(Central Islip, N.Y., July 21, 2012) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Sugar Land Skeeters 2-0 on Saturday night in front of a past-capacity crowd of 6,407 at Bethpage Ballpark.

GAME VIDEO: Mike Loree strikes out the side twice and finishes with 10 K’s

POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez and Loree talk about the hard luck loss

The Skeeters would strike first on a solo home run to left field by Josh Pressley off Ducks starter Mike Loree in the top of the fourth. Another run in the top of the seventh on a double to left by Bubba Bell rounded out the scoring.

Skeeters starter Scott Kazmir tossed four innings, surrendering only three hits and striking out one, but he did not factor into the decision. Pedro Liriano (4-3) picked up the win, tossing two and two-thirds scoreless innings of relief, allowing two walks and striking out three. Loree (4-5) was saddled with the loss despite pitching six strong innings allowing only one run on seven hits while striking out 10. Jeff Farnsworth picked up his first save of the season with a scoreless ninth.

Ray Navarrete, Brandon Sing and Josh Johnson each had a hit for the Ducks.

The Ducks and Skeeters play the rubber game of a three-game set on Sunday evening. Game time is slated for 5:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 4:05. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive a Yellow and Navy Baseball, courtesy of Yellow Dog Lawn Care. It’s also a Sunday Family Fun Day at the ballpark! Prior to the game, fan will be invited onto the field for an autograph session with the Ducks. Then after the game, kids (and kids at heart) can take part in Kids Run the Bases, presented by Bethpage Federal Credit Union. Righty Chris Flinn will make his season debut for the Ducks against Skeeters right-hander Michael Nix.

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 on the radio at MyCountry 96.1 FM and 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.

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Duck Tales: With 10 strikeouts, Mike Loree picked up his highest total of the season. His previous high was six, done three different times. The second-year Duck set a team record with 131 strikeouts in 2011, including a franchise-best 14 against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs on September 15. The pitching staff also set a season-high with 14 strikeouts in the victory. Ducks starters have now struck out eight or more batters in four consecutive games and have combined for 39 total strikeouts in 30 innings pitched…Tonight’s crowd of 6,407 was the 10th past-capacity crowd at Bethpage Ballpark this season. Long Island has hosted four sellouts during the month of July…With a 2-0 final score, 10 of the 12 games played between the Ducks and Skeeters this season have been decided by two runs or less. Seven of those 10 have been one-run games, with Long Island posting a 5-2 record in those seven contests…Tonight was the first time the Ducks have been shut out at home in the 40 games played at Bethpage Ballpark this year. The last time the Ducks did not score a run at home was August 30, 2011 in game one of a doubleheader against the Somerset Patriots.

 GAME DATE: 07/21/2012 Sugar Land Skeeters 2 AT Long Island Ducks 0 YTD YTD Sugar Land AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG D.Ramos 2B 4 0 0 0 .257 R.Gorecki CF 4 0 0 0 .260 O.Castro 3B 4 0 1 0 .299 J.McOwen CF 0 0 0 0 .248 B.Bell CF 4 0 2 1 .298 T.Perez RF 4 0 0 0 .175 J.Lane DH 4 0 1 0 .324 R.Navarrete DH 4 0 1 0 .309 J.Pressley 1B 4 1 2 1 .275 B.Sing 1B 4 0 1 0 .277 A.Bates LF 4 0 0 0 .267 B.Nelson 3B 4 0 0 0 .252 S.Moss RF 4 0 1 0 .231 S.Williams 2B 3 0 0 0 .284 A.Zazueta SS 4 0 0 0 .105 K.Binick LF 3 0 0 0 .268 O.Martinez C 3 1 1 0 .281 D.Lyons SS 1 0 0 0 .275 J.Johnson C 2 0 1 0 .197 M.Canham C,PH 1 0 0 0 .218 35 2 8 2 30 0 3 0 Sugar Land 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 - 2 8 1 L Island 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 0 2B--B.Bell 2 (23). HR--J.Pressley (9). RBI--B.Bell (26), J.Pressley (42). HP--S.Williams (4). SB--K.Binick (17), D.Lyons (8). E--A.Zazueta (3). LOB--Sugar Land 8, L Island 7. DP--D. Ramos(2B) - A. Zazueta(SS) - J. Pressley(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Sugar Land S.Kazmir 4.0 3 0 0 0 1 0 12.00 P.Liriano (W,4-3) 2.2 0 0 0 2 3 0 2.06 G.Parcell 1.1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1.42 J.Farnsworth (S,1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.93 9 3 0 0 3 6 0 L Island M.Loree (L,4-5) 6.0 7 1 1 0 10 1 5.44 A.Benitez 1.0 1 1 1 2 2 0 10.03 E.Niesen 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.00 C.Graham 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.71 9 8 2 2 2 14 1 HB--J.Farnsworth (2). SO--D.Ramos 3, O.Castro 3, B.Bell 2, J.Lane 2, A.Bates, S.Moss, O.Martinez 2, R.Navarrete, B.Sing, B.Nelson, S.Williams 2, J.Johnson. BB--D.Ramos, O.Martinez, K.Binick, D.Lyons 2. BF--S.Kazmir 15 (32), P.Liriano 10 (206), G.Parcell 5 (50), J.Farnsworth 4 (19), M.Loree 25 (366), A.Benitez 6 (63), E.Niesen 3 (163), C.Graham 3 (154). P-S--S.Kazmir 64-41, P.Liriano 52-29, G.Parcell 25-15, J.Farnsworth 13-8, M.Loree 111-72, A.Benitez 37-24, E.Niesen 5-3, C.Graham 14-11. T--3:24. A--6407 Reid Gorecki was ejected in the bottom of the eighth by HP umpire Marty Bauer Umpires: Plate Ump - Marty Bauer, Field Ump #1 - David Mills, Field Ump #2 - Ronnie Whiting