Ducks are champs for first time after another one-run win
Published on September 26, 2004 under Atlantic League (AtL)
Long Island Ducks News Release
An unbelievable season had the best ending possible for the Long Island Ducks, as the team completed a three-game sweep of the Camden Riversharks on Sunday night at Campbell's Field en route to the squad's first-ever Atlantic League Championship.
Camden Broke out on top early, plating three runs on four hits in the top of the first off of Ducks starter Bill Pulsipher (2-0). Ryan Jones, Travis Anderson and Dwight Maness each registered RBI singles off the lefty in the frame.
The score remained 3-0 until the fifth, when Rusty McNamara scalded a shot down the left field line off of Camden starter Lincoln Mikkelsen (1-1) that scored Doug Jennings for the first Long Island run. Matt Garrick followed that with a sac fly to left that plated Jason Johnson, cutting the Camden lead to 3-2. McNamara was not credited with an RBI, as the play was officially ruled an error on Sharks' third baseman Brad Strauss.
In the seventh Long Island took the lead for good, as McNamara drove home Jennings for the tying run and Kevin Baez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Armed with a 4-3 advantage, Pulsipher made sure it stayed that way in the bottom of the frame, finishing off his outing with a 1-6-3 double play on Strauss. The former Met went seven innings and allowed three earned runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out three.
After Long Island went quietly in the top of the eighth, manager Don McCormack called on closer Bill Simas for a six-out save. The appearance was the first for Simas since his six-out save against Nashua in the deciding game of the divisional playoffs and McCormack, along with the hundreds of Flock faithful in attendance, was hoping for more of the same.
Simas didn't disappoint. After setting down the Sharks 1-2-3 in the eighth, he retired the first two batters he faced in the ninth before allowing a single to Chris Wakeland. With two out and the championship on the line, Simas came through just like he did in the August 9th and September 23 clinchers, getting Tony Rodriguez to fly to right for the game's final out.
In a storybook ending to an unbelievable season, original Duck Justin Davies was named the Atlantic League Championship Series MVP. In the series, Davies has two game-winning hits while going 8-for-24 (.333) with a double, a triple, six runs scored and 3 RBI.
Atlantic League Stories from September 26, 2004
- Ducks are champs for first time after another one-run win - Long Island Ducks
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