Leek isn’t as sure in his ability to make it back to a club affiliated with a major league franchise. The 33-year-old lefty said his age might preclude teams from signing him since his last full season at Triple-A came with St. Louis’ top farm team in 2006.

“I think I’m a little old and I don’t scouts are really looking at me,” Leek said two days after pitching seven innings without allowing an earned run against the two-time defending champion Somerset Patriots. “I always believe in the back of my mind that there’s a chance. I still believe I can get big league hitters out.”

Leek’s performance might make it difficult for scouts to ignore the local Levittown, N.Y. product. The southpaw leads the Atlantic League in wins thanks to a 6-1 start that has him on pace to set career-highs in victories and strikeouts.

Against the Patriots, Leek struck out three and walked just one in lowering his ERA to 3.28. The effort was indicative of his career—Leek’s has a strikeout-to-walk ration of greater than 3-to-1.

Compared to other Atlantic League players who have signed with major league teams this season, Leek is also relatively young. The Oakland Athletics signed John Halama, the 38-year-old former Ducks starter, off the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs roster earlier in May.

Leek is in his fourth season with the Ducks and surpassed Lance Davis for the most wins in team history, carrying 36 into his next scheduled start on Wednesday. But milestones haven’t enticed teams to come calling yet, forcing Leek to see if a need arises that will bring a phone call and a trip to Double or Triple-A.

“A lot of times that’s beyond your control,” Leek said. “At this point in my career, it’s going to be tough to get back and I understand that. I still enjoy playing and I’m going to try and finish out the year on a positive note.”

Leek’s previous chance to make an impression came in an abbreviated two-start outing for Toronto’s Triple-A Syracuse squad late in the 2007 campaign.

Despite going 5-1 with a 2.83 ERA down the stretch for the Ducks that year, Leek was rocked for 10 runs in 8 1/3 innings in two no-decisions before being released. Leek has gone 29-14 for the Ducks since then.

He shrugged off the difficulties of creating a positive impression in less than a fortnight’s time and said his only regret was the poor timing of his struggles.

“What was frustrating about them was how poorly I pitched,” Leek said about his time in Syracuse. “Those were my two worst starts of the year. I just picked a bad time to have them.”

Dave LaPoint has managed or coached Leek every season since joining the Ducks. LaPoint said Leek’s ability to throw strikes (876 career strikeouts versus 267 walks) has earned the trust of his teammates

LaPoint also said Leek and Joselo Diaz have anchored a rotation that features three starters—Sidney Ponson, Jake Dittler and Rick Bauer—who are trying to become consistent fixtures as the Ducks aim for its first championship since 2004.

“With him [Lee], the team is confident and basically what that means is that they’re relaxed and go about their job without any pressure on them,” LaPoint said.

Ray Navarrete joined the Ducks one season before Leek. Like his long-tenured teammate, Navarrete also broke a major team record when he moved past Doug Jennings for the most RBIs in Ducks history.

Navarrete said Leek’s on-field track record and his background as a Long Island native makes him a leader-by-example. Now all that’s left is to clinch a seventh straight postseason appearance and its first playoff series victory since 2004.

“I’m sure he takes pride in wearing the uniform too, especially growing up here,” Navarrete said. “It’s a special place and it seems like Randy and I have accomplished a lot. The one thing on the resume that we haven’t won together on Long Island is a championship.

“We’re excited about whatever records we get but we want to win a championship and I’m sure Randy feels the same way.”

Leek said outside of a major league job, pitching for the Ducks allows him to live at home and stay with his wife and son.

“I can have fun with them and even when I go on the road, it’s close by. I’m not traveling across the country so this is definitely the best situation for me,” Leek said.

Like Navarrete, Leek said he views himself as a leader. But the soft-spoken hurler added that he prefers to inspire his teammates with his on-field actions.

“I try and go about my business and do things the right away and if people look up to that, great,” Leek said. “I’m not a loud rah-rah, ‘let’s go get them’ guy. I get my work in and I try to be a good teammate as well.”

