L.I. Ducks: Bring on the Revolution

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

ATLANTIC LEAGUE

CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Wednesday

GAME ONE

York Revolution

vs.

Long Island Ducks

FROM

Bethpage Ballpark

Long Island Ducks: Flock Takes Third Straight From Somerset Patriots; Clinch Second Straight Liberty Division Crown.

The Ducks are heading back to the Atlantic League finals.  

But not before starter John Brownell and the Ducks suffered a disheartening series opening defeat at the Pond.  Game One's 7-1 loss seemed right in line with the rest of Long Island's September malaise. Somerset roughed up Long Island's all-time wins leader for 13 hits and seven runs (four earned) through 5.1 innings of work.  Brownell faced 31 batters during the loss, walking one and fanning four.

His mound opponent Patriots winning pitcher Mark Hamburger frustrated the Ducks for seven innings. The Ducks managed eight hits but fanned ten times overall en route to stranding five runners scoring position.  Right fielder Anthony Vega's RBI single in the 4th inning plated Long Island's lone run of the game.

The Ducks evened the series on Thursday with a 4-1 victory in Game Two.  Starter Matt Larkins struggled with control, but still limited the Patriots to their lone run of the game on four hits through 5.2 innings pitched for the win.  The offense got RBI from second baseman Elmer Reyes and right fielder Lew Ford.  Catcher Alex Burg went 3 for 4, with a home run in the sixth.

On Friday, the Liberty Division showdown shifted to Somerset's TD Bank Ballpark for Game Three.   There, Long Island southpaw Jake Fisher hurled a complete game gem against the Patriots in leading the Ducks to a decisive 2-1 lead in the series.  In facing 33 batters, the 27-year old tossed 115 pitches with 83 (72%) going for strikes, while allowing the first-half champs one-earned run on six hits and a pair of walks, and fanning nine batters for the victory.

Long Island hitters racked up ten hits and five earned runs off losing Somerset starter and former major leaguer Will Oliver.  The Ducks stroked 14 hits overall including a home run from Anthony Vega as they rolled to a 6-1 victory.

In Game Four, the Ducks jumped out to a 3-0 lead on third inning RBI from Anthony Vega and third baseman Giovanny Alfonzo, and DH Angelo Songco's RBI in the top of the sixth.   However, Somerset clawed back, tying the game with an unearned run in the bottom of the frame off Ducks starter Jake Dunning, and a pair of runs charged to reliever James Jones in the bottom of the eighth.

To the dismay of Saturday's very hopeful home crowd at TD Bank Ballpark, Somerset's bullpen unraveled at the absolute wrong time.  The Patriots undoing was set in motion when Ducks lead-off batter Anthony Vega drew a walk, and Dan Lyons was hit by a pitch.  With Alfonzo Giovanny at the plate, Somerset reliever Dustin Antolin unleashed a wild pitch advancing the runners.  Giovanny then bounced into s fielder's choice plating Vega with the go-ahead run.  

Right-hander Amalio Diaz pitched the final 1.1 innings, earning the victory in relief, and closing out the Ducks third straight victory against the regular season first-half champion Somerset Patriots.

• After losing Game One by a 1-7 margin, the Ducks outscored Somerset 14-5 in games Two through Four.

This is Long Island's second straight Liberty Division title.  They will return to the Atlantic League championship series where they'll face the Freedom Division champion York Revolution.

York hosted and won the first two games of the Freedom Division finals.  After a Game Three loss in Southern Maryland, the Revolution clinched a spot in the Atlantic League finals with a 5-1 victory over the Blue Crabs on Saturday.

This is York's third trip, and the Ducks sixth trip, back to the league finals.  In 2011, the York Revolution defeated the Long Island Ducks for their second straight Atlantic League championship. 

But 2011 was also the first of three straight championship series appearances by the Ducks.  Long Island won back-to-back titles during the 2012-2013 season, then lost last season's championship series against the Sugar Land Skeeters.