Game 15: Ducks at Bluefish

GAME TIME/LOCATION: 6:12 p.m. at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard (Bridgeport, Conn.)

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Long Island Ducks (8-6) go for their eighth consecutive win when they take on the cross-sound rival Bridgeport Bluefish (5-10) in the middle game of a three-game series. It’s also the second game of the 2016 Ferry Cup Series. The Ducks lead the series one game to none.

YESTERDAY’S RESULTS: Long Island opened up the eighth chapter of the Ferry Cup Series with a 5-1 win in Bridgeport. The story of the series-opener was Ducks starter Mark Blackmar (2-0). The right-hander retired the first 13 batters he faced before Luis Rodriguez broke up his perfect game bid with a single in the fifth inning. He would allow just one more single from that point on, to Jose Cuevas in the seventh. Blackmar finished with seven inning of scoreless baseball and struck out seven batters without walking one.

The Ducks threatened in each of the first four innings against Bluefish starter David Anderson (0-1). They opened the scoring in the second on Blake Tekotte’s RBI double and added two more in the fourth on a booming double from Mike Dowd and a two-out RBI single from Lew Ford. However, Long Island also left eight men on base during those four innings, keeping Bridgeport in the game.

Dan Blewett came in to pitch the eighth and allowed three singles, including a two-out RBI base hit from Ruben Sosa Jr. He would settle down though to retire Wilkin Ramirez and end the inning. Long Island answered with a two-out rally in the ninth to put the game out of reach. Nate Freiman, who finished with three hits, singled to start it, and Sean Burroughs followed with a 12-pitch at-bat that ended in a walk. Cody Puckett followed with a RBI single, and Burroughs scored on the play when Rodriguez’s throw to third hit off of Burroughs and ricocheted away down the third base line. Amalio Diaz closed the game out with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth.

ON THE MOUND: Right-hander Bruce Kern has been tasked with his first start of the 2016 season. The Long Island native has made three relief appearances this season, yielding just one hit and two walks while striking out three in two scoreless innings. In 2015, he spent time as both a starter and reliever for the Flock, making 40 appearances (13 starts). Kern finished the year 9-6 overall with a 3.51 ERA and was 4-5 with a 4.32 ERA as a starter. Against the Bluefish in 2015, he was 2-1 with a 4.19 ERA in nine games (two starts). This offseason, he was signed by the Kansas City Royals and pitched with the club in spring training.

Bridgeport will counter with Mike Antonini, who is making his fourth start of the season. The left-hander enters with a 1-2 record and a 5.26 ERA, allowing 10 runs (eight earned) on 14 hits and six walks while striking out six over 13 and two-thirds innings. His last start came on Monday at York when he gave up four runs on six hits over four innings with a walk and no strikeouts in a 4-1 loss. Tonight will be his first start at home this season. Antonini pitched four scoreless innings against the Ducks in spring training and posted a 1-2 record with a 2.46 ERA in three starts against the Ducks in 2015.

FOLLOW ALONG: Tonight’s contest will be broadcast on the Ducks’ flagship radio station, 103.9-FM LI News Radio. Fans can follow the broadcast with streaming audio online as well by CLICKING HERE. In addition to updates in this post, fans can follow a pitch-by-pitch account of tonight’s game via Pointstreak’s Game Live application by CLICKING HERE.

DUCKS GAME NOTES: For tonight’s full Ducks game notes, please CLICK HERE.

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STARTING LINEUPS:

Ducks
#22 Fehlandt Lentini – RF
#5   Delta Cleary Jr. – LF
#20 Lew Ford – CF
#35 Nate Freiman – 1B
#25 Sean Burroughs – 3B
#2   Cody Puckett – 2B
#6   Blake Tekotte – DH
#12 Dan Lyons – SS
#21 Mike Blanke – C

#30 Bruce Kern – RHP

Bluefish
#4   Ruben Sosa Jr. – CF
#2   Luis Hernandez – SS
#13 Jose Cuevas – 3B
#26 Dan Johnson – 1B
#6   Luis Rodriguez – 2B
#17 Josh Vitters – DH
#16 Luis Domoromo – RF
#14 Rossmel Perez – C
#23 Luis Nunez – LF

#33 Mike Antonini – LHP

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UPDATE (6:27): END 1: Both sides go down 1-2-3 in the first inning from Bridgeport.

