SAL1 Jersey Shore BlueClaws

Duffy Caps Comeback Win in Howard's Rehab Start

Published on June 28, 2012 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Jersey Shore BlueClaws News Release


LAKEWOOD, N.J. - Ryan Howard was in the BlueClaws lineup Thursday night making his first rehab appearance from an Achilles injury suffered last October, however it was another hulking left-hander who provided the heroics for the BlueClaws in their 7-6 walk-off victory over the West Virginia Power.

Chris Duffy, whose hitting streak was extended to 14 games with a home run in the 8th inning that made the game 6-4, stepped to the plate in the 9th inning with two outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd base with the BlueClaws trailing 6-5.

A ringing single to right-center field scored Kyrell Hudson from 3rd and Kelly Dugan standing up from 2nd base to give the BlueClaws their third walk-off win of the season.

Howard, who played for Lakewood in 2002, went 2-for-4 with a sacrifice fly to left field in the 9th with the bases loaded and one out. Off the bat, it looked like the ball had a chance to be a game-winning grand slam, but West Virginia's left fielder Taylor Lewis stumbled under it on the warning track for an adventurous second out which set the stage for Duffy's heroics.

"It felt good," said Howard of getting back into live baseball action. "Being in my first game this year where it counts for something was big. It was fun to be part of it and get back into game-on-the line situations. And from there I let Big Duff take care of the rest."

Howard was also optimistic with how the running of the basepaths went in his first game back. "This is my first real baserunning this season," said Howard. "I did some mock situations down in Florida [in extended spring training], but this was it."

"The running portion was the biggest thing tonight, and running back to first and going into the bag with a pop-up slide with all that adrenaline flowing, my instincts just took over," Howard said. "We'll see how it feels tomorrow, but right now it feels great."

The return to the place where his first full professional season started was not lost on Howard either.

"It's always good coming to Lakewood," he said. "The fans are great and I always loved coming here because the atmosphere is so great. And then it kind of hit me when I was talking to the guys that my career started here ten whole years ago."

The victory for the BlueClaws was their first this season in which they trailed after eight innings. They were 0-42 when trailing through 8 innings prior to Thursday's win.

The BlueClaws and Hagerstown will play the first game of a five-game series. Game 1 of the series will kick off the back end of a season-long nine-game homestand at FirstEnergy Park. Lakewood will send Ethan Stewart (4-6, 3.46) to the mound against West Virginia's Ryan Hafner (6-4, 3.51).

It was reported by the Philadelphia Phillies that Ryan Howard will play in Friday's game and start at first base for the BlueClaws.

Tickets for that game and all games this weekend are going fast; call 732-901-7000 option 2 or go to http://www.blueclaws.com/tickets to get tickets while they're still available.

First pitch for Friday's game is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Listen to all the action on WOBM 1160-AM and WOBM 1310-AM beginning at 6:50 p.m. with the BlueClaws Beat pre-game show.

Check out the Jersey Shore BlueClaws Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



South Atlantic League Stories from June 28, 2012


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central