Bridgewater, NJ- The Long Island Ducks defeated the Somerset Patriots 6-4 at TD Bank Ballpark on Tuesday evening.
The Ducks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on an RBI single by Tyler Holt and a sacrifice fly by Lew Ford.
Dan Lyons’ sacrifice fly in the second inning gave Long Island a 3-0 advantage.
The Patriots cut the lead to 3-2 with a two-run fifth inning. The first run came across on a throwing error and Endy Chavez followed with an RBI groundout.
Long Island answered in the top of the sixth inning on a Ford solo home run (1) that made the score 4-2.
The Ducks extended the lead to 6-2 in the top of the seventh inning on a two-run single by Jordany Valdespin.
Julio Borbon launched a no-doubt two-run home run (1) in the bottom of the seventh inning to cut the lead to 6-4.
“The big home run there made it close and really gave us a chance,” said Somerset Patriots manager Brett Jodie. “You get one guy on there and you have the opportunity to be right back in the ballgame, which we were. I liked how our offense came back. We didn’t have a lot of hits, but we did some things right. As a whole we just need to get a little better.”
Andrew Barbosa (1-0) picked up the win, allowing two runs- one earned- on two hits and six strikeouts in five innings pitched. Rick Teasley (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing three runs on four hits in four innings of work. Vinnie Pestano earned his second save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning pitched.
The 2018 Somerset Patriots Season presented by Ford continues at TD Bank Ballpark with a 6:35 pm game against the Long Island Ducks on Wednesday, May 2nd. The game features Fox Hollow Baseball Bingo and Senior Wednesday. For tickets, visit www.somersetpatriots.com.