LaPoint pitched 11 major league seasons and has worked with Leek for nearly a half-decade. Both experiences helped developed a rapport between the two.

“He knows my mechanics now really well,” Leek said. “He sees that I might be dropping my arm a little bit or just doing something a little wrong out there that’s not me and he picks it up right away and comes over and says something. He’s been a big part of my success here.”

Conventional wisdom would suggest a patient approach for Southern Maryland to drive up the pitch count and face overworked relievers. But Southern Maryland employed an aggressive strategy against Ducks right-hander Jake Dittler on Saturday night.

The Blue Crabs jumped out to six first-pitch singles against Dittler to cap a four-run fifth inning as the Duck fell, 6-2, in front of 6,904 fans at Suffolk County Sports Park.

Jarrett Grube threw seven shutout innings to make the lead stand up, holding the Atlantic League-leading Ducks to just five hits while striking out seven.

The Ducks committed three errors in losing for just the fourth time in the last 13 games. Southern Maryland moved within two games of Long Island in the Liberty Division.

Grube threw seven scoreless innings in a no-decision against the Ducks at home on May 1 in a game the Blue Crabs won, 1-0. He is now 1-0 with 14 strikeouts against three walks in 14 innings against the Ducks this season.

“We haven’t scored a run off of Grube in two games so he gets all the credit,”
Ducks manager Dave LaPoint said.

Joe Valentine’s mid-week departure to the Mexican League left LaPoint with just six relievers as the Ducks try to sign another arm for the bullpen. LaPoint said he has been hesitant to use closer Kane Davis on back-to-back days, further limiting the middle-relief options.

The Blue Crabs instead used a free-swinging approach to break open a scoreless game in the fifth. Shaun Cumberland, Richard Giannotti and Christian Lopez each reached on first-pitch singles to start the inning. Cumberland bunted in front of the pitcher’s mound and Dittler couldn’t field it cleanly.

“That was an ambush that inning,” LaPoint said. “The biggest play in that inning is him not fielding the bunt that he probably should have [had].”

Kody Kirkland actually took a pitch before delivering a RBI ground out for a 2-0 lead. Casey Benjamin followed with a first-pitch single to right. John Rodriguez misplayed the ball in right for an error that allowed Benjamin to reach third.

Patrick Osborn and Matt Craig followed with base hits on the first pitch. Osborn’s single made it 4-0.

“They weren’t trying to pull him,” LaPoint said. “It was a great approach by them. Usually it’s harder to get your team to do that. He was throwing strikes and it was perfect timing.”

Dittler (2-2) recovered to throw a scoreless sixth and finished with a line of four earned runs on nine hits in six innings. Dittler was coming off his best start of the season when he held Newark to one run in eight innings on May 23. Against the Blue Crabs, the 6-foot-4 Dittler struck out five and walked one.

“He’ll run off a stretch of five or good starts and then have a bad one,” LaPoint said. “When gets the confidence level up, he’s a pretty good pitcher.”

The Ducks mustered two hits off Grube in the first but the righty stranded a pair in scoring position by striking out Matt Padgett. Grube would not allow another hit until the sixth and struck out the side in the third to move to 3-2.

“He keeps the ball down and he’s not afraid to throw a slider when he’s behind in the count,” LaPoint said. “He’s been like this for three years. Why he’s still here, who knows? He’s one of the best in the league.”

Southern Maryland tacked on two seventh-inning insurance runs off Ivan Maldonado in the seventh.

Matt Cavagnaro greeted reliever Chris Mobley with an eighth-inning home run to right. Cavagnaro’s blast near the line was his second home run and first since April 29 against Somerset.

Reliever Bill White, who allowed runs in his last two outings, entered in the top of the eighth and struck out the side in order.

After splitting the first two games, the Ducks will try to win the three-game series with a Sunday matinee. Joselo Diaz (2-1, 1.72 ERA) is expected to get the start for the Ducks against fellow right-hander Dan Reichert (3-3, 4.82) in the 1:35 p.m. contest.

