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Somerset Patriots Playoff Press Newsletter: Liberty Division Series

September 24, 2016 - Atlantic League (AtL) - Somerset Patriots News Release


Somerset Patriots Playoff Press Newsletter: Liberty Division Series Game 4 Preview
Somerset Patriots Playoff Press Newsletter: Liberty Division Series Game 4 Preview
(Somerset Patriots)

Liberty Division Game 3 Recap: Patriots Lead Series 2-1

Bridgewater, NJ - Facing elimination, the Long Island Ducks (1-2, 72-68) topped the Somerset Patriots (2-1, 77-63) 7-1 in Game 3 of the Liberty Division Series at Bethpage Ballpark on Friday evening.

"They came out ready to play and we were a little flat for some reason. I thought [starting pitcher Nick] Struck threw the ball well against us. These are two really good teams going at it and we have to come out ready to play tomorrow," said Somerset Patriots manager Brett Jodie.

Bridgewater, NJ - Somerset Patriots starting pitcher Nik Turley (1-0) struck out 14 batters to lead the Somerset Patriots (2-0, 77-63) to a dominating 10-0 win over the Long Island Ducks (0-2, 72-68) in Game 2 of the Liberty Division Series at TD Bank Ballpark on Thursday evening. The Somerset Patriots lead the best-of-five series 2-0.

"I felt that my fastball was really there. It was my main pitch today so I was able to work off that," Turley said. "I was able to use it to get ahead in the count, and if I was behind, I was able to slip in some breaking balls. Every pitch seemed to be working."

Liberty Division Game 1 Recap: Patriots Lead Series 1-0

Bridgewater, NJ - Scott Kelly hit a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to lead the Somerset Patriots (1-0, 77-63) to a 3-2 win over the Long Island Ducks (0-1, 72-68) in Game 1 of the Liberty Division Series at TD Bank Ballpark on Wednesday evening.

"I'm just trying to get on base," said Kelly, whose second professional home run was tonight's game-winner. "We're going to grind out wins. That's how it is has to be against Long Island. We had great pitching and put up runs early. The home run was just another piece of the puzzle."

Liberty Division Game 4 Pitching Match Up At Long Island

Shaun Garceau

RHP

Record: 3-4

ERA: 4.91

SO: 58

IP: 111.2

Jarret Leverett

RHP

Record: 6-9

ERA: 3.74

SO: 86

IP: 115.2

Players To Watch This Series

Scott Kelly

SS

Kelly is hitting .545 in the LDCS and added a 2-for-3 performance in Game 3. He hit the game-winning walk-off home run in the 11th inning of Game 1 on Wednesday.

Fehlandt Lentini

OF

Lentini is hitting .462 with 6 hits, 2 doubles, and 2 RBI in the LDCS. He played in all 140 games during the regular season and hit .313.

Bryan LaHair

1B

Hit a solo home run in Game 3 of the LDCS in Long Island. Went 2-for-5 with 2 RBI in Game 2 of the series and has 3 RBI overall in the 3 games played so far.

Lew Ford

OF

Ford hit a 2-run home run in Game 3 of the LDCS that put the game out of reach. He has scored 2 runs and has 2 RBI for the series.

Vinny Zarrillo

CF

Zarrillo went 2-for-5 in Game 2 with 2 runs scored and a 2-run double that kicked off a 4-run 5th inning for the Patriots in the 10-0 shutout. He had a hit in the Game 3 loss.

Ruben Gotay

INF

Hitting .364 with 4 hits and an RBI in the three LDCS games. He has also scored a run in the series.

Carlos Guzman

RF

Guzman is hitting .364 in the LDCS and hit the game-tying double in the Game 1 win on Wednesday. Also had a base hit in Friday night's loss in Long Island.

Cody Puckett

INF

He is hitting .333 for the LDCS and has scored 2 runs in the three games played.

How The Teams Got Here

The Somerset Patriots (77-63) clinched their playoff berth by winning the Liberty Division Second Half Championship with a 39-31 record. For the third-straight season, the Somerset Patriots had the best- overall record in the league and will be making their fourth-straight playoff appearance under manager Brett Jodie.

Somerset was second in ERA (3.90), led the league in fielding (.981), and finished third in batting (.272). The team topped the league in runs scored (694), RBI (641), and stolen bases (166). The pitching staff also led the league in strikeouts (1,080) and had the fewest errors (99) for the season.

After a league record start of 13-0, the Somerset Patriots fell short in the first half of the season by just two games. From August 15th on, the Somerset Patriots were either in first place or within 0.5 game of the second half Liberty Division lead.

The Somerset Patriots are looking to defend their Atlantic League Championship title from 2015.

The Long Island Ducks (72-68) clinched a spot in the postseason by winning the Liberty Division First Half Championship with a 40-30 record. The Ducks are led by fifth-year manager Kevin Baez and they are making their second consecutive trip to the post-season. The Ducks were a wild card in 2015 and were eliminated in the first round in a five-game series by Somerset.

The Ducks led the league in ERA (3.87), finished fourth in batting (.270), and were tied for third in fielding (.978). Long Island finished second in strikeouts (1,076).

Having already clinched a playoff spot with the first half win, Long Island finished the second half 32-38, but played well in the final weeks of the season.

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2016 Playoff Schedule

Liberty Division Series:

Game 1: Ducks 2 SOMERSET 3 (11 Innings)- Patriots Lead Series 1-0

Game 2: Ducks 0 SOMERSET 10- Patriots Lead Series 2-0

Game 3: Somerset 1 DUCKS 7- Patriots Lead Series 2-1

Game 4: Saturday, September 24th Somerset Patriots at Long Island Ducks at 6:35 pm (If Necessary)

Game 5: Sunday, September 25th Somerset Patriots at Long Island Ducks at 5:05 pm (If Necessary)

*If The Somerset Patriots Advance To Championship Series:

Atlantic League Championship Series:

Game 1: Wednesday, September 28th Somerset Patriots at York/Sugar Land

Game 2: Thursday, September 29th Somerset Patriots at York/Sugar Land

Game 3: Friday, September 30th York/Sugar Land at Somerset Patriots at 7:05 pm

Game 4: Saturday, October 1st York/Sugar Land at Somerset Patriots at 7:05 pm (If Necessary)

Game 5: Sunday, October 2nd York/Sugar Land at Somerset Patriots at 1:05 pm (If Necessary)

Teams' Playoff History

6 Atlantic League Championships:

2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2015

10 Division Championships:

1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015

17 Half Championships:

1999, 2000 (2x), 2001 (2x), 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 (2x), 2010, 2014 (2x), 2015 (2x), 2016

Wild Card: 2013

Playoff Records:

Overall: 43-31

Division Series: 23-12

Championship Series: 21-19

Elimination Games: 11-6

3 Atlantic League Championship:

2004, 2012, 2013

4 Division Championships:

2006, 2011, 2012, 2013

11 Half Championships:

2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 (2x), 2012, 2013, 2016

Wild Card: 2015

Playoff Records:

Overall: 27-27

Division Series: 17-20

Championship Series: 10-7

Elimination Games: 9-7





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Somerset Patriots Playoff Press Newsletter: Liberty Division Series Game 4 Preview
Somerset Patriots Playoff Press Newsletter: Liberty Division Series Game 4 Preview

  

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