Long Island Ducks: A costly error would cost the game

We had another classic between the Long Island Ducks and the Somerset Patriots. On Wednesday night, the Patriots would end up eking out a 7-6 win over the Ducks with some late inning heroics. For starters, the pitching just wasn’t there tonight for either team. The Ducks would end up sending Matt Larkins to the hill. He would end up going five innings, giving up four runs on seven hits, walking three, and striking out three. On the other hand, the Patriots would end up sending Duane Below to the hill. He would only go three innings, giving up five runs on five hits, striking out two.

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It’s worth noting that the two starting pitchers would end up combining to give up 12 hits and nine runs. I have made the point before about the Ducks having a problem with leaving several runners on base. In the Wednesday night game, they would leave four on base. However, it wasn’t as bad as the Patriots who left 10. I bring up how many runners were left because that could have played a huge role in the game. It is clear that no one knows what will happen in the future, however, it’s worth noting that it would have benefited the Ducks to bring home two of those guys. I am a firm believer that we would be talking about a much different game if they would have scored those guys.

If you can put the blame on one aspect with this loss, it’s the defense. As the game was tied heading into the ninth inning, the Patriots’ Alex Castellanos would end up advancing on an error by the shortstop. After Alfredo Rodriguez and Aaron Dudley got hits, Castellanos would end up scoring the winning run. This was a costly mistake that hurt the Ducks.

The series wraps up on Thursday with a 6:35 pm start. After that, the Long Island Ducks will return home to begin the home portion of the 2018 season. They will end up welcoming the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs for a weekend series.
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