Long Island cannot overcome early three-run deficit
(Central Islip, N.Y., Aug. 1, 2015) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Bridgeport Bluefish 3-2 on Saturday night in the second game of a four-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the pitcher’s duel
POSTGAME VIDEO: Kevin Baez and Dan Lyons talk about the game
Welington Dotel put the Bluefish on top 1-0 with a first inning solo home run to right field off of Ducks starter Bobby Blevins. Two-out RBI doubles from Brandon Jones in the fifth and John Alonso in the sixth increased the lead to three.
Long Island closed the gap to 3-2 in the eighth on sacrifice flies from Delta Cleary, Jr. and Bryan Sabatella. However, they could not pull even.
Bluefish starter Robert Carson (2-0) earned the win, tossing five scoreless innings, allowing just six hits and one walk while striking out five. Blevins (1-3) suffered the loss, yielding three runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out six over seven innings. Patrick Mincey collected his 20th save with a perfect ninth inning.
Dan Lyons led the Flock with three hits, while Cody Puckett added two.
The Ducks continue their four-game series with the cross-sound rival Bluefish on Sunday evening. Game time is slated for 5:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 4:05 (3:50 for full season ticket holders). The first 1,500 fans through the gates will take home an Elizabeth Hashagen Bobblehead, courtesy of News 12 Long Island. The Emmy Award-winning anchor will be at the ballpark to throw out the ceremonial first pitch, sign autographs and pose for pictures with fans. It will also be a Sunday Family Funday! Prior to the game, fans will be invited onto the field for an autograph session with the Ducks from 4:20 to 4:35 p.m. After the game, kids and kids at heart can take part in Kids Run the Bases, presented by Bethpage Federal Credit Union. Left-hander Rich Hill makes his debut on the mound for the Ducks against Bluefish southpaw Matt Iannazzo.
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 live on the Ducks’ official YouTube channel. Streaming video and audio will be available online by CLICKING HERE.
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Duck Tales: Despite the loss, Bobby Blevins continued to pitch well against the Bluefish in his Ducks career. The right-hander has now made five starts against Bridgeport, compiling a 2.60 ERA. In 34 and two-thirds innings of work, he has allowed 10 runs on 37 hits and just four walks while striking out 32. Saturday was his first start against the Bluefish at Bethpage Ballpark…Ducks pitchers combined to strike out nine more Bluefish batters in the game and have now struck out 18 batters in the series. Bobby Blevins struck out six, while Frank DeJiulio, Jr. added two and J.C. Romero collected one. As a pitching staff, the Ducks have struck out a league-high 738 batters in 2015. That’s 74 more than any other team in the Atlantic League (Lancaster, 664)…Dan Lyons collected three hits to pace the Ducks’ offense. He is now tied with Delta Cleary, Jr. and Reegie Corona for the most three-hit games on the Ducks this year with seven. The shortstop has now earned 18 multi-hit games in 2015…Saturday’s crowd of 7,102 was the second-largest crowd of the season, trailing only the crowd of 7,443 on July 4. It was also the Ducks’ eighth sold out crowd of the season and 647th sellout all-time, which is an Atlantic League record. Since the inaugural 2000 season, a total of 6,524,761 fans have come through the gates of Bethpage Ballpark, also a league record. The Flock lead the Atlantic League in average attendance this season at 5,198, which is 28 more than Somerset.
Game Date: 08/01/2015 Bridgeport Bluefish 3 AT Long Island Ducks 2 YTD YTD Bridgeport AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG J.Prince SS 5 0 0 0 .278 F.Lentini RF 3 1 1 0 .400 B.Nelson 2B 5 0 0 0 .333 D.Lyons SS 4 1 3 0 .301 W.Dotel RF 4 2 3 1 .327 D.Cleary Jr. CF 3 0 1 1 .285 J.Alonso DH 4 0 1 1 .269 B.Sabatella LF 3 0 0 1 .288 J.Morales C 4 0 0 0 .243 C.Puckett 3B 4 0 2 0 .271 S.Burroughs 1B 2 1 0 0 .325 M.Blanke C 4 0 1 0 .301 W.Batista 3B 3 0 1 0 .224 J.Griffin 1B 4 0 0 0 .232 B.Jones LF 4 0 3 1 .246 S.McQuail DH 2 0 0 0 .180 E.Chapman CF 4 0 1 0 .241 B.Davis 2B 4 0 1 0 .230 35 3 9 3 31 2 9 2 Bridgeport 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 - 3 9 0 L Island 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 - 2 9 0 2B--W.Dotel 2 (16), J.Alonso (23), B.Jones (5), D.Lyons 2 (16), M.Blanke (9). HR--W.Dotel (6). RBI--W.Dotel (41), J.Alonso (46), B.Jones (28), D.Cleary Jr. (25), B.Sabatella (34). SF--D.Cleary Jr. (5), B.Sabatella (3). SB--S.Burroughs (2). CS--B.Jones (3). LOB--Bridgeport 8, L Island 7. DP--W. Dotel(RF) - J. Prince(SS), B. Nelson(2B) - S. Burroughs(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Bridgeport R.Carson (W,2-0) 5.0 6 0 0 1 5 0 2.25 S.Gervacio 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.38 E.Niesen 1.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 3.69 S.Ames 0.2 2 2 2 1 0 0 4.26 E.Draxton 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.15 P.Mincey (S,20) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.78 9 9 2 2 3 10 0 L Island B.Blevins (L,1-3) 7.0 8 3 3 1 6 1 4.91 F.DeJiulio Jr. 0.2 1 0 0 0 2 0 2.31 P.Crider 0.1 0 0 0 2 0 0 3.11 J.Romero 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.54 9 9 3 3 3 9 1 WP--P.Crider (3). SO--J.Prince 2, W.Dotel, J.Alonso 2, J.Morales 2, S.Burroughs 2, D.Cleary Jr., B.Sabatella 2, M.Blanke, J.Griffin 4, B.Davis 2. BB--S.Burroughs 2, W.Batista, F.Lentini, S.McQuail 2. BF--R.Carson 19 (102), S.Gervacio 3 (145), E.Niesen 5 (92), S.Ames 5 (57), E.Draxton (156), P.Mincey 3 (142), B.Blevins 29 (164), F.DeJiulio Jr. 3 (120), P.Crider 3 (155), J.Romero 3 (49). P-S--R.Carson 68-49, S.Gervacio 9-7, E.Niesen 26-13, S.Ames 19-11, E.Draxton 4-3, P.Mincey 13-7, B.Blevins 113-70, F.DeJiulio Jr. 11-9, P.Crider 11-4, J.Romero 8-6. T--2:48. A--7102 Plate Umpire - Richard Katz, Field Umpire #1 - James Grillo, Field Umpire #2 - Frank Iurilli