Reegie Corona wins game with ninth inning single
(Photo courtesy of George A. Faella)
(Central Islip, N.Y., June 7, 2015) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 5-4 in waddle-off fashion on Sunday afternoon in the opener of a four-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the waddle-off win
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Reegie Corona and Mickey Jannis talk about the dramatic victory
Both teams traded zeroes until the top of the fifth inning when Antone DeJesus connected for a RBI triple to right field off of Ducks starter Mickey Jannis. However, Long Island answered in the bottom of the frame with a two-run single to center by Bryan Sabatella off of Blue Crabs starter Jon Leicester.
The Ducks took a 4-1 lead on a sacrifice fly to center by Mike Blanke in the sixth and a bases loaded walk to Sabatella in the eighth. Southern Maryland responded with three runs in the ninth to tie the game at four. RBI singles by Craig Maddox and Daryle Ward, along with a run-scoring error by Sabatella, did the damage.
Long Island answered right back in the bottom of the ninth to win the game. A double by Lew Ford and two intentional walks loaded the bases for Reegie Corona, who grounded a RBI single up the middle for the game-winning run.
Neither starter factored into the decision. Jannis tossed seven innings of one-run ball, allowing just four hits and one walk while striking out four. Leicester lasted six innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Ryan Kussmaul (2-0) picked up the win despite allowing three runs on four hits in one inning of relief. Justin Berg (1-2) suffered the loss, yielding the winning run on two hits and two walks in one-third of an inning.
Sabatella, Corona and Blanke led the Flock with two hits apiece.
The Ducks and Blue Crabs continue their four-game set on Monday 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 NYIT. Right-hander Bruce Kern takes the mound for the Ducks against Blue Crabs southpaw Brian Burres.
It’s also a 20K Match Game Monday at the Duck Pond! During the game, the Ducks will post a special Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) of a featured vehicle. If the last six digits of YOUR driver’s license number match that number, you’ll be the lucky winner of $20,000! To be eligible to win, fans must sign up at the Long Island Ducks Ticket Kiosk prior to first pitch.
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’ flagship radio station, 103.9-FM LI News Radio, as the “Ducks Game of the Week.” Live streaming video and audio will be also be available on the Ducks’ official YouTube channel by CLICKING HERE.
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Duck Tales: The Ducks earned their fourth waddle-off victory of the season and second in the month of June. Their first was on Prentice Redman’s RBI single in the 11th inning June 1 against York. Long Island has now collected two walk-off wins in the last three Sunday games. Last year, the Ducks totaled five walk-off wins for the entire season. Sunday was also the Ducks’ ninth come-from-behind win of the year…Mickey Jannis continued his masterful pitching of late on Sunday with seven innings of one-run ball. In his last seven games (four starts), the knuckleballer has allowed just four earned runs over 37 innings of work, good for a 0.97 ERA. In that span, he has given up just 21 hits and nine walks while striking out 33 batters. In his last three outings, all starts, the righty is 1-0 with a 0.39 ERA, giving up just one run on eight hits and six walks with 21 strikeouts in 23 innings. Jannis lowered his ERA this season to 1.52, which ranks second among qualified pitchers in the Atlantic League behind Somerset’s Sean Bierman (1.46)…Bryan Sabatella extended his hitting streak to six consecutive games with two singles on Sunday. During the streak, the Long Island native is batting .483 (14-for-29) with five RBI and eight runs scored. Sunday was Sabatella’s 12th two-hit game and 17th multi-hit contest, both of which lead the Ducks. He also collected his team-high third three-RBI game as well as his fourth multi-RBI contest. The outfielder leads the Atlantic League in hits (54), runs (35), at-bats (183) and stolen bases (15)…Jon Griffin extended his on-base streak to 12 consecutive games with a single and three walks. During the streak, the first baseman is batting .340 (16-for-47) with four doubles, three homers, 15 RBI, six runs, 10 walks and three stolen bases. Griffin has raised his batting average from .261 to .285 in that span…Delta Cleary, Jr. extended his on-base streak to 10 consecutive games with a single. During the streak, the outfielder is batting .318 (14-for-44) with two doubles, one triple, three RBI, eight runs and four stolen bases.
Game Date: 06/07/2015 Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 4 AT Long Island Ducks 5 YTD YTD S Maryland AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG F.Lewis RF 4 0 0 0 .220 B.Sabatella RF 4 0 2 3 .295 J.Opitz 2B 4 0 0 0 .173 D.Cleary Jr. LF 5 0 1 0 .309 Z.Wilson 1B 4 1 1 0 .240 L.Ford CF 4 1 1 0 .308 J.Rosa DH 4 1 2 0 .500 C.Puckett 3B 5 0 0 0 .294 C.Stevenson 3B 4 0 0 0 .258 J.Griffin 1B 2 1 1 0 .285 J.Walton LF 4 0 0 0 .265 P.Redman DH 2 1 0 0 .224 C.Maddox C 4 2 3 1 .257 R.Corona 2B 4 0 2 1 .296 C.Frawley SS 3 0 0 0 .213 M.Blanke C 2 1 2 1 .300 D.Ward PH 1 0 1 1 .263 D.Lyons SS 4 1 1 0 .288 R.Osuna PR,SS 0 0 0 0 .246 A.DeJesus CF 3 0 1 1 .193 35 4 8 3 32 5 10 5 S Maryland 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 - 4 8 1 L Island 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 - 5 10 1 2B--Z.Wilson (8), L.Ford (14), D.Lyons (7). 3B--A.DeJesus (1). RBI--C.Maddox (8), D.Ward (7), A.DeJesus (10), B.Sabatella 3 (20), R.Corona (14), M.Blanke (7). HP--P.Redman (3), M.Blanke (1). SF--M.Blanke (1). SH--R.Corona (0). SB--C.Maddox (1), B.Sabatella (15), D.Cleary Jr. (7), J.Griffin (3), R.Corona (6). E--J.Leicester (1), B.Sabatella (2). LOB--S Maryland 6, L Island 13. DP--J. Opitz(2B) - C. Frawley(SS) - Z. Wilson(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA S Maryland J.Leicester 6.0 7 3 2 2 3 0 1.71 O.Santos 2.0 1 1 1 3 3 0 2.60 J.Berg (L,1-2) 0.1 2 1 1 2 0 0 3.86 8.1 10 5 4 7 6 0 L Island M.Jannis 7.0 4 1 1 1 4 0 1.52 A.Diaz 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.71 R.Kussmaul (W,2-0) 1.0 4 3 2 0 1 0 2.49 9 8 4 3 1 6 0 WP--J.Berg (4). HB--J.Leicester (1), O.Santos (2). SO--F.Lewis, Z.Wilson, J.Rosa 2, J.Walton 2, L.Ford 2, C.Puckett, P.Redman, R.Corona, D.Lyons. BB--F.Lewis, B.Sabatella, L.Ford, J.Griffin 3, P.Redman 2. BF--J.Leicester 27 (86), O.Santos 11 (77), J.Berg 5 (84), M.Jannis 26 (209), A.Diaz 3 (79), R.Kussmaul 7 (91). P-S--J.Leicester 102-60, O.Santos 53-29, J.Berg 17-7, M.Jannis 99-68, A.Diaz 10-8, R.Kussmaul 26-19. T--2:53. A--5457 Plate Umpire - Fred DeJesus, Field Umpire #1 - Richard Katz, Field Umpire #2 - JB Torres