AtL Sugar Land Space Cowboys

Skeeters Lose Finale to Long Island, 7-3

Published on August 8, 2015 under Atlantic League (AtL)
Sugar Land Space Cowboys News Release


SUGAR LAND, Texas - The Sugar Land Skeeters were unable to keep pace with the Long Island Ducks, losing a 7-3 decision in front of 6,347 Jedi Knights at Constellation Field on Star Wars night at the ballpark. Long Island pitching retired 24 of the final 26 batters. The setback is the third-straight by the Skeeters and drops their record to 11-17 in the second half and 47-51 overall.

Josh Geer continued his post-All-Star break struggles, taking the loss. The former member of the San Diego Padres went 5.0 innings, giving up six runs on eight hits with a season-high four walks and five strikeouts. It was his third loss since the mid-Summer Classic.

Long Island hit its third solo home run in the last two games to take an early lead on the Skeeters. Delta Cleary, Jr., lifted Geer's 0-1 offering into the bullpen in right to put the Ducks up early 1-0.

The Skeeters utilized a long ball of its own to capture their first lead of the game. Following a Delwyn Young single through the left-side of the infield, Daryle Ward launched a mammoth of a home run to right staking a 2-1 lead for Sugar Land. The home run was Ward's second of the season and first with the Skeeters. Of his two home runs, both have come at Constellation Field.

The Ducks regained the early lead with a big inning in the top of the second. Steve McQuail doubled off the wall in left with one out and Carlos Hughes followed with a walk. A wild pitch allowed both runners to move into scoring position, but Geer punched out Fehlandt Lentini for the second out. After an intentional walk to Cleary, Dan Lyons poked a single into shallow right-center that scored a pair before Cody Puckett notched a two-run single into left, increasing the lead to 5-2.

Sugar Land chipped into the lead in the bottom of the inning. Johan Limonta singled on a slow-roller up the middle and Kevin Russo pulled a high-chopper down the left-field line to plate Limonta and narrow the deficit to 5-3.

Long Island increased the lead in the top of the fifth. Puckett singled down the right-field line to lead off the inning and moved up to second on a walk to Bryan Sabatella. Geer induced a 6-4-3 double play, but Jon Griffin singled up the middle to score Puckett from third and boost the lead to 6-3.

Andrew Johnston, Tim Gustafson, and Dan Runzler all worked 1-2-3 frames from the sixth to the top of the ninth to keep the Ducks off the scoreboard. The Ducks added an insurance run in the ninth on a one-out double from Cleary to claim a 7-3 advantage.

Sugar Land opened the top of the ninth with a single, but a double play and a flyout silenced the threat.

The Skeeters hit the road tomorrow for an eight-game road trip, beginning with a four-game set against Somerset. First pitch with the Patriots is slated for 4:05 p.m. Listen live to all the action on the road at SugarLandSkeeters.com. Season tickets and special game plans are still available for the 2015 campaign. Sign up today by calling the box office at 281-240-4487 to join the swarm.

Visit SugarLandSkeeters.com and follow @SL_Skeeters on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for all the latest news on the team.

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Atlantic League Stories from August 8, 2015


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