Patriots Come Back to Take Series Finale
August 24, 2014 - Atlantic League (AtL)
Long Island Ducks News Release
(Central Islip, N.Y., August 24, 2014) - The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Somerset Patriots 8-5 on Sunday evening in the finale of a four-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.
Long Island took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on an opposite field two-out, two-run homer from Adam Bailey off Patriots starter Gary Moran. Somerset trimmed the deficit to one in the second on a Corey Smith solo home run off Ducks starter Bobby Blevins.
The Ducks extended their lead back to two in the fourth on a run-scoring throwing error from Moran. The Patriots responded in the fifth with a two-run single from Ty Wright to tie the game at three.
Long Island regained the lead in the bottom of the frame on a solo home run from Lew Ford. However, Somerset plated five runs in the eighth to grab the lead for good at 8-4. Luis Montanez's RBI double, Kevin Kotch's RBI fielder's choice and a three-run home run from Cory Harrilchak provided the damage. The Flock cut the Patriots lead to three in the ninth on a Bailey solo home run, but they would get no closer.
Neither starting pitcher factored into the decision. Blevins yielded three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven over seven innings. Moran allowed four runs over six innings on eight hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Mike DeMark (7-2) earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief despite walking two. Tommy Organ (0-1) took the loss, allowing three runs on two hits in one-third of an inning of relief. Jon Hunton picked up his 41st save of the year by recording the final two outs of the game.
Cody Puckett led the Flock with three hits, while Bailey added two hits, three runs batted in and two runs.
Following a day off on Monday, Long Island hits the road for a three-game series against the Somerset Patriots on Tuesday night. Game time is slated for 7:05 p.m. from TD Bank Ballpark. Right-hander Jared Lansford gets the start for the Ducks against Patriots southpaw Matt Maloney. Fans can follow all the action online, with live streaming audio available on the Ducks official YouTube channel.
The Ducks will return home on Friday, August 29 to kick off a four-game series against the Camden Riversharks. 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 Ducks Water Bottles, courtesy of the Alzheimer's Foundation of America. Tickets for the game and every Ducks regular season home game are now on sale. Fans can purchase their tickets by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark box office, calling 631-940-TIXX.
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Duck Tales: With two home runs on Sunday, Adam Bailey leads the team and ranks third in the Atlantic League with 17 homers this season. It was Bailey's first multi-home run game of the year. In addition, he picked up his 22nd two-hit game and 33rd multi-hit contest of the year. Bailey also drove in three runs on the night for his team-leading fifth three-RBI game and 20th multi-RBI game overall this season...Lew Ford extended his hitting streak to 10 consecutive games with a home run on Sunday. During the streak, he is batting .400 (16-for-40) with one home run, six doubles, nine RBI and 11 runs scored. Ford has scored a run in seven of the 10 games and has reached base safely in 13 of his last 14 games. The former big leaguer is now tied for third in the Atlantic League with 77 RBI (Eric Patterson, York)...With three hits on Sunday, Cody Puckett has now hit safely in 11 straight games. During the 11 games, the first-year Duck is batting .438 (21-for-48) with two doubles, one triple, one homer, 12 RBI and four runs scored. In addition, the three-hit game marked Puckett's 12th three-hit game and 37th multi-hit game of the season...With a single on Sunday, Evan Crawford has now hit safely in 10 of his first 11 games with the Ducks while reaching base safely in all 11. The 26 year-old is batting .421 (16-for-38) through the 11 games with two doubles, three runs batted in, seven runs scored and five stolen bases...With seven innings of three-run ball, Bobby Blevins has now tossed 10 consecutive quality starts. In his 10 straight quality starts, Blevins is 4-0 with a 1.55 ERA, allowing just 14 earned runs in 81 and one-thirds innings of work. In that span, he has yielded 67 hits and just nine walks while striking out 39. Blevins has not walked a single batter in six of those 10 starts and has walked just four in his last 56 and two-third innings.
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Atlantic League Stories from August 24, 2014
- Carroll Leads Barnstormers To Sweep Completion - Lancaster Stormers
- Patriots Come Back to Take Series Finale - Long Island Ducks
- Five-Run 6th Spurns Blue Crabs - Southern Maryland Blue Crabs
- Patriots Clinch Series with 8-5 Win over Ducks - Somerset Patriots
- Sugar Lands Falls to Southern Maryland in Series Finale - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- Where There's A Williamson, There's A Way - York Revolution
- Hernandez Deals in Crabs' Win - Southern Maryland Blue Crabs
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