AtL Long Island Ducks

Ducks Ink Six

Published on February 28, 2008 under Atlantic League (AtL)
Long Island Ducks News Release


(Central Islip, N.Y.) - The Long Island Ducks today announced their first player signings for the 2008 season. Returning to the club are outfielders and Long Island natives Kevin Haverbusch and Estee Harris, catcher Jamie Pogue and pitcher Ben Grezlovski. The Ducks also signed two other Long Islanders in veteran righthanded pitcher Jon Searles and 22-year-old infielder Dennis Donovan.

Haverbusch returns for his third season with the Ducks. The Rockville Centre native batted .274 for Long Island in 2007, collecting 12 home runs and 61 RBI. He'll be reunited in the Citibank Park outfield with Central Islip native Harris, who played in 40 games for Long Island last year, hitting .267 with five homers and 18 RBI. The former Yankees second round draft pick also clubbed six homers and drove in 27 runs last year in 53 games with the Road Warriors.

Pogue returns as the Ducks backstop in 2008, his third season with the club. The Canadian has played in the Atlantic League the past four years, spending one season each with Nashua and Bridgeport. Pogue started 75 games behind the plate for the Ducks in 2007, establishing himself as one of the league's elite defensive catchers with just three errors and a .993 fielding percentage. The submarine-hurling Grezlovski rejoins the team following an impressive '07 campaign in which he compiled a 7-2 record with a 3.39 ERA, and finished second in the league with 58 appearances.

Searles has spent the last four seasons in Double-A. In 2007, he posted a 4-3 record and a 3.62 ERA for San Antonio (AA, Padres) of the Texas League. He allowed just 59 hits in 69.2 innings, and appeared in 38 games, all but one of them in relief. The righthander owns a 39-32 career record over nine minor league seasons, along with a 3.99 lifetime ERA. The Huntington native was first selected by the Pirates in the eighth round of the 1999 draft.

Donovan made his professional debut last season with the Royals of the Arizona League, tagging 10 doubles in 46 games. The Center Moriches native played his collegiate ball at the University of Connecticut, where he posted a career .311 batting average, before signing with the Kansas City organization last summer.

The Long Island Ducks play their home games at Citibank Park, and are entering their ninth season in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Season ticket packages for 2008 are currently available. For further information, visit www.liducks.com, or call (631) 940-3825.

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