Second Sweep - SuffolkJournal.com

Two Straight Sweeps
For Ducks

May 10, 2002

Coming off of a three game sweep of the Pennsylvania Road Warriors last weekend the Ducks extended their winning streak to five games with back-to-back defeats of the Nashua Pride.

With a solid offense in Darrell Whitmore, who went three for four with three RBI the Ducks took the Pride 10-9 on May 7. Nashua also showed some offensive strength in Lance Johnson who, going five for five, hit for the cycle.

Fans were kept holding their breath until the bottom of the eighth inning when the Ducks turned the game. A wild pitch with bases loaded scored Kevin Baez. A sacrifice fly by Darrell Witmore scored Adonis Harrison and double by Francisco Morales later in the inning scored another runner. Hut Smith, who came in on the eighth inning was the winning pitcher and reliever Ryan Halla survived a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning allowing no Pride runs, for the save.

On May 8, the Ducks retained bragging rights as the only undefeated team in the Atlantic League this season. Their winning streak continued as the Pride fell 8-2. The first run came in the bottom of the third inning on a single by PJ Williams. The lead was secured in the fifth with a two run double by Francisco Morales and two-run single by Kevin Baez. Greg Mix, who started the game for the Ducks left in the fifth inning due to elbow soreness and was replaced by Ron Frazier. Frazier earned the win.

But it wasn't exactly a clean sweep, at least not yet. A heavy fog hung over the park causing more than one ball to be lost in the clouds. Finally, in the eighth inning the game was suspended until June 28 with the score tied at six-six.

As the Duck's put it "fog-et about it," since the go-ahead run was on third base with no outs. Francisco Morales' fly ball to disappeared and he ended on third base.

The Ducks rallied early on to take a 3-2 lead when Quincy Gibbs smacked an RBI-single and later scored on a throwing error by Pride catcher Jose Reyes in the third inning. In the sixth the Ducks tacked on two more runs when Darrell Whitmore and Francisco Morales hit mammoth back-to-back home runs to give Long Island a 5-2 lead. Nashua would come right back in the top of the seventh to tie the game at five on an RBI-single by Chad Fonville and a 2-run double by Lance Johnson. An RBI-single by PJ Williams in the bottom of the seventh gave the Ducks a temporary lead until TJ Staton homered for Nashua in the top of the eighth, tying the game at six.

Gates will open on the 28th at 5:30 p.m. but only those with tickets for that nights regularly scheduled game will be able to see the final innings of this game at the park.

So, the series ended without closure, yet without a loss for the Ducks who will face the Pennsylvania Road Warriors again this weekend.