BREAK OUT THE BROOMS; DUCKS SWEEP PATRIOTS

Long Island wins fourth straight game and sixth of its last seven

Central Islip, New York – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Somerset Patriots 8-3 on Sunday evening in the finale of a three-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.

Somerset took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-out, two-run single from Luis Montanez off Ducks starting pitcher Mitch Talbot. Long Island answered back with four runs in the bottom of the third inning off Patriots starter Matt Zielinski. RBI singles from Fehlandt Lentini, Lew Ford and Brandon Bantz, along with a run-scoring groundout from Brendan Harris, highlighted the inning.

The Patriots cut the deficit to one in the fifth on a solo home run from Brian Barden. However, the Ducks responded in the bottom of the fifth with RBI singles from Cody Puckett and Evan Crawford to increase their lead to 6-3. A Joash Brodin solo home run and a Ford RBI single in the bottom of the eighth capped the scoring.

Talbot (3-1) earned the win, tossing six innings of three-run ball, allowing seven hits and two walks while striking out three. Zielinski (8-7) took the loss, yielding six runs (five earned) over five innings on nine hits and two walks with one strikeout.

Ford and Bill Hall led the Ducks with three hits apiece, while Brodin, Puckett and Dan Lyons each recorded two hits.

Long Island hits the road for a three-game series against the Bridgeport Bluefish on Monday night. Game time is slated for 7:05 p.m. from the Ballpark at Harbor Yard. Right-hander John Brownell takes the mound for the Ducks. Fans can follow all the action online, with live streaming audio available on the Ducks official YouTube channel by CLICKING HERE.

Long Island will return home on Thursday, August 21 to kick off a four-game series against the Somerset Patriots. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 6:05. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive Back to School Notebooks, courtesy of Dantona Industres. Tickets for the game and every Ducks regular season home game are now on sale. Fans can purchase their tickets by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark box office, calling 631-940-TIXX or by CLICKING HERE.