The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Bridgewater, NJ- Aaron Dudley’s walk off double in the bottom of the ninth inning led the Somerset Patriots (4-1) to a 7-6 win over the Long Island Ducks (3-2) at TD Bank Ballpark on Wednesday evening. It was Somerset’s third walk off win in the team’s first 5 games.
With two outs in the ninth inning, Alex Castellanos reached base on an error and moved to second on a walk by pinch hitter Alfredo Rodriguez. Dudley then smacked the game-winning double to deep right field to plate Castellanos.
“My whole mental focus there was that all the pressure was on him, not me,” said Dudley. “I was just thinking base hit the whole time. All we needed was a base hit so I was trying not to do too much. He left a splitter a little too high and I just threw my hands and put a good swing on it.”
Lew Ford got the Ducks on the board with a solo home run (2) in the top of the second inning.
The Patriots tied up the game in the bottom of the frame on an RBI double by Julio Borbon.
Long Island regained the lead with four runs in the top of the third inning on a solo home run by Wilkin Castillo (1), an RBI double by Jordany Valdespin, and a two-run home run by Travis Snyder (1) that made the score 5-1.
Somerset rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on a two-run triple by Borbon and an RBI single by Endy Chavez to cut the lead to 5-4. Borbon finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBI.
The Ducks added a run on an error for a 6-4 advantage in the top of the fifth inning.
Castellanos launched a two-run home run (2) in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie up the game 6-6.
Logan Kensing (2-0) picked up the win with a scoreless ninth inning pitched. Carlos Pimental (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing an unearned run on two hits in 1.2 innings 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 Thursday, May 3rd. The game features Most Improved Student Night. For tickets, visit www.somersetpatriots.com.