While the Ducks didn’t win the first half division crown, quality pitching propelled the club to a first-place start in the second half. But the Ducks will need to demonstrate resiliency again after the Blue Jays signed Troy Cate to a minor league deal Friday.

Cate earned the ace moniker following Ray’s departure, recording a team-high seven wins. The lefthander was 7-2 with a 3.23 ERA that was lowest among starting pitchers. The left-hander won his fourth straight start and held opposing batters to a .224 batting average against in 78 innings. Cate will be assigned to the Eastern League’s Double-A New Hampshire franchise, becoming the fifth Ducks this season to sign with an affiliated organization.

“We couldn’t be happier for Troy and wish him the best in this great opportunity,” Ducks manager Gary Carter said. “He was really dialed in as of late and we’re excited that he will have the chance to get back to the big leagues.”

Cate’s signing continued to deplete the Ducks original starting rotation. Ray is still in Indians farm system while Opening Day starter Brad Halsey was released July 1. The front office hasn’t sought much outside help. Reliever Cory Doyne is the only pitcher signed this month, leaving pitching coach Dave LaPoint and the rest of the coaching staff to look for in-house replacements.

“He’s pitched well all year and has been one of the better pitchers in the league,” pitching coach Dave LaPoint said. “For us as a team, it was crippling because right now they aren’t a lot of names out there that we can replace him with.”

Ray started 4-0, earning victories in all but one of his starts before going to Triple-A Columbus May 27. The former Atlanta Brave is struggling for the Clippers, starting 2-5 with a 8.67 ERA. Like Ray, Cate is also an ex-big leaguer. The one-time Cincinnati Reds hurler will be looking to return to the majors for the first time since 2007.

“We’ve had to get on the horn and try to call as many people as we can,” LaPoint said. “We need a guy who can throw strikes like Troy did. We can’t hire any more guys who are going to be wild and keep taxing the bullpen.”

The pitching staff will get a rest thanks to Monday’s off-day after Bridgeport completed a three-game sweep at Citibank Park. The Ducks will look to regroup when it hosts first-half division winner Southern Maryland in a three-game series with the Blue Crabs trailing the Flock by a single game.

But starting pitcher Randy Leek was the victim of the Ducks first offensive cold spell since the season’s midway point. Leek limited Bridgeport to just one earned run in striking out a            season-high eight batters in eight innings.

The effort was not good enough as a Bluefish starter pitcher once again dominated. One night after Dan Reichert pitched a complete game shutout, Matt Pike struck out eight in logging a season-high seven innings to hand the Ducks a 4-3 loss in front of 6,305 fans at Citibank Park.

Ray Navarrete lifted a first-inning solo home run to left and Johnny Hernandez tagged Pike for a two-run triple in the second before the Bluefish continued to toss up zeros on the scoreboard. The Ducks will not face Bridgeport ace Esteban Yan this weekend, though the club has been shutout in 16 out of 18 innings this series and will look to avoid a three-game sweep to its division rivals.

Pitching coach Dave LaPoint filled in for manager and Hall of Famer Gary Carter, who is in Cooperstown for Sunday’s induction ceremonies. LaPoint left the clubhouse before reporters could interview him.

Preston Wilson struggled with stepdad and former Met outfielder Mookie Wilson in attendance, striking out four times from the cleanup spot. The Ducks entered the series winners of eight of its previous nine before losing two games in a row for the first time since July 14.

Former major leaguer Hector Carrasco saved Pike’s victory by surviving a tension-packed ninth. The righty induced two fly outs before walking Juan Francia and Hernandez to put the tying and winning runs on base. Navarrete worked the count to 3-1 before taking two strikes to end the game on an anticlimactic note as Carrasco picked up his first save for Bridgeport.

Leek dropped to 6-7 while Pike improved to 5-5.

Bridgeport used speed to open the scoring. Leadoff hitter Adam Greenberg placed a flawless bunt to second for an infield single before advancing on a sacrifice bunt. Luis Lopez’s RBI double drove in Greenberg to give Bridgeport the lead.

