L.I. Ducks: K-Rod Closes Out Flock's Fifth Straight Win

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

First Place Flock Tie Sugar Land 

With Most Second Half Wins

Long Island Ducks: Surging Flock Chewing Through Dog Days of Summer.

Long Island's victory over the Road Warriors on Saturday coupled with Somerset's loss against the Barnstormers now gives the Ducks a 4.5 game lead over the Patriots.

Tylor Ard and David Washington provide all the offense Long Island would need against the Warriors, staking pitcher Matt Larkins to a 2-0 lead in the first.  Washington's 21st home run (2nd in the league) in the third then gives the Ducks a 4-0 lead.

Matt Larkins surrenders two runs on five hits and three walks, with five strikeouts, en route to his seventh victory (7-4) of the season, with a 4.16 ERA.

Closer Francisco Rodriguez pitches a scoreless ninth to earn his 25th save of the season, tying him for second in the league.

The Flock on Sunday will play the first of their final twenty games of the regular season.  However, a gauntlet at the very end of the road awaits them.  The Flock must migrate to Sugar Land where they'll engage the formidable Skeeters in a five game series very capable of swaying any potential success, or Long Island failure.  If Somerset's extended trip earlier this month (Aug. 10-16) to Sugar Land is any indication, things may not go so well.  The Patriots dropped five of seven games to the Freedom Division leading, and first half champs.

Somerset and Long Island do not face each other for the rest of the regular season, effectively turning the Liberty Division race into a respective competition against the pack.  The Flock is trending very well of late.  They're winners of five in a row, they're 16-7 in August to date, and their 28 victories tie them for the second half lead with the Skeeters.  The Patriots, meanwhile, have lagged behind this month with an 11-10 record.