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Fowl Ball!
Facing a three run deficit early in the game, the Ducks stormed back to score seven straight and took a comfortable 7-3 lead into the eighth inning. However, anybody who follows the Ducks on a regular basis should have known things are never easy for this team. Sure enough, Newark took full advantage of a shaky Ducks bullpen and scored five runs over the next two innings to take an 8-7 lead. Despite giving away a big lead late in the game, Long Island never seems to lose confidence in their ability to comeback. "Going into the bottom of the ninth, Bud [Ducks co-owner Bud Harrelson] was walking up and down the dugout telling us we have been here before and we are going to go out there and do it again," says Bryant Nelson, "I don't think we had any doubts that we would get an opportunity to win the game, especially once the leadoff man got on base, it was pretty much over after that." One-by-one, the first three Ducks batters reached base. Then, with Carl Everett on third, Ray Navarrete on second and Dionys Cesar on first, manager Dave Lapoint sent Nelson himself up to the plate as a pinch hitter with the chance to win the game. On the second pitch, Nelson smacked a hard hit single to the gap in right-centerfield and the Ducks were celebrating yet another come-from-behind victory. "When I went up there the only thing I told myself was try not to do too much because there were no outs and the last thing I wanted to do was hit into a double play," Nelson said after the game, "Luckily, I got the hit and kept it in the middle of the field, it probably would have been a double but either way it fell in and we won the game." After spending the first few months of the season playing in Mexico, Nelson joined the Ducks in the late stages of the first half. Upon arriving on Long Island, Nelson felt right at home because he was surrounded by the familiar faces of Pete Rose, Jr., Damian Rolls and Jamie Pogue, all teammates of his from last season in Bridgeport. "Those guys started the season here while I was in Mexico and Pete kept calling me everyday telling me to come play here," Nelson said, "I enjoyed playing for the Bluefish and I made some great friends in that organization during my time there but on Long Island there are bigger crowds and a better atmosphere so I felt like it was a step up from Bridgeport and a better fit for me overall." According to Nelson, the chance to play for Dave Lapoint was another main factor in his decision to come join the Ducks. "In Bridgeport last season I got to know Dave as a manager and see that he really respects his players," says Nelson, "He just allows us to go out and do our thing because he knows we are going to play hard every night." In addition to being dangerous at the plate, the versatile Nelson has spent time playing at five different positions in the field for the Ducks since signing with the team. However, it is his determination and ability to remain focused that makes Dave Lapoint so comfortable throwing him into tough situations like the one against Newark where he was coming off the bench with the game on the line. "He had his bat, he was stretching, and he wanted that shot, "Lapoint says," So I wanted to get him out there and see what he can do, hopefully this will help break him out of this slump." Over the previous ten games, Nelson had only managed to get six hits in a total of 42 at-bats, yet he did not feel like he was struggling. "I wasn't really in a slump, I just have been hitting the ball hard but right at people so I was not getting many hits," Nelson explains, "But I think it will help me a lot getting this hit tonight, especially because of the situation it came in helping the team win. Now I hope I can carry that momentum into the next game." One thing the Ducks are hoping does not carry over into this week's series in Bridgeport is the recent struggles by their bullpen. Usually dependable relievers John Riedling and Travis Wade combined to allow five hits, five walks and five runs over the two innings which saw Newark come back to take the lead. Even reliable set-up man Joe Valentine and seemingly invincible closer Danny Graves had outings this past weekend that they would like to soon forget. Manager Dave Lapoint says he has no worries when it comes to Valentine and Graves, but needs one of his other relievers to step up and claim the seventh inning spot. One possibility could be the recently signed Mike Crudale who is familiar to Ducks fans after playing the past two seasons on Long Island. The 30-year-old California native, who set a Ducks team record with 64 relief appearances in 2005, had been pitching in Italy this season prior to his Long Island return. The addition of Crudale brings even more major league experience to the roster, as the right-hander has appeared in over 70 games at the big league level with the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers. "He has always done good for me and I can trust him to go right after batters," Lapoint says about Crudale, "He throws a lot of strikes and doesn't walk too many guys and that is why I like him, plus he obviously is well acquainted with our team and this league, so we will just wait and see how he does."
Despite the struggling bullpen, the important thing is that another week is gone off the schedule and the Ducks have started to put some distance between themselves and the other teams in the North Division. After winning the series against Newark, Long Island has increased their lead to five games and now head to Bridgeport with just over a month to go in the regular season.
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