(Central Islip, N.Y., July 4, 2012) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 12-9 on Wednesday night before a past-capacity crowd of 7,206 at Bethpage Ballpark.

The Blue Crabs jumped in front on a two-run home run by Casey Benjamin off Ducks starter Mike Loree in the top of the first. Dan Lyons tied the game with a two-out, two-run double down the right field line in the second off Blue Crabs starter Dan Reichert.

Southern Maryland grabbed the lead back on back-to-back RBI hits from Jesse Gutierrez and Matt Padgett and a RBI sac fly off the bat of Kevin Rios in the third. Six more runs in the top of the fourth, highlighted by a Benjamin three-run homer and a two-run single by Kevin Rios increased the lead to 11-2.

Long Island would rally back with six runs of their own in the fifth to cut the deficit to three. Run-scoring doubles by Ray Navarrete and Reid Gorecki, a run-scoring passed ball and RBI singles by Mitch Canham, Josh Johnson and Kraig Binick did the damage. However, a run in the top of the sixth for Southern Maryland increased the lead to 12-8 and put the game out of reach.

Reichert (6-3) picked up the win despite allowing eight runs on nine hits while striking out five in five innings. Loree (4-4) was saddled with the loss, allowing nine runs on 10 hits in three and one-third innings of work. Jim Ed Warden earned his seventh save with a scoreless ninth.

Binick and Lyons paced the Flock with three hits and two RBI apiece.

The Ducks hit the road to wrap up the first half against the Lancaster Barnstormers with the opener of a four-game set on Thursday. Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m., at Clipper Magazine Stadium. Fans can follow the action live online at LIDucks.com by clicking the Listen Live icon on the homepage. Streaming audio will be available courtesy of iBN, the Internet Broadcast Network. Right-hander Jason Monti will take the mound for the Ducks against Lancaster righty J.D. Durbin.

Long Island returns home on Thursday, July 16 as they host the Somerset Patriots in the opener of a four-game set. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 6:05. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive Foam Fingers, courtesy of People’s Alliance Federal Credit Union. Tickets for the game and all Ducks home games are available by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark Box Office, calling (631) 940-TIXX, or visiting www.liducks.com.

Duck Tales: With a RBI double, Ray Navarrete hit collected his 46th RBI and 26th double on the year, both of which are team-leading totals. Navarette leads the league in doubles and is in second in runs batted in…With a two-out, two-run double, Dan Lyons increased his RBI count to 10 with runners in scoring position and two outs. Coming into tonight’s game, Lyons was batting .362 with runners in scoring position and .357 with runners in scoring position and two outs…Lyons and Kraig Binick both had three hits on the night. Lyons picked up his fourth three-hit game, his first since June 15 against the Blue Crabs, while Binick earned his third three-hit game. Lyons now has 16 multi-hit games this season while Binick has 17…The crowd of 7,206 was the largest of the season and the fifth largest crowd in franchise history. The Ducks have hosted nine past-capacity crowds at the Duck Pond in 2012. Long Island has welcomed past-capacity crowds in six of their last ten home games and drawn 5,500 or more fans in each of the last 11 games at Bethpage Ballpark.

 GAME DATE: 07/04/2012 Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 12 AT Long Island Ducks 9 YTD YTD S Maryland AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG M.Daniel RF 5 0 0 0 .274 K.Binick LF 5 1 3 2 .279 C.Hu DH 5 2 3 0 .296 J.McOwen RF 4 0 0 0 .239 C.Benjamin 2B 5 3 3 5 .291 R.Navarrete 2B 4 1 1 1 .324 J.Gutierrez 1B 4 2 1 1 .287 B.Nelson 3B 5 1 1 0 .263 M.Padgett 3B 5 3 3 1 .266 S.Williams 1B 4 1 0 0 .271 B.Barton LF 5 1 4 0 .306 R.Gorecki CF 4 2 1 1 .260 K.Rios SS 4 0 2 4 .211 M.Canham DH 3 2 1 1 .216 C.Lopez C 4 0 0 0 .229 D.Lyons SS 4 1 3 2 .282 R.Giannotti CF 4 1 1 0 .211 J.Johnson C 5 0 1 1 .199 41 12 17 11 38 9 11 8 S Maryland 2 0 3 6 0 1 0 0 0 - 12 17 0 L Island 0 2 0 0 6 0 1 0 0 - 9 11 1 2B--C.Benjamin (11), M.Padgett (15), B.Barton (11), R.Giannotti (9), K.Binick (10), R.Navarrete (26), R.Gorecki (9), D.Lyons (5). HR--C.Benjamin 2 (7). RBI--C.Benjamin 5 (32), J.Gutierrez (13), M.Padgett (35), K.Rios 4 (6), K.Binick 2 (17), R.Navarrete (46), R.Gorecki (25), M.Canham (4), D.Lyons 2 (35), J.Johnson (11). HP--M.Daniel (6), J.Gutierrez (2). SF--K.Rios (2). SB--M.Daniel (9), M.Padgett (1), B.Barton 2 (10). CS--B.Barton (6), C.Lopez (4). E--S.Williams (3). LOB--S Maryland 9, L Island 10. DP--D. Lyons(SS) - S. Williams(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA S Maryland D.Reichert (W,6-3) 5.0 9 8 8 5 5 0 3.60 J.Baker 1.1 0 1 1 3 1 0 4.77 C.Mobley 1.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.75 J.Warden (S,7) 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 8.64 9 11 9 9 8 6 0 L Island M.Loree (L,4-4) 3.1 10 9 9 3 3 2 5.80 E.Niesen 1.2 3 2 1 0 2 0 4.50 J.Lansford 1.0 2 1 1 0 2 0 7.84 C.Graham 2.0 1 0 0 1 3 0 3.45 J.Lansford 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.86 9 17 12 11 4 11 2 PB--C.Lopez. HB--M.Loree (6), C.Graham (4). SO--M.Daniel, C.Benjamin, J.Gutierrez, M.Padgett, K.Rios 2, C.Lopez 2, R.Giannotti 3, K.Binick, S.Williams, R.Gorecki 2, D.Lyons, J.Johnson. BB--C.Hu, C.Benjamin, C.Lopez, R.Giannotti, K.Binick, J.McOwen, R.Navarrete, S.Williams, R.Gorecki, M.Canham 2, D.Lyons. BF--D.Reichert 29 (375), J.Baker 7 (51), C.Mobley 6 (81), J.Warden 4 (125), M.Loree 22 (314), E.Niesen 9 (139), J.Lansford 5 (52), C.Graham 8 (127), J.Lansford 4 (80). P-S--D.Reichert 103-60, J.Baker 31-14, C.Mobley 12-9, J.Warden 12-8, M.Loree 75-43, E.Niesen 40-23, J.Lansford 20-13, C.Graham 34-18, J.Lansford 20-11. T--3:49. A--7206 Umpires: Plate Ump - Mark Facto, Field Ump #1 - Ronnie Whiting, Field Ump #2 - Hank Himmanen