L.I. Ducks: Gone Barnstorming

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

NEXT

Long Island Ducks

vs.

Lancaster Barnstormers

Prince Street

PENNSYLVANIA

Long Island Ducks: Flock Forging Ahead While Somerset Patriots Remain in Retreat.

Joining the millions of Memorial Day travelers hitting the road Monday, the Ducks were Pennsylvania bound for a month of June opening series against the Lancaster Barnstormers.

Long Island's John Brownell will face off against Lancaster's J.D. Martin in Tuesday's opener. Brownell, 32, will be making his sixth start of the season.  He is 3-0 with a 3.37 ERA, and has allowed 31 hits, nine walks, and fanned 25 over 29.1 innings so far this season.

The Barnstormers are presently in third place in the Freedom Division, playing at par with an 18-18 record.  Not coincidentally, they are 5-5 in their last ten games, and four games out of first place behind the York Revolution.

The Ducks recent home stand featured a series win over Bridgeport, and a four game split against the New Britain Bees.  They'll enter Tuesday's action in first place of the Liberty Division with a 1.5 game lead over the Somerset Patriots, whom lost in extra innings Monday to York.

Somerset has lost their last two, and eight of their last ten games.  After starting the season 13-0, they've been in free fall since with an 8-17 record over their last 25 games.  Long Island, on the other hand, is 17-9 over their last 26 games, and are 21-9 since tripping out of the starting gate with a 1-6 record.

Waddling Around the Bases Like a Bunch of Mad Mallards...

The Ducks line-up lists three top ten hitters.  Lew Ford's .348 mark is second in the league, while Fehlandt Lentini (.310) and Dan Lyons (.308) rank seventh and eighth respectively.

Lentini also leads the league in games played, at-bats, and runs scored.  He's also second overall in hits, and tied for second with 25 RBI.  Lew Ford ranks among the top four with 24 RBI.

What Long Island lacks in home run potential, they more than make up for with offensive balance and relentlessness.  The Ducks are tied for last in the Atlantic League in home runs, and drawing walks.  Yet, they lead the league in runs scored, hits, team average, and triples, and rank second in doubles, total bases, team OPS, and team slugging.

Hurlers Quacking Down on Opposing Hitters

Long Island hurlers have combined to lead the Atlantic League in strikeouts, shutouts, fewest hits allowed, and average against.  They're additionally second in least earned runs allowed, team ERA, and WHiP, and rank third in slugging against.

Jack Snodgrass leads the Atlantic League in strikeouts, with his staff mate Darin Downs close behind in second.  They're presently the only two pitchers to have surpassed 40 strikeouts so far this season.   Starter Mark Blackmar's 1.77 ERA is good enough for third in the circuit.

L.I. Ducks: Look Who's Number One

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

Ducks win series over Bluefish 2-1

I - BPT 5; LID 1

II - LID 15; BPT 5

III - LID 10; BPT 9

Long Island leads 2016 Ferry Cup Series over Bridgeport 5-1

Long Island Ducks: Flock Waddles into First Place After Pounding Out Fish at the Pond.

The Flock is waddling strong, and wielding a big stick.

In winning their series against the Bridgeport Bluefish, the Ducks outscored the Fish by a 25-14 margin over the final two games.  In fact, the Long Island Ducks have now scored the most runs in the league, surpassing the Patriots.  Meanwhile, Long Island has now won five of the six games played against Bridgeport this season.

Where has it gotten them?

Answer: atop the Liberty Division ... finally.

The Somerset Patriots, meanwhile, lost Thursday against Sugar Land, thus allowing Long Island to climb atop the division.  The Patriots continue encountering increasingly tougher times of late, losing three in a row, and seven of their last ten games.

Otherwise, I can't help but think of the grief suffered by Ducks fans in recent years ever since league realignment placed the Patriots in the Liberty Division.

I digress...

Thursday Final

Fish       9

Ducks  10

After jumping out to an early four run lead in Thursday's finale, the Ducks were faced with a 9-4 deficit after four innings.  But Long Island clawed back with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, and three more in the fifth to tie the game at nine.

Catcher Mike Dowd's double in the home seventh plated the decisive run in a 10-9 Ducks victory. Dowd went 3 for 4 on the night with three RBI overall.

Fehlandt Lentini went 3 for 5, with a home run and a pair of RBI.  On Tuesday, he went 2 for 5, with a triple and two RBI.  He and Lew Ford are now tied for second in the league with 21 RBI.

After turning in two straight extended effective performances, Starter Darin Down fared poorly during his seventh start of the season, allowing eight runs (six earned) on 11 hits in just 3.2 innings of work.

A crew of six relievers summoned from the bullpen, however, quite literally saved the day with 5.1 innings in which they surrendered one unearned run on just two hits and no walks, with three strikeouts.

Next

New Britain Bees

vs.

Long Island Ducks

FROM

THE POND

The Ducks need relief ... for their bullpen that is.  After Monday's day off, the Bridgeport Bluefish levied a heavy tax on Long Island's bullpen, particularly in Thursday's game.  And the Ducks also have a double-header to contend with on Saturday.

Long Island is in need, then, of lengthy starts from the trio of Bobby Blevins, Jack Snodgrass, and Mark Blackmare, in their upcoming series against the New Britain Bees.

Snodgrass presently leads the circuit with 44 strikeouts, while his staff mate Mark Blackmare is second in the league with a 1.26 ERA.