(Central Islip, N.Y., June 16, 2012) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 2-1 in front of a past-capacity crowd of 6,579 on Saturday night in the third game of a four-game set at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME VIDEO: Williams’ diving catch, Nelson’s sac fly and the waddle-off wild pitch
The Ducks and Blue Crabs traded zeroes until the top of the fourth when Southern Maryland’s David Espinosa broke the scoreless tie with a RBI triple to right off Ducks starter Bob Zimmermann. Long Island would answer back in the bottom of the seventh with a RBI sac fly from Bryant Nelson, tying the game at one apiece.
The game would stay tied until the bottom of the ninth when James McOwen scored from third on a wild pitch to give the Ducks a 2-1 waddle-off victory.
Neither starter factored into the decision. Zimmermann tossed eight innings, allowing one run on five hits while striking out three, and Matthew Vasquez lasted six innings, yielding one run on five hits with one strikeout. Jon Meloan (4-0) got the win with a scoreless inning of relief, while Chris Mobley (0-1) was saddled with the loss, allowing one run in one and one-third innings.
Ray Navarrete, Matt Esquivel and Brandon Sing paced the Ducks with two hits each.
The Ducks and Blue Crabs wrap up their series on Sunday afternoon. Game time is slated for 1:35 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 12:35. It’s Father’s Day at the ballpark, and dads in attendance will have a chance to win prizes from Plesser’s Appliances and Electronics in the Father’s Day Giveaway. It’s also a Sunday Family Fun Day at the Duck Pond. Prior to the game, fans will be invited onto the field for an autograph session with the Ducks, and after the game, kids (and kids at heart) can take part in Kids Run the Bases, presented by Bethpage Federal Credit Union. Right-hander Mike Loree takes the mound for Long Island against Southern Maryland lefty David Hunter Jones.
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: The waddle-off win was the Ducks’ fourth walk-off victory in 2012 and the third with Shawn Williams at the plate. The 28-year-old hit a walk-off home run on June 7 against the Bridgeport Bluefish and a walk-off single to defeat the Somerset Patriots on May 20…With a RBI sac fly in the seventh, Bryant increased his RBI total to 33, good for second on the Ducks. Ray Navarrete leads the team with 35 runs batted in…With two hits, Ray Navarrete picked up his 18th multi-hit game this season, a team high. He now leads the team with 11 two-hit games and has the team lead with six three-hit contests…The sellout crowd of 6,579 on Saturday night was the Ducks’ fifth past-capacity crowd of the season, and the highest attendance total of the 2012 season. Long Island has now hosted 606 all-time sellouts, the most in Atlantic League history.
GAME DATE: 06/16/2012 Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 1 AT Long Island Ducks 2 YTD YTD S Maryland AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG P.Figueroa SS 4 0 0 0 .280 K.Binick CF 4 0 1 0 .282 C.Hu DH 4 0 0 0 .331 R.Gorecki RF 4 0 0 0 .271 C.Benjamin LF 4 0 1 0 .304 R.Navarrete 2B 4 1 2 0 .339 J.Gutierrez 1B 4 0 0 0 .250 J.McOwen PR 0 1 0 0 .243 M.Padgett 3B 3 1 1 0 .256 M.Esquivel DH 4 0 2 0 .351 M.Daniel RF 3 0 1 0 .262 B.Sing 1B 4 0 2 0 .231 D.Espinosa 2B 3 0 1 1 .225 B.Nelson 3B 3 0 0 1 .224 R.Mercado C 2 0 0 0 .213 S.Williams LF 3 0 0 0 .315 C.Lopez C,PH 1 0 0 0 .265 M.Canham C 3 0 0 0 .167 J.Owens CF 1 0 1 0 .248 D.Lyons SS 3 0 0 0 .280 29 1 5 1 32 2 7 1 S Maryland 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 5 1 L Island 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 - 2 7 1 2B--B.Sing (11). 3B--D.Espinosa (2). RBI--D.Espinosa (12), B.Nelson (33). HP--D.Espinosa (1). SF--B.Nelson (4). SH--R.Mercado (0). SB--K.Binick (13). E--M.Padgett (6), D.Lyons (5). LOB--S Maryland 7, L Island 5. DP--P. Figueroa(SS) - D. Espinosa(2B), D. Lyons(SS) - B. Sing(1B), R. Navarrete(2B) - D. Lyons(SS) - B. Sing(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA S Maryland V.Vasquez 6.0 5 1 0 0 1 0 4.50 R.Barrett 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.40 C.Mobley (L,0-1) 1.1 2 1 1 0 0 0 4.82 C.Manning 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.85 8.2 7 2 1 0 2 0 L Island B.Zimmermann 8.0 5 1 1 4 3 0 3.82 J.Meloan (W,4-0) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.03 9 5 1 1 4 3 0 WP--C.Manning (4). HB--B.Zimmermann (7). SO--J.Gutierrez, M.Padgett, M.Daniel, S.Williams, M.Canham. BB--M.Padgett, M.Daniel, J.Owens 2. BF--V.Vasquez 23 (293), R.Barrett 3 (61), C.Mobley 6 (45), C.Manning (106), B.Zimmermann 32 (287), J.Meloan 3 (110). P-S--V.Vasquez 76-49, R.Barrett 8-5, C.Mobley 21-15, C.Manning 4-1, B.Zimmermann 106-61, J.Meloan 13-9. T--2:34. A--6579 Umpires: Plate Ump - Frank Leparik, Field Ump #1 - Marty Bauer, Field Ump #2 - David Mills