Early deficit too much for Ducks to overcome

(Central Islip, N.Y., July 30, 2015) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Somerset Patriots 7-3 on Thursday night in the finale of a three-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.

GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the series finale

POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez and Bryan Sabatella talk about the game and upcoming series

The Ducks struck for a run in the opening inning on Delta Cleary Jr.’s RBI groundout to second base off of Patriots starter R.J. Seidel. Somerset answered with three runs in the third on RBI singles from Thomas Neal and Vinny Zarrillo, along with a run-scoring wild pitch from Ducks starter Darin Downs.

Three more runs in the fourth ballooned the advantage to 6-1. Adam Donachie’s two-run double and a RBI single by Neal did the damage. David Vidal’s solo homer in the fifth made it a six-run game. Long Island scored single runs in the seventh and ninth on a wild pitch that plated Cleary, Jr. and a RBI single by Ruiz, but it wasn’t enough.

Seidel did not factor into the decision but allowed one run on four hits and three walks while striking out two. Kyler Newby (7-2) collected the win after pitching two scoreless innings of relief, allowing three hits and a walk with two strikeouts. Downs (0-3) took the loss, giving up six runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five in four innings. Jon Hunton picked up his 25th save after recording the final out of the game.

Ruiz, Fehlandt Lentini and Bryan Sabatella each had two hits to pace the Flock.

The Ducks continue their homestand on Friday night when they open up a four-game series with the cross-sound rival Bridgeport Bluefish. 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). The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive Ducks Cooler Bags, courtesy of Mercy Haven, Inc. It will also be a Fowl Pole Friday at the Duck Pond! If a select Ducks player hits a home run off of either foul pole during the game, one lucky Ducks fan will win $50,000. The Ducks will be running their Friday night Pizza Hut K-Man and Air Trampoline Sports Friday promotions as well. Right-hander John Brownell gets the start for the Ducks against Bluefish righty Kameron Loe.

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: Fehlandt Lentini earned his third consecutive multi-hit game since rejoining the Flock with two more hits. In the three games, he has collected seven hits in 14 at-bats (.500 AVG) with two doubles, one RBI and two runs scored. The outfielder compiled a .319 batting average in 2014 against the Patriots…Randy Ruiz and Bryan Sabatella each added two hits as well. Sabatella now has 23 two-hit games in 2015, which ranks second on the team behind Lew Ford (26). Ruiz has totaled 17 two-hit games this season. Overall, Sabatella has picked up 30 multi-hit contests this season in 83 games played, while Ruiz has 19 multi-hit games in 42 contests with the Flock this year…Billy Buckner made his first relief appearance as a member of the Ducks. The right-hander allowed a home run to the first batter he faced but gave up just three hits over five innings from that point on. The former Major Leaguer did not walk a single batter and struck out six from the fifth inning through the ninth.

 Game Date: 07/30/2015 Somerset Patriots 7 AT Long Island Ducks 3 YTD YTD Somerset AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG T.Neal DH 5 1 3 2 .289 F.Lentini RF 5 2 2 0 .500 V.Zarrillo CF,LF 5 0 1 1 .224 D.Lyons SS 4 0 0 0 .294 D.Vidal 1B 4 1 1 1 .272 D.Cleary Jr. CF 5 1 1 1 .285 M.Burgess LF,RF 4 0 0 0 .235 R.Ruiz 1B 5 0 2 1 .333 G.Hopkins 3B 4 1 1 0 .261 C.Hughes PR 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Andino SS 3 1 1 0 .262 C.Puckett 3B 4 0 1 0 .272 N.Spears 2B,RF 4 0 0 0 .268 B.Sabatella LF 4 0 2 0 .290 J.Tucker CF 1 1 1 0 .241 S.McQuail DH 3 0 1 0 .196 J.Garcia Reyes 2B 3 0 0 0 .211 D.Coury C 3 0 0 0 .214 A.Donachie C 4 2 3 2 .206 B.Davis 2B 2 0 0 0 .224 37 7 11 6 35 3 9 2 Somerset 0 0 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 - 7 11 1 L Island 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 - 3 9 0 2B--G.Hopkins (16), A.Donachie 2 (7), F.Lentini (2), D.Cleary Jr. (11). HR--D.Vidal (3). RBI--T.Neal 2 (40), V.Zarrillo (5), D.Vidal (37), A.Donachie 2 (23), D.Cleary Jr. (23), R.Ruiz (33). SB--T.Neal (4). E--J.Garcia Reyes (3). LOB--Somerset 5, L Island 11. DP--B. Davis(2B) - D. Lyons(SS) - R. Ruiz(1B), N. Spears(2B) - R. Andino(SS) - D. Vidal(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Somerset R.Seidel 4.0 4 1 1 3 2 0 2.93 K.Newby (W,7-2) 2.0 3 0 0 1 2 0 4.63 D.Sattler 1.0 1 1 1 0 1 0 2.73 A.Carignan 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.18 E.DeLuca 0.2 1 1 1 2 1 0 2.45 J.Hunton (S,25) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.38 9 9 3 3 6 7 0 L Island D.Downs (L,0-3) 4.0 7 6 6 2 5 0 6.11 B.Buckner 5.0 4 1 1 0 6 1 4.76 9 11 7 7 2 11 1 WP--R.Seidel (3), D.Sattler 2 (6), D.Downs 2 (4). PB--D.Coury. SO--V.Zarrillo 3, M.Burgess 2, G.Hopkins 2, N.Spears 2, J.Garcia Reyes 2, F.Lentini, D.Cleary Jr., R.Ruiz, B.Sabatella, S.McQuail 2, D.Coury. BB--D.Vidal, R.Andino, D.Lyons, C.Puckett, S.McQuail, D.Coury, B.Davis 2. BF--R.Seidel 18 (187), K.Newby 10 (151), D.Sattler 4 (121), A.Carignan 3 (137), E.DeLuca 5 (14), J.Hunton (135), D.Downs 20 (74), B.Buckner 19 (270). P-S--R.Seidel 69-42, K.Newby 39-23, D.Sattler 18-12, A.Carignan 14-9, E.DeLuca 27-13, J.Hunton 2-2, D.Downs 82-47, B.Buckner 77-51. T--3:12. A--4911 Rain delay of one hour, six minutes prior to first pitch Plate Umpire - Frank Iurilli, Field Umpire #1 - Dave Speranza, Field Umpire #2 - John Grasso