UPDATE (6:34): TOP 2: Nate Freiman uncorks a mammoth solo homer to left field! It’s his first Duck dinger! Long Island leads 1-0!

UPDATE (6:58): BOT 3: A diving catch by Delta Cleary Jr. is erased on a balk call. A RBI single follows two batters later by Luis Hernandez to tie the game at 1.

UPDATE (7:44): BOT 5: Frank DeJiulio Jr. comes out of the bullpen and induces a pop out to leave the bases loaded! Score remains 1-1 after five.

UPDATE (7:57): TOP 6: Sean Burroughs punches a two-out RBI single to left-center field! Ducks take the lead back, 2-1!

UPDATE (8:40): TOP 8: Freiman goes yard again with a three-run blast that clanks off the net in front of Webster Bank Arena in left! Ducks lead 5-1!

UPDATE (9:00): TOP 9: Cleary Jr. plates two more runs with his third hit of the night, a two-out, two-run double to right! 7-1 Long Island!

UPDATE (9:16): FINAL: Eight straight wins for the Flock as Nick Struck strikes out Hernandez to leave the bases loaded! Ducks win it 7-1!

Game 14: Ducks at Bluefish

GAME TIME/LOCATION: 7:12 p.m. at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard (Bridgeport, Conn.)

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Long Island Ducks (7-6) visit the cross-sound rival Bridgeport Bluefish (5-9) in the opener of a three-game series and the first game of the 2016 Ferry Cup Series. Bridgeport claimed the 2015 Ferry Cup with a 15-12 series victory.

YESTERDAY’S RESULTS: A perfect homestand was made complete on Thursday when the Ducks swept a twi-night doubleheader at Bethpage Ballpark against the Lancaster Barnstormers. Game one was a tremendous pitcher’s duel over the first six innings. In that span, Ducks starter Bobby Blevins allowed just four hits, all singles, while striking out four batters and walking none. Meanwhile, Barnstormers starter Bryan Evans yielded just two hits and two walks while striking out six over six innings.

However, after Todd Coffey pitched scoreless seventh, stranding two men on base, Evans walked Sean Burroughs to lead off the bottom of the inning. Scott Gracey came in and proceeded to give up an infield single to Dan Lyons and a walk to Cody Puckett to load up the bases. Mike Blanke followed and drew a walk on five pitches to score pinch runner Blake Tekotte with the game-winning run.

Game two of the twinbill was all about the offense, as the Ducks earned a 13-5 win. Long Island struck early on a first inning sacrifice fly off the bat of Delta Cleary Jr. That was followed up with a four-run second that knocked Lancaster starter Brandon Bixler out of the game. Puckett’s RBI double, Mike Dowd’s RBI single and sac flies from Matt Wessinger and Fehlandt Lentini accounted for the scoring. The Ducks doubled the lead in the third with five more runs off of Mike Lee. Dowd had another RBI single, as did Cleary Jr., and two errors along with a passed ball helped add to the lead. Anthony Vega added a run-scoring groundout in the fifth, and Lentini rounded out the scoring with a two-run single in the sixth.

That was more than enough for Ducks starter Jack Snodgrass, who turned in another quality start. The southpaw’s only hiccup came in the sixth as he was approaching 100 pitches when he gave up a three-run double to Kevin Ahrens. His final line showed him allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven batters in six innings. James Lomangino closed out the game by pitching the seventh. The win stretched Long Island’s winning streak to six.

