L.I. Ducks: Potent Quack Attack Too Much For York Revolution

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

SEASON OPENING SERIES

LONG ISLAND DUCKS

vs.

YORK REVOLUTION

Long Island Ducks: Flock open their 20th season of baseball with resounding victory over York Revolution.

Lead-off batter and center fielder Rey Fuentes set the pace going 3 for 5 with a walk, double, a run scored, and four RBI.  Second baseman Steve Lombardozzi was 3 for 4 with two walks, and two RBI.  Meanwhile Matt den Dekker goes 2 for 5 with two RBI playing in his first independent league game with the Ducks.

The visiting Flock jumped out to a one run lead on Steve Lombardozzi one-out triple to right, who with two outs scored when Lew Ford reached safely on an error charged to York shortstop Ryan Dent.  However, Long Island's lead was short lived.  Tabbed with the season opening start, Bennett Parry surrendered a three run home run off the bat of Dent in the bottom of the second. 

That's the way things stayed for both starting pitchers whom each put in five innings of work.  York's Ross Detwiler exited on the winning side of a 3-1 affair after allowing just the one unearned run on three hits, no walks, and four strikeouts.  Long Island's Bennett Parry exited on the hook having surrendered three earned runs on eight hits and two walks with four strikeouts.  But wound up earning the victory as both team's fortunes then changed on a dime in the sixth.  With the game placed in the hands of the respective bullpens, Long Island struck right away for six runs getting RBI hits from Rey Fuentes and Steve Lombardozzi, and a two run home run off the bat of Matt den Dekker.  York helped the Ducks along on third baseman Nate Coronado's throwing error, and a wild pitch unleashed by reliever Julio Perez.

Rey Fuentes plated two more runs with a hit in the eighth.  Then for good measure, the Ducks struck for three more runs in the ninth.  With the bases loaded, York reliever Trevor Reckling issued consecutive walks to Rey Fuentes and Steve Lombardozzi setting up Kirk Nieuwenhuis' hit which plated Long Island's final run of the game giving them a 12-3 final margin of victory.

Ducks relievers Joe Iorio, Jose Cuas, and Tucker Healey, joined together on four scoreless innings, allowing four hits, no walks, and striking out three.