(Central Islip, N.Y., Sept. 14, 2012) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Camden Riversharks 8-5 on Friday night in the first game of a four-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.

GAME VIDEO: Shawn Williams’ two-run triple, Lee Cruz’ two-run homer and Josh Johnson’s RBI double

POSTGAME VIDEO: Johnson, Williams and Cruz talk about the victory

Long Island jumped on the scoreboard with two runs in the second on a two-run triple to right-center field by Shawn Williams off Camden starter Alex Smith. Kraig Binick added a two-out RBI single to center in the fourth, extending the lead to three.

The offense continued to pour it on with a four-run fifth inning, knocking Smith out of the game. Matt Esquivel’s sac fly to center, a two-run homer to left by Lee Cruz and a RBI double to right-center by Josh Johnson did the damage.

The Riversharks responded with three in the sixth off Ducks’ starter Bob Zimmermann as well as single runs in the seventh and eighth, cutting the lead to two. A solo homer by Brian Burgamy and a two-run blast from Raul Padron highlighted the scoring. However, Bryant Nelson’s sac fly in the eighth put the game out of reach.

Zimmermann (6-10) got the win, tossing six innings, allowing three runs on nine hits while striking out nine. Smith (0-1) suffered the loss, yielding seven runs on eight hits and five walks in four and two-thirds innings. Armando Benitez earned his second save with a scoreless ninth.

Johnson led the Ducks with three hits, while Williams, Binick and Brandon Sing each added two.

The Ducks and Riversharks continue their series on Saturday with a day/night doubleheader. Game time for the opener is slated for 1:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 12:05. It’s a peanut-free day at the Duck Pond, as there will be no sale of peanuts during game one to give fans with peanut allergies the chance to attend a baseball game.

Game two will begin at 7:05 p.m., with the ballpark gates opening at 6:05. The first 2,500 fans in attendance will receive Reusable Shopping Bags, and following the game all fans in attendance will be treated to a Grucci Fireworks Extravaganza, presented by Uncle Giuseppe’s Marketplace.

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 make the game can follow all 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 provided by iBN, the Internet Broadcast Network.

###

Duck Tales: With the win, the Ducks extended their winning streak to three games. It’s the first time the Ducks have won three in a row since August 5-7 when they defeated the Bluefish once and the Skeeters twice. Long Island’s longest winning streak this season was seven games, done June 26-July 2…With three hits, Josh Johnson earned his third three-hit game of the season. The catcher also picked up three hits on May 26 against Bridgeport and April 26 against Somerset…Lee Cruz’ two-run homer in the fifth extended his hitting streak to five consecutive games. During the streak, he is hitting .333 (7-for-21) with two homers, four RBI and three runs scored…Bob Zimmermann continued the success of the Ducks starting pitching of late with six innings of three-run ball. In the last eight games, Ducks starters have allowed 15 runs in 51 innings, which equates to a 2.65 ERA.

 GAME DATE: 09/14/2012 Camden Riversharks 5 AT Long Island Ducks 8 YTD YTD Camden AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG R.Gorecki CF 5 0 1 1 .270 K.Binick CF 3 0 2 1 .260 L.Turner LF 4 0 1 0 .249 B.Nelson SS 4 0 0 1 .265 B.Burgamy 1B 4 1 3 1 .290 R.Navarrete 2B 3 1 0 0 .310 P.Feliz 3B 5 2 1 0 .289 B.Sing DH 3 1 2 0 .287 R.Padron C 4 1 2 3 .270 J.Brodin 1B 3 2 0 0 .273 E.Perez DH 5 0 2 0 .269 M.Esquivel RF 3 0 0 1 .288 J.Martinez PR 0 0 0 0 .000 L.Cruz LF 4 1 1 2 .208 D.Young 2B 5 0 0 0 .182 S.Williams 3B 3 2 2 2 .280 J.Eigsti SS 4 1 2 0 .251 J.Johnson C 4 1 3 1 .214 S.Doetsch RF 3 0 1 0 .259 39 5 13 5 30 8 10 8 Camden 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 - 5 13 1 L Island 0 2 0 1 4 0 0 1 x - 8 10 1 2B--R.Padron (13), E.Perez (28), S.Doetsch (12), J.Johnson 2 (13). 3B--S.Williams (2). HR--B.Burgamy (18), R.Padron (9), L.Cruz (4). RBI--R.Gorecki (47), B.Burgamy (78), R.Padron 3 (41), K.Binick (29), B.Nelson (76), M.Esquivel (28), L.Cruz 2 (10), S.Williams 2 (46), J.Johnson (25). SF--B.Nelson (9), M.Esquivel (2). SH--K.Binick (0). CS--R.Gorecki (9). E--S.Doetsch (6), R.Navarrete (9). LOB--Camden 12, L Island 7. DP--J. Eigsti(SS) - D. Young(2B) - B. Burgamy(1B), S. Williams(3B) - J. Brodin(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Camden A.Smith (L,0-1) 4.2 8 7 7 5 2 1 12.46 S.Steedley 0.1 1 0 0 1 0 0 4.19 J.Velasquez 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 A.Martin 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Z.Hammes 1.0 1 1 1 0 1 0 3.41 8 10 8 8 6 4 1 L Island B.Zimmermann (W,6-10) 6.0 9 3 3 3 9 2 4.40 J.Lansford 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 0 4.50 J.Lansford 1.0 2 1 1 1 1 0 3.00 A.Benitez (S,2) 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 5.58 9 13 5 5 5 11 2 SO--R.Gorecki 2, P.Feliz, R.Padron 2, D.Young 4, S.Doetsch 2, B.Nelson, R.Navarrete, M.Esquivel, J.Johnson. BB--L.Turner, B.Burgamy, R.Padron, J.Eigsti, S.Doetsch, K.Binick, R.Navarrete 2, B.Sing, J.Brodin, S.Williams. BF--A.Smith 26 (54), S.Steedley 3 (192), J.Velasquez 3 (3), A.Martin 3 (3), Z.Hammes 4 (285), B.Zimmermann 28 (761), J.Lansford 5 (169), J.Lansford 6 (242), A.Benitez 5 (141). P-S--A.Smith 81-43, S.Steedley 8-3, J.Velasquez 11-7, A.Martin 9-7, Z.Hammes 14-8, B.Zimmermann 113-63, J.Lansford 22-13, J.Lansford 22-11, A.Benitez 20-11. T--3:02. A--5606 Umpires: Plate Ump - Matt Hensel, Field Ump #1 - Hank Himmanen, Field Ump #2 - Chase Edmondson