The Bridgeport Bluefish defeated the Long Island Ducks 12-7 on Friday night in front of a past-capacity crowd of 6,033 at Suffolk County Sports Park.
Long Island wasted no time jumping on the board early, putting up a two-spot in the first inning. A bases loaded walk to Javier Colina and RBI groundout by Dustan Mohr gave the Ducks a 2-0 lead. Colina’s third inning solo homer off Bridgeport’s starter Denny Starter extended the lead to 3-0.
In the fifth, the Ducks and Fish traded four-spots in each half an inning. Four runs highlighted by Luis Rodriguez’ two-run single gave Bridgeport a 4-3 advantage off Ducks’ starter Randy Leek.
The Ducks got the runs right back when they sent eight men to the plate in the home half. Colina’s RBI double and Matt Esquivel’s two-run single put the Flock back in front, 7-4.
Bridgeport fought back to regain the lead with four more runs in the visitor’s seventh off Ducks’ reliever Chris Spurling. Four hits including Hiram Bocachica’s solo homer, Steve Moss’ RBI triple and Joe Jiannetti’s RBI single lifted the ‘Fish to a two-run advantage.
Two more runs off Ducks’ reliever Bill Simas, including Bocachica’s second solo homer of the contest sealed the game.
Jorge Perez (3-2) picked up the win with two scoreless innings of work, while Chris Spurling (3-2) took the loss, yielding four runs in one and two-thirds innings.
Billy Kovatch and Matt Cavagnaro each chipped in with two hits for the Flock, while Colina led the charge with three.
The Ducks continue their series against the Bluefish on Saturday night. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m. with the Suffolk County Sports Park gates opening at 6:05. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive Umbrellas, courtesy of The Nutty Irishman on the 4th Annual Irish Heritage Night. Kyle Jackson takes the mound for the Ducks against Bridgeport’s Luis Gonzalez. Fans can also tune into all the action live via streaming webcast at www.liducks.com with Chris King calling the play-by-play.
Tickets to the game and all upcoming Ducks home games are available at the Suffolk County Sports Park Box Office, by calling (631) 940-TIXX, or by logging onto www.liducks.com and clicking on the tickets icon at the top of the page.
