(Central Islip, N.Y., July 2, 2012) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 4-3 on Monday night before a past-capacity crowd of 6,330 at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME VIDEO: Bryant Nelson’s two-run double, Ray Navarrete’s RBI double and the game’s final out
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez, Nick Singleton and Nelson talk about the Ducks’ seventh consecutive win
The Ducks jumped in front on a two-run double by Bryant Nelson off Blue Crabs starter Matthew Vasquez in the bottom of the first. Ray Navarrete extended the Ducks lead to four with a run-scoring ground rule double down the left field line in the third and a RBI sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Southern Maryland would cut the deficit in half in the top of the sixth off Ducks reliever Josh Lansford on a run-scoring balk and a RBI sac fly by Jesse Gutierrez. Brian Barton would bring the Blue Crabs within one on a RBI single in top of the eighth, but it was all the offense they could muster.
Nick Singleton (1-0) picked up the win in his Ducks debut tossing five strong innings, allowing only two hits and striking out seven. Vasquez (4-4) was saddled with the loss, allowing four runs on nine hits in seven innings of work. Jon Hunton picked up his fourth save of the season after pitching a perfect ninth.
James McOwen paced the Flock with three hits, while Navarrete and Nelson had two RBI each.
The Ducks continue their three-game series with the Blue Crabs on Tuesday night. Game time is slated for 7:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 6:05. Following the game, all fans in attendance will be treated to a Grucci Fireworks Extravaganza, presented by Atlantic Hyundai. In addition, Ducks staff members will be handing out coupons for discounts at Pet Supplies Plus.
Tickets for the game and all Ducks home games are available by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark Box Office, calling (631) 940-TIXX, or going online to www.liducks.com. Fans unable to make the game can follow the action live 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 two runs batted in, Ray Navarrete collected his 45th RBI and 25th double of the year, both of which are team-leading totals. Navarette leads the league in doubles and extra-base hits and is second in runs batted in…Bryant Nelson picked up his 42nd RBI and 17th double, which are both second on the team to Ray Navarrete. Nelson is now hitting .375 in his last 10 games…With the win the Ducks have now won seven consecutive games, a new season-high. The Flock strung together a six-game winning streak from May 4-10, with all six wins coming at home. The Ducks are also a season-best 15 games over .500 at 39-24…The past-capacity crowd of 6,330 was the seventh sellout at the Duck Pond this season. The Ducks have drawn 5,500 or more fans in each of the last nine games at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME DATE: 07/02/2012 Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 3 AT Long Island Ducks 4 YTD YTD S Maryland AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG M.Daniel RF 3 1 1 0 .274 K.Binick LF 4 1 1 0 .278 C.Hu DH 5 1 1 0 .293 J.McOwen RF 4 2 3 0 .245 C.Benjamin 2B 3 0 0 0 .280 R.Navarrete 2B 3 0 1 2 .326 J.Gutierrez 1B 3 1 2 1 .300 D.Lyons SS 2 1 0 0 .279 M.Padgett 3B 3 0 0 0 .252 B.Nelson 3B 4 0 2 2 .262 B.Barton LF 4 0 1 1 .291 S.Williams 1B 4 0 0 0 .278 J.Owens CF 4 0 1 0 .236 R.Gorecki CF 3 0 1 0 .260 K.Rios SS 4 0 0 0 .133 M.Canham C 3 0 1 0 .172 C.Lopez C 3 0 0 0 .235 M.Fleishman DH 3 0 1 0 .333 32 3 6 2 30 4 10 4 S Maryland 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 - 3 6 0 L Island 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 x - 4 10 0 2B--J.McOwen (7), R.Navarrete (25), B.Nelson (17). RBI--J.Gutierrez (11), B.Barton (26), R.Navarrete 2 (45), B.Nelson 2 (42). HP--M.Daniel (5). SF--J.Gutierrez (2), R.Navarrete (6). SB--J.Owens (5), J.McOwen (7). LOB--S Maryland 8, L Island 6. DP--C. Benjamin(2B) - K. Rios(SS) - J. Gutierrez(1B), C. Benjamin(2B) - K. Rios(SS) - J. Gutierrez(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA S Maryland M.Vasquez (L,4-4) 7.0 9 4 4 2 3 0 5.23 C.Manning 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2.67 8 10 4 4 3 3 0 L Island N.Singleton (W,1-0) 5.0 2 0 0 0 7 0 0.00 J.Lansford 1.0 1 2 2 2 0 0 7.72 J.Lansford 0.2 1 0 0 1 1 0 4.08 J.Hill 1.1 2 1 1 1 1 0 2.78 J.Hunton (S,4) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.70 9 6 3 3 4 9 0 HB--J.Lansford (2). SO--C.Hu, M.Padgett 2, B.Barton, J.Owens 3, K.Rios 2, R.Navarrete, S.Williams 2. BB--M.Daniel, C.Benjamin, M.Padgett, C.Lopez, D.Lyons 2, R.Gorecki. BF--M.Vasquez 31 (380), C.Manning 3 (134), N.Singleton 17 (17), J.Lansford 6 (47), J.Lansford 5 (76), J.Hill 7 (133), J.Hunton 3 (52). P-S--M.Vasquez 106-69, C.Manning 10-4, N.Singleton 67-45, J.Lansford 23-10, J.Lansford 18-12, J.Hill 24-15, J.Hunton 7-5. T--2:44. A--6330 Umpires: Plate Ump - Ronnie Whiting, Field Ump #1 - Hank Himmanen, Field Ump #2 - Mark Facto