Long Island Ducks baseball Bridgeport Bluefish Randy Leek PJ Rose Brian Bohl

Ducks in 8-7 Comeback Win vs 'Fish

Erase Seven Run Deficit for Second Time

by Brian Bohl

August 5, 2007

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY— A shutdown pitching performance can compensate for a struggling offense. A surging lineup can support a mediocre start. Seldom do both facets combine to pick up a bad defensive showing, though that was the case yesterday when the Ducks recorded their biggest comeback of the season.

Four errors in the first five innings sabotaged Randy Leek’s start, spotting Bridgeport a 7-0 lead. But the Bluefish committed a costly error themselves, enabling a five-run Ducks sixth inning that propelled them to an unlikely 8-7 win in front of 6,106 at Citibank Park.

Ben Grezlovski, Joe Valentine and Danny Graves (pictured at right) each pitched a scoreless inning of relief to complete the come-from-behind theatrics. Graves allowed two singles but retired the side without a run in the ninth, picking up his league-leading 25th save.

It marked the second time this season the Ducks erased a seven-run deficit, allowing them to take two out of three against their North Division rivals. They kept pace with second-place Newark, remaining 4 ½ games out in front while Bridgeport dropped to 8 ½ behind. At 17-6, manager Dave LaPoint’s squad still owns the Atlantic League’s best second-half record.

“A lot of good things came out of it. Randy didn’t deserve to lose,” LaPoint said. “Against Bridgeport, it’s always a big series. Hopefully, we don’t think the season’s over and come out tomorrow and be dead because every game counts. But I think this is a good lift.”

The Ducks sent nine men to the plate in the sixth, starting with Edgardo Alfonzo’s leadoff double. Norm Hutchins singled to plate the first run against Bluefish reliever Hector Mercado. Steve Hine dropped a sure force out at second, allowing Jamie Pogue to reach safely.

Jose Offerman, who made a costly error in the fifth, atoned for his miscue by recording an RBI single. A force out and a sacrifice fly out brought in another run, but Mercado could not minimize the damage.

Carl Everett looked uncomfortable at times in his first three at-bats against the lefty Sturge (one run in five innings) but still went 1-1 for a walk and hit by a pitch. The switch-hitting former Astro even turned around and batted left-handed against the southpaw in his second at bat, lining a single to center. Against Mercado, Everett stepped in the right-handed box in the sixth and belted a long two-run home run to left, cutting Bridgeport’s lead to 7-6.

It appeared the Bluefish settled down in the seventh after Franklin Perez retired the first two batters. Pogue started the second rally in as many innings by reaching base for the fourth time in the game, singling to left. Offerman was hit by a pitch, setting up Dionys Cesar’s (pictured at left) seeing-eye single through the right side to bring in Pogue with the tying run.

Pete Rose Jr. (at the plate, pictured below) followed with a hit in nearly the exact same spot, allowing Offerman to come in with the go-ahead run. It marked a good day for the Ducks offense, as Bryant Nelson was the only starter to not record at hit. The 14 hits against the Bluefish fell just three shy of a season-high.

“We know we have a good offense,” Leek said. “It’s just a matter of time before we break out.”

The Ducks defense started auspiciously for the second straight game. Like Saturday, the infielders committed two errors in the first, leading to three Bluefish runs. Two singles opened the inning before Nelson turned the wrong way on a ball hit to medium-deep centerfield.

Nelson twisted to his right before circling all the way around. The ball glanced off his glove for the first error, allowing Nick Ortiz to score. A RBI ground out and fly out brought up Lou Lucca, and set-up the game’s strangest play.

Lucca hit a hard grounder to short that Alfonzo made a spectacular play to glove with a diving stop. He got to his feet and threw to Cesar at third, catching Bobby Malek caught off the base. Caught in a run down, Malek was about 40 feet from home plate when Cesar ran towards him in the run down. The runner dashed towards home, getting tagged right before he crossed the plate.

Only Cesar dropped the ball on impact, allowing Malek to score the third run. Bridgeport, which entered the contest with a league-best 854 runs, added four more in the fifth thanks to two more errors.

“As a pitcher, every time there’s an error, you reach into your adrenaline bank and try and pick that error up and make sure that guy doesn’t score. He had to do it four times,” LaPoint said. “It’s hard to keep reaching back and coming up on top.”

Leek, who entered with a 4-1 record and the lowest ERA on the staff at 2.31, allowed seven runs but just one earned in six innings. The Bluefish hit two consecutive singles to start the fifth before the Ducks’ defense failed again. Hine placed a sacrifice bunt near the plate, which Leek grabbed but threw away for the first error.

Offerman retried the ball and promptly fired it wide of home plate for the second miscue on the same plate, resulting in the second run. Jesse Hoorelbeke added a two-run home run after a ground out, making it 7-0. Leek still completed the sixth, keeping his team in the game to allow Grezlovski (5-2) to pick up the victory.

“He gave us six innings,” LaPoint said. “It was a big plus. Our bullpen is short right now.”

(Photos courtesy of the Long Island Ducks)

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