L.I. Ducks: John Brownell outlasts Somerset in series opener

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

Long time Atlantic League rivals

resume antagonisms at Bethpage Ballpark

Ducks lead series 1-0

I - LID 6; SOM 3

II - SATURDAY

Somerset Patriots

vs.

Long Island Ducks

FROM

The Pond

Long Island Ducks: Flock plant flag back atop first place.

Not a bad way to resume play...

Previous to Friday, the Ducks and Patriots hadn't faced each other since May 20-22 at Somerset.   Minus a head-to-head match up through the rest of the season's first half, each team was instead left to wrestle through common opponents in order to win a division flag.

A tight race to the end, Long Island prevailed to win the first-half pennant over Somerset - which hasn't always been he case since the Patriots were realigned into the Liberty Division a few years back.

With the Atlantic League All-Star game out of the way, and their place in this post-season secured, the Long Island Ducks resumed play on Friday.

Opening a weekend series at Bethpage Ballpark, John Brownell outlasted Somerset's Will Oliver for his seventh victory of the season, but not without a little help from his friends.

Patriots starter Will Oliver exited on the winning side of a 3-2 game after out-dueling Brownell through six full innings pitched.  Long Island's ace nevertheless persisted through a scoreless top half of the seventh.

Leading off the bottom of the frame, Ducks first baseman Mark Manicozzi promptly greeted Somerset reliever Jeremy McBryde with a game tying home run.  Ruben Gotay then followed with a double.  Shortly thereafter, catcher Mike Dowd connected on the Ducks second home run of the inning giving the Ducks a 5-3 lead, and an eventual 6-3 victory.

Making his 14th start of the season, John Brownell allowed three earned runs on seven hits and two walks, with four strikeouts over seven laborious innings in high humidity.  He faced 30 batters, and threw 96 pitches with 67 (69.7%) going for strikes.

Closer Todd Coffey recorded his 14th save of the season.

The now first place Ducks lead Somerset by one-half game in the second half standings.

Not a bad way to resume play indeed.

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

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

Ducks Lead Series 2-1

I - YRK 8; LID 4

II - LID 3; YRK 1

III - LID 8; YRK 5

IV - THURSDAY

LONG ISLAND DUCKS: It's not how you start, it's how you finish ... just ask the Patriots.

The Ducks have swam these waters before, and each time handed first place back to the Somerset Patriots.  The trick now is to stay in first before the first half expires in short time.

On Wednesday, Long Island won their second straight over the visiting York Revolution, building an 8-2 lead through eight innings until the Revolution made them sweat out an 8-5 final after the ninth.

Starter Bruce Kern followed Darin Downs' Tuesday gem with a fine performance of his own, limiting the Revs to a pair of runs on seven hits and no walks, with five strikeouts though seven full innings of work.  He faced 30 batters, and threw 93 pitches with 67 (72%) going for strikes.  Kern now boasts a 1.98 ERA with 45 strikeouts over 45.1 innings this season.

Fehlandt Lentini, the league's 3rd leading hitter, paved the way going 3 for 4 with a 3-RBI triple, and four RBI overall.  Catcher Mike Dowd was 2 for 4 with a pair of RBI.

LIBERTY DIVISION

Ducks       37-29

Patriots    36-30

Coupled with Somerset's 8-7 loss against the New Britain Bees, the Ducks now own a full game lead over the Patriots in the Liberty Division standings.

Somerset has lost seven of their last ten games.  They have gone 23-30 since jumping out to a 13-0 start.

The Ducks and Revolution will resume hostilities in Thursday's series finale.

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.