ON THE MOUND: The Ducks will send right-hander Mark Blackmar to the mound, looking to strike first in the Ferry Cup Series. He has been very strong for the Ducks thus far, combining to allow just one run over 11 innings in his first two starts. The 24-year-old has given up five hits and four walks while striking out five, and the Ducks have won both games he has started. Blackmar’s 0.82 ERA ranks fourth in the Atlantic League. In his last start, he surrendered one run on two hits and two walks over six innings with two strikeouts, taking a no-decision in the Ducks’ 5-4 win over Southern Maryland on Saturday.

Bridgeport will also have a right-hander pitching tonight in David Anderson. He enters with no record and a 3.00 ERA in two games (one start) in 2016. In six innings of work, he has allowed eight hits and three runs (two earned) while walking and striking out one. The Syracuse native also started on Saturday and took a no-decision in a 5-4 win over New Britain. He gave up three runs (two earned) over five innings that day. Anderson is a returner to the Bluefish this season after making seven starts with the club in 2015 following a mid-season tryout. He compiled a 2-2 record with a 2.67 ERA and 25 strikeouts to 11 walks in 40 and one-third innings.

FOLLOW ALONG: Tonight’s contest will be broadcast on the Ducks’ flagship radio station, 103.9-FM LI News Radio. Fans can follow the broadcast with streaming audio online as well by CLICKING HERE. In addition to updates in this post, fans can follow a pitch-by-pitch account of tonight’s game via Pointstreak’s Game Live application by CLICKING HERE.

DUCKS GAME NOTES: For tonight’s full Ducks game notes, please CLICK HERE.

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STARTING LINEUPS:

Ducks
#22 Fehlandt Lentini – RF
#5   Delta Cleary Jr. – LF
#20 Lew Ford – DH
#35 Nate Freiman – 1B
#25 Sean Burroughs – 3B
#2   Cody Puckett – 2B
#6   Blake Tekotte – CF
#12 Dan Lyons – SS
#29 Mike Dowd – C

#49 Mark Blackmar – RHP

Bluefish
#4   Ruben Sosa Jr. – CF
#22 Wilkin Ramirez – RF
#26 Dan Johnson – 1B
#13 Jose Cuevas – DH
#6   Luis Rodriguez – 2B
#17 Josh Vitters – 3B
#16 Luis Domoromo – LF
#14 Rossmel Perez – C
#2   Luis Hernandez – SS

#3   David Anderson – RHP

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UPDATE (7:00): Tonight’s game and broadcast will begin in a delay. The tarp is still on the field, and rain is falling at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard.

UPDATE (8:05): The tarp is coming off the field at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard! First pitch time has been announced as 8:30 p.m. weather permitting.

UPDATE (8:56): Strong start for Mark Blackmar, as he strikes out the side in the bottom of the first! No score after one.

UPDATE (9:08): TOP 2: Long island opens the scoring on a RBI double to right-center by Blake Tekotte! Sixth double of 2016, which is good for second in the Atlantic League!

UPDATE (9:39): TOP 4: The Ducks add two more runs on a RBI double to left by Mike Dowd and a RBI single to right by Lew Ford! 3-0 Long Island!

UPDATE (9:57): BOT 5: Mark Blackmar allows a one-out single to Luis Rodriguez, ending his perfect game bid. He retires the next two to keep the score 3-0.

UPDATE (10:35): BOT 7: Nice play on both ends by Dan Lyons and Nate Freiman to end the inning! Seven scoreless innings from Blackmar!

UPDATE (10:57): BOT 8: The Bluefish get on the scoreboard thanks to a two-out RBI single from Ruben Sosa Jr. Ducks lead is now 3-1.

UPDATE (11:14): TOP 9: Two Bluefish errors, a clutch walk by Sean Burroughs, and two big hits, including a RBI single by Cody Puckett put the Ducks up 5-1!

UPDATE (11:30): FINAL: Amalio Diaz works a 1-2-3 ninth inning, and the Ducks earn a 5-1 victory over the Bluefish! Seven consecutive wins for the Flock!