Hughes(2B) - D. Lyons(SS) - S. Burroughs(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Camden W.Torrez (L,5-6) 5.0 8 6 6 3 1 1 4.34 E.Englebrook 0.2 7 7 6 2 1 0 18.69 Z.Braddock 1.1 1 1 1 3 2 0 3.82 S.Gleason 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.10 8 16 14 13 8 5 1 L Island I.Marshall (W,7-6) 5.1 6 3 3 5 4 0 3.48 N.Struck 1.2 1 0 0 0 3 0 2.61 P.Crider 2.0 1 2 2 1 3 1 3.06 9 8 5 5 6 10 1 WP--W.Torrez 2 (7), E.Englebrook 2 (3). PB--J.Gil 2, M.Kerns. HB--W.Torrez 3 (12), I.Marshall (7), N.Struck (3). SO--M.Rockett, B.Chaves 2, P.Matera, E.Frain, J.Guzman, Z.MacPhee, D.Rockett 2, E.Crawford, A.Vega 2, S.McQuail 2, S.DiMatteo. BB--P.Matera, C.Guzman, R.Strieby, J.Gil 2, E.Crawford, S.McQuail, S.Burroughs, C.Puckett, M.Blanke, N.Zapata 2, S.DiMatteo, C.Hughes. BF--W.Torrez 27 (508), E.Englebrook 11 (18), Z.Braddock 8 (141), S.Gleason 3 (584), I.Marshall 27 (538), N.Struck 7 (161), P.Crider 8 (190). P-S--W.Torrez 104-57, E.Englebrook 40-22, Z.Braddock 28-14, S.Gleason 21-15, I.Marshall 109-67, N.Struck 22-18, P.Crider 45-28. T--3:33. A--5648 Plate Umpire - Mike Williams, Field Umpire #1 - JB Torres, Field Umpire #2 - Fred DeJesus