ATLANTIC LEAGUE
NORTH DIVISION PLAYOFF
vs.
The still defending Atlantic League champion Long Island Ducks set out defending their title on Monday against the Southern Mayland Blue Crabs in the first game of the North Division playoff series at the Pond.Long Island won their fourth-ever Atlantic League championship in 2019, but then, of course, last season was canceled due to COVID. The Ducks captured the North Division first-half flag this season with a 37-23 record, six games ahead of second-place Southern Maryland. The second-half flag was more tightly contested and decided in the season's final weekend, with the Blue Crabs edging out the Ducks by one game.The Ducks finished the regular season with a league-best 68-52 overall record, while Southern Maryland finished with a 63-57 record.
Ducks Defeat Southern Maryland Blue Crabs to Clinch North Division Flag; Long Island To Face Lexington Legends in Championship Series
Game Three at Southern Maryland features Blue Crab right-hander Daryl Thompson, who led the Atlantic League with a 16-3 record and 3.20 ERA, against Long Island native Joe Iorio who placed second in league with 13 wins against two losses with a 4.65 ERA.
The Ducks rally during the early innings.
Center fielder Boog Powell opens the game with a base on balls. Steve Lombardozzi follows with a single to left field, and with two outs, L.J. Mazzilli knocks in Powell.
First baseman Chris Shaw doubles leading off the second and moves to third on Hector Sanchez's
single to left field. Shaw then scored on Ty Kelly's sac-fly. Afterwhich, Zach Collier's misplay in center field clears the way for Sanchez to cross home.
Steve Lombardozzi and the ageless Lew Ford wield consecutive singles to open the third, and with runners at the corners, Mazzilli's sac-fly to center field gives Long Island a 4-0 lead.
Southern Maryland finally catches up to Joe Iorio in the fifth. With two outs, Iorio yields two walks and two hits that result in a pair of runs.
Long Island recovers a run in the top of the sixth on Chris Shaw's second home run of the playoffs. But the Blue Crabs snap right back with two more runs in the bottom half of the frame and knock Joe Iorio out of the box. Right-hander Brady Dragmire finishes out the sixth.
Southpaw Darrell Thompson hurls a scoreless seventh inning. Wally Backman then summons Rob Griswold, who twirls a scoreless eighth. Blue Crab shortstop Jordan Howard, who ended the frame on a comebacker to Griswold, got into a shouting match with the entire Ducks dugout, causing both benches to empty without incident.
The Ducks are set down in order in the top of the ninth as Blue Crab reliever Endrys Briceno completes a second scoreless inning in relief.
Rob Griswold goes back out for the ninth. With one out, Chris Shaw fails to handle Rubi Silva's liner to first for an error. But the Ducks close out the game in spectacular fashion when Zach Collier grounds into a 6-4-3 double play, Vladimir Frias, to Lombardozzi, to Shaw.
Griswold earns a six-out save. Joe Iorio earns the win, allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts. Three Long Island bullpen members join together in limiting the Blue Crabs to no runs on one hit and one walk with two strikeouts over the final 3.1 innings.
In defeating the league's winningest pitcher, the Long Islanders win the North Division flag two games against one and advance to their fifth consecutive Atlantic League championship series.
The Ducks will now defend their 2019 title against the awaiting Lexington Legends.
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