(Central Islip, N.Y., June 14, 2012) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 9-1 on Thursday night in the first game of a four-game set at Bethpage Ballpark.

GAME VIDEO: Reid Gorecki’s running catch in center and Dan Lyons’ RBI single

POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez and Lyons talk about the series opener

The Blue Crabs struck first with a pair of two-run home runs by Chin-Lung Hu and Matt Padgett off Ducks starter Dan Meyer in the top of the first. Both teams would trade zeroes until the bottom of the fifth when Dan Lyons lined a RBI single to center off Southern Maryland starter Deinys Suarez.

In the sixth, the Blue Crabs extended their lead to 6-1 with another two-run home run, this time off the bat of Jeremy Owens. Three more runs in the top of the eighth inning for Southern Maryland rounded out the scoring.

Suarez (3-2) picked up the win, tossing eight innings, allowing only one unearned run on four hits while striking out four. Meyer (1-3) suffered the loss, surrendering four runs on six hits and three walks in three innings of work.

The Ducks and Blue Crabs continue their four-game set on Friday night. Game time is slated for 7:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 6:05. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will take home a Property of LI Ducks T-Shirt, courtesy of Petro. The Ducks will also be running their Friday Night Pizza Hut K-Man promotion. If the Pizza Hut K-Man strikes out during the game, fans can redeem their game ticket for free breadsticks at a participating Pizza Hut location. Lefty Gustavo Chacin takes the mound for Long Island against Southern Maryland righty Nick Green.

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. Fans unable to attend 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 available courtesy of iBN, the Internet Broadcast Network.

Duck Tales: Dan Lyons’ RBI single gave him five RBI and nine hits in his last five games. Lyons is fourth on the team with 28 RBI behind Ray Navarrete (35), Brandon Sing (30) and Bryant Nelson (30)…Mitch Canham made his Ducks debut and picked up a single in his first at-bat. Canham was signed by the Ducks on April 4 but was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals organization on April 16 and began the season with Triple-A Memphis.

 GAME DATE: 06/14/2012 Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 9 AT Long Island Ducks 1 YTD YTD S Maryland AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG P.Figueroa SS 3 2 2 0 .292 K.Binick DH 3 0 0 0 .287 C.Hu 2B 5 2 3 2 .354 R.Gorecki CF 4 0 1 0 .283 C.Benjamin LF 5 1 2 1 .312 R.Navarrete 2B 4 0 0 0 .326 J.Gutierrez 1B 5 0 2 1 .250 B.Sing 1B 4 0 0 0 .229 B.Barton DH 5 0 2 0 .293 B.Nelson 3B 3 0 0 0 .226 M.Padgett 3B 4 2 1 2 .253 S.Williams RF 2 0 0 0 .324 C.Lopez C 3 1 2 0 .274 J.McOwen LF 2 1 1 0 .250 M.Daniel RF 5 0 0 0 .261 D.Lyons SS 3 0 1 1 .273 J.Owens CF 3 1 1 3 .243 M.Canham C 3 0 1 0 .333 38 9 15 9 28 1 4 1 S Maryland 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 - 9 15 2 L Island 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 1 4 0 2B--C.Benjamin (8), J.Gutierrez (2), C.Lopez (8). HR--C.Hu (2), M.Padgett (3), J.Owens (7). RBI--C.Hu 2 (15), C.Benjamin (21), J.Gutierrez (2), M.Padgett 2 (24), J.Owens 3 (24), D.Lyons (28). SF--J.Owens (1). SH--C.Lopez (0). SB--C.Lopez (5). E--P.Figueroa (10), J.Gutierrez (1). LOB--S Maryland 9, L Island 3. DP--J. Gutierrez(1B) - P. Figueroa(SS), R. Navarrete(2B) - D. Lyons(SS) - B. Sing(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA S Maryland D.Suarez (W,3-2) 8.0 4 1 0 2 4 0 2.57 J.Warden 1.0 0 0 0 1 2 0 10.24 9 4 1 0 3 6 0 L Island D.Meyer (L,1-3) 3.0 6 4 4 3 0 2 4.37 J.Monti 4.0 3 2 2 2 4 1 4.26 A.Benitez 1.0 5 3 3 0 1 0 17.18 J.Lansford 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.50 9 15 9 9 5 6 3 SO--J.Gutierrez, B.Barton 2, M.Daniel, J.Owens 2, K.Binick, R.Gorecki 3, B.Sing, M.Canham. BB--P.Figueroa 2, M.Padgett, C.Lopez, J.Owens, K.Binick, S.Williams, J.McOwen. BF--D.Suarez 27 (169), J.Warden 4 (100), D.Meyer 17 (109), J.Monti 16 (191), A.Benitez 8 (24), J.Lansford 4 (45). P-S--D.Suarez 100-64, J.Warden 17-11, D.Meyer 64-35, J.Monti 65-38, A.Benitez 25-14, J.Lansford 15-10. T--2:47. A--5568 Umpires: Plate Ump - Marty Bauer, Field Ump #1 - David Mills, Field Ump #2 - Frank Leparik