Ducks drop series finale in low-scoring affair
(Central Islip, N.Y., July 19, 2015) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Somerset Patriots 2-1 on Sunday evening in the finale of a three-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME AUDIO: Mike Blanke’s fifth homer of the season
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez and Darin Downs talk about the series finale
Somerset went ahead 1-0 in the first inning on a RBI single from Nate Spears off of Ducks starter Darin Downs. Mike Blanke’s solo homer to left in the second off of Patriots starter Lucas Irvine tied it for Long Island. Michael Burgess put the Patriots back on top 2-1 with a solo homer to right in the fourth. After seven innings from Irvine, two Somerset relievers completed the win for the Patriots as Long Island could not respond.
Irvine (4-5) earned the win, allowing one run on five hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out eight. Downs (0-1) suffered the loss, surrendering two runs on four hits in five innings of work while walking and striking out four. Ducks reliever Bruce Kern tossed three innings of scoreless relief, giving up just one hit with no walks and five strikeouts. J.C. Romero pitched a scoreless ninth for Long Island. Kyler Newby and Jon Hunton held the Ducks hitless in the final two innings. Hunton notched his 21st save of the season in the ninth.
Blanke finished with a RBI and run scored with two hits for Long Island, including the solo homer.
The Ducks now open a four-game series with the York Revolution on Monday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 5:35 (5:20 for full season ticket holders). It is Irish Night at the Duck Pond, and the first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive Ducks Stadium Cups, courtesy of Shandon Court. Righty John Brownell will pitch for the Ducks in the series opener against York southpaw Rommie Lewis.
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 online via the Ducks’ official YouTube channel. Live streaming video and audio will be available by CLICKING HERE.
###
Duck Tales: Mike Blanke’s solo home run to left field in the second inning was his fifth longball of the year. He becomes the sixth Duck with five or more homers this season. Three of Blanke’s five home runs have come during the month of July. The Ducks have now gone deep in five consecutive games, hitting eight longballs in that span…Blanke also finished with two hits in Sunday’s game. He has now totaled 12 two-hit games and 13 multi-hit contests in 2015. The backstop has picked up multiple hits in back-to-back games and four of his last seven games overall…Bruce Kern tossed three scoreless innings of relief after Darin Downs started. The right-hander has not allowed a run in his last 10 innings on the mound and has yielded only one run in his last 15 innings. Since the first inning of his start against Somerset on July 5, Kern has given up just six hits and one walk while striking out 16.
Game Date: 07/19/2015 Somerset Patriots 2 AT Long Island Ducks 1 YTD YTD Somerset AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG V.Zarrillo CF 3 0 0 0 .184 B.Sabatella RF 4 0 1 0 .288 A.Eggleston LF 4 0 1 0 .319 D.Cleary Jr. CF 4 0 0 0 .284 D.Vidal 1B 3 0 1 0 .278 C.Puckett 3B 4 0 0 0 .265 G.Hopkins 3B 4 0 0 0 .252 R.Ruiz 1B 4 0 0 0 .348 M.Burgess DH 3 1 1 1 .246 S.McQuail DH 4 0 0 0 .353 A.Donachie C 3 1 0 0 .197 M.Blanke C 3 1 2 1 .324 R.Andino SS 2 0 1 0 .243 P.Redman LF 3 0 1 0 .226 N.Spears RF 4 0 1 1 .271 B.Davis 2B 3 0 1 0 .225 J.Garcia Reyes 2B 3 0 0 0 .105 D.Lyons SS 2 0 0 0 .304 29 2 5 2 31 1 5 1 Somerset 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 5 1 L Island 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 5 0 2B--A.Eggleston (15), M.Blanke (7). HR--M.Burgess (4), M.Blanke (5). RBI--M.Burgess (19), N.Spears (14), M.Blanke (22). E--V.Zarrillo (1). LOB--Somerset 6, L Island 4. DP--R. Andino(SS) - D. Vidal(1B), B. Davis(2B) - D. Lyons(SS) - R. Ruiz(1B), J. Romero(P) - R. Ruiz(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Somerset L.Irvine (W,4-5) 7.0 5 1 1 1 8 1 2.65 K.Newby 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.94 J.Hunton (S,21) 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.64 9 5 1 1 1 10 1 L Island D.Downs (L,0-1) 5.0 4 2 2 4 4 1 2.25 B.Kern 3.0 1 0 0 0 5 0 2.51 J.Romero 1.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2.46 9 5 2 2 6 9 1 WP--D.Downs (1). SO--V.Zarrillo, A.Eggleston, G.Hopkins 3, M.Burgess, A.Donachie, N.Spears, J.Garcia Reyes, B.Sabatella 2, D.Cleary Jr. 2, C.Puckett, R.Ruiz, S.McQuail 2, M.Blanke, P.Redman. BB--V.Zarrillo, D.Vidal, M.Burgess, A.Donachie, R.Andino 2, D.Lyons. BF--L.Irvine 26 (355), K.Newby 3 (132), J.Hunton 3 (124), D.Downs 21 (32), B.Kern 10 (181), J.Romero 4 (33). P-S--L.Irvine 104-75, K.Newby 4-4, J.Hunton 15-11, D.Downs 69-45, B.Kern 47-28, J.Romero 13-5. T--2:21. A--5482 Plate Umpire - John Grasso, Field Umpire #1 - Manolo Alejandro, Field Umpire #2 - Frank Leparik