The Long Island Ducks defeated the Sugar Land Skeeters 2-1 on July 1 to sweep the four-game series and earn the 2012 First Half Liberty Division title.
The Skeeters took a one-run lead in the top of the third off Ducks starter Dan Meyer on a RBI sac fly by Ofilio Castro. After a 54-minute rain delay, both teams traded zeroes until the bottom of the sixth when Shawn Williams knocked a RBI single to right tying the game at 1-1.
It stayed that way until the bottom of the ninth, when Shawn Williams led off with a single and eventually scored on a waddle-off RBI single to center by Dan Lyons.
Neither starter factored into the decision. Meyer tossed two and two-thirds innings of no-hit baseball, allowing one run while striking out two, and Dustin Richardson lasted three innings, yielding no runs on two hits with three strikeouts. Connor Graham (1-1) earned the win tossing two scoreless innings of relief, while Kelvin Villa (0-2) suffered the loss, allowing one run on two hits in one inning.
Bryant Nelson paced the Flock with three hits, while Lyons and Williams each had two hits and drove in a run.
By winning the First Half Liberty Division title, the Ducks have now won three consecutive half-season division championships. Long Island won both the first and second half in the Liberty Division during the 2011 season. The win guarantees the Ducks their eighth postseason appearance in franchise history, with all eight coming in the last nine years.
The Ducks, at the time of the title, were a season-high 14 games over .500 at 38-24 on the season. The most wins ever by a Ducks team in the first half of a season were 40, done in 2000, 2004 and 2011. The most wins ever in a half were 42, done in the second half of the 2000 season.
Tickets for the game and all Ducks home games are available by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark box office, calling (631) 940-TIXX, or going online to www.liducks.com. Fans unable to make the game can follow the action live online at LIDucks.com by clicking the Watch Live icon on the homepage. Streaming video and audio will be provided by iBN, the Internet Broadcast Network.
