Nine straight wins for Flock after they come from behind twice
(Central Islip, N.Y., June 9, 2015) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 10-5 on Tuesday night in the third game of a four-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the come-from-behind win
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Dan Lyons and Billy Buckner talk about the victory
The Blue Crabs opened the scoring in the second inning on a solo home run to right field by Jake Opitz off of Ducks starter Billy Buckner. Two more runs in the third on a RBI single by Daryle Ward and a run-scoring hit by pitch of Casey Stevenson extended their lead to 3-0.
Long Island responded with three runs in the bottom of the third off of Blue Crabs starter Wade Korpi to tie the game. Dan Lyons’ solo homer to left and Jon Griffin’s two-run double to right-center highlighted the inning. Southern Maryland retook the lead with two runs in the fifth on back-to-back RBI doubles by Opitz and Stevenson.
However, the Ducks stormed back with five runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to jump ahead 10-5. A two-run home run by Prentice Redman, RBI singles by Mike Blanke, Bryan Sabatella and Reegie Corona, a run-scoring double by Lyons and a sac fly off the bat of Griffin did the damage.
Buckner (2-1) picked up the win, tossing five innings, allowing five runs on nine hits and one walk with one strikeout. Brian Grening (2-3) took the loss, yielding five runs on five hits with three strikeouts in two and one-third innings. Korpi did not factor into the decision but lasted two and one-third innings, giving up three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out two.
Every Ducks batter earned at least one hit. Cody Puckett led the way with three hits, while Sabatella, Corona, Lyons and Lew Ford each had two.
The Ducks and Blue Crabs wrap up their four-game set on Wednesday 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). It will be a Winning Inning Wednesday at the ballpark! Throughout the game, the Ducks will designate a specific occurrence for each inning. If the event occurs during that inning, one lucky fan will win $10,000! To be eligible to win, fans need to simply sign up prior to first pitch at the Long Island Ducks Ticket Kiosk, located on the main concourse behind home plate.
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 on the Ducks’ official YouTube channel. Live streaming video and audio will be available online by CLICKING HERE.
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Duck Tales: The Ducks earned their ninth win in a row, which is the longest winning streak in the Atlantic League this year. The previous high was seven, done by the Blue Crabs from May 7 to 14. The streak is also tied for the fourth-longest in team history. Long Island also won nine in a row in 2008 and 2011. The longest winning streak in franchise history was 12 games, done July 5-20, 2006. The Ducks earned their 11th come-from-behind victory, and third in a row, and are now a season-high 12 games over .500…The Ducks’ bullpen combined to throw four more scoreless innings of relief. In their last 15 games, Ducks relievers have combined to allow just six earned runs in 52 and one-third innings of work (1.03 ERA). In that span, they’ve yielded just 32 hits and 13 walks while striking out 51 in the 15 games. Nick Struck has now made 11 consecutive scoreless appearances (11.0 innings pitched), and Patrick Crider has given up just one run in his last 16 appearances (14.1 innings pitched)…Dan Lyons launched his first home run of the year with a solo blast to left in the third. The fifth-year Duck hit four home runs in 2014, the most he’s hit in a single season since joining the Flock in 2011. As a Duck, Lyons has now gone deep 10 times…Prentice Redman’s two-run home run was his second of the season. His first came back on May 3 against the Skeeters in what was his second game with the Ducks. Long Island has now totaled 23 home runs as a team in 2015…Bryan Sabatella extended his hitting streak to eight consecutive games with two hits. During the streak, the Long Island native is batting .459 (17-for-37) with six RBI and nine runs scored. The outfielder leads the Atlantic League in hits (57), runs (36), at-bats (191) and stolen bases (15)…Delta Cleary, Jr. extended his on-base streak to 12 consecutive games with a single. During the streak, the outfielder is batting .302 (16-for-53) with two doubles, one triple, three RBI, eight runs and five stolen bases.
Game Date: 06/09/2015 Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 5 AT Long Island Ducks 10 YTD YTD S Maryland AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG F.Lewis RF 6 0 1 0 .225 B.Sabatella RF 4 1 2 1 .298 R.Osuna SS 5 0 1 0 .242 D.Cleary Jr. CF 5 0 1 0 .300 Z.Wilson 1B 5 1 2 0 .246 L.Ford DH 5 2 2 0 .310 D.Ward DH 5 2 2 1 .269 C.Puckett 3B 4 2 3 0 .303 G.Molina C 5 0 1 0 .299 J.Griffin 1B 4 0 1 3 .277 J.Opitz 2B 4 2 3 2 .198 P.Redman LF 4 1 1 2 .228 C.Stevenson 3B 3 0 2 2 .268 R.Corona 2B 3 1 2 1 .304 J.Walton CF,LF 4 0 1 0 .264 M.Blanke C 4 1 1 1 .298 A.DeJesus CF 3 0 0 0 .191 D.Lyons SS 3 2 2 2 .304 J.Rosa LF,PH 2 0 1 0 .500 42 5 14 5 36 10 15 10 S Maryland 0 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 - 5 14 0 L Island 0 0 3 0 5 2 0 0 x - 10 15 1 2B--Z.Wilson 2 (10), J.Opitz 2 (4), C.Stevenson (6), L.Ford (15), J.Griffin (9), R.Corona (4), D.Lyons (8). HR--J.Opitz (3), P.Redman (2), D.Lyons (1). RBI--D.Ward (8), J.Opitz 2 (6), C.Stevenson 2 (16), B.Sabatella (21), J.Griffin 3 (36), P.Redman 2 (14), R.Corona (15), M.Blanke (8), D.Lyons 2 (22). HP--C.Stevenson (6), C.Puckett (2). SF--J.Griffin (1). SB--M.Blanke (1). E--C.Puckett (9). LOB--S Maryland 14, L Island 8. DP--J. Opitz(2B) - C. Stevenson(3B) - Z. Wilson(1B), J. Opitz(2B) - Z. Wilson(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA S Maryland W.Korpi 2.1 5 3 3 3 2 1 7.71 B.Grening (L,2-3) 2.1 5 5 5 0 3 1 5.02 T.Barham 2.1 5 2 2 1 1 0 3.64 O.Santos 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.46 8 15 10 10 4 7 2 L Island B.Buckner (W,2-1) 5.0 9 5 5 1 1 1 4.96 F.DeJiulio Jr. 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 2.70 P.Crider 1.0 1 0 0 2 1 0 2.70 N.Struck 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1.35 C.McCoy 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 9 14 5 5 3 7 1 WP--W.Korpi (1), B.Buckner 3 (4). HB--B.Grening (2), B.Buckner (1). SO--R.Osuna, Z.Wilson 3, G.Molina, J.Opitz, J.Rosa, D.Cleary Jr., J.Griffin 3, P.Redman 2, R.Corona. BB--J.Opitz, C.Stevenson, J.Walton, B.Sabatella, P.Redman, R.Corona, D.Lyons. BF--W.Korpi 14 (87), B.Grening 13 (166), T.Barham 12 (70), O.Santos 3 (80), B.Buckner 26 (76), F.DeJiulio Jr. 4 (61), P.Crider 6 (81), N.Struck 5 (57), C.McCoy 5 (5). P-S--W.Korpi 56-33, B.Grening 44-28, T.Barham 49-28, O.Santos 10-7, B.Buckner 94-57, F.DeJiulio Jr. 12-11, P.Crider 24-13, N.Struck 16-12, C.McCoy 19-14. T--3:04. A--5223 Plate Umpire - JB Torres, Field Umpire #1 - Fred DeJesus, Field Umpire #2 - Richard Katz