Navarrete tied the game in the bottom of the inning, smashing his team-leading 15th home run off the Stalco advertisement to the left of the scoreboard.

A two-out second-inning rally gave the Ducks its only lead. Eighth-hitting Rob Sandora’s single started the rally after two fly outs. Juan Francia walked and scored when Hernandez ripped Pike’s offering just beyond Greenberg’s diving attempt in right-centerfield.

Poor defense contributed to Bridgeport’s eventual game-winning outburst. Leek walked Brandon Sing to lead off the fourth before striking out Jesse Hoorelbeke. Sing took off for second on the strikeout pitch but stopped midway between first and second.

Francia, playing shortstop, took the throw at second but hit Sing with the baseball on the throw back to first to thwart what should have been a double play. Instead, the Bluefish lined back-to-back singles to load the bases before a sacrifice fly and Shea Harris’ two-run single to right handed Bridgeport a 4-3 lead.

Francia’s throw was charged an error two innings limited Leek’s line to just one earned run after the Levittown native settled down and retired 11 straight batters before Ducks reliever Joe Valentine struck out the side in order in the ninth.

Leek’s line was aided by a throwing error that made all three of Bridgeport’s fourth inning runs unearned. The Levittown native still pitched the furthest into a game this season, keeping the bullpen well rested, striking out six of the last 11 batters he faced.

Carter extended his trip yesterday for two prolonged arguments after the three-man umpiring crew overturned two controversial calls. One call went for the home team and the other helped Southern Maryland, though the Ducks second-half success rate stayed perfect as George Lombard belted two home runs in his debut in a 6-2 win over the Blue Crabs Sunday at Citibank Park.

Lombard, a former Dodgers outfielder, logged four RBIs and three runs scored to help the Ducks improve to 3-0 in the second half while moving his team in position to claim a four-game sweep over a team that clinched a playoff berth by winning the Liberty Division’s first half crown.

“I haven’t played in over two months or seen live pitching,” Lombard said. “You have nothing to lose. Just go out there and do what you’ve done for 15 years.

“I’m excited to have a uniform on and would like to get back to Major League Baseball. It’s just another obstacle people throw at you.”

Lombard broke open a 2-all tie with his three-run home run in the sixth in his 3-4 evening. That shot to right off Southern Maryland starter Keith Ramsey ended an inning that started in bizarre fashion. Ray Navarrete’s hard-hit ball down the third base line appeared to land foul, though umpire Mike Edwards ruled it fair and Navarrete slid into second for an apparent leadoff double.

But Blue Crabs manager Butch Hobson and other fielders argued the call and Edwards put up his hands to signal foul ball-reversing his decision without consulting other crew members. That prompted Carter to get into a heated argument, though the Hall of Fame catcher was not ejected.

“No, I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Carter said. “If you make a call, you got to stick by it. If you reverse it, without getting help, well, that’s the wrong thing.”

Navarrete flew out to center before the Ducks made the matter moot. Preston Wilson and Victor Rodriguez lined back-to-back singles before the lefty-hitting Lombard took Ramsey deep to put the Ducks ahead, 5-2.

Lombard added a eighth-inning insurance run, elevating a line drive that hooked just inside the rightfield foul ball. First base umpire Dan Wilson ruled the ball foul before Carter argued. This time, Wilson conferred with home plate umpire Dave Perry and the call was changed to a home run.

After the records re-set at the 140-game regular season’s midway point, the Ducks have outscored Southern Maryland 17-5 to move to 3-0. Randy Leek and Julio Manon provided two stellar starts to begin the second-half and lefty starter Troy Cate made it three strong starts in a row, allowing just two runs (one earned) in six innings to improve to 5-2.

“The bullpen as a whole to this point has been overused,” Carter said. “Now we got three solid, good performances from our starting pitching. If we can get that on a consistent basis, then we can rest our bullpen.”

Carter said the Ducks are in position to complete a sweep that might have long-term implications. He reference the 1986 Mets four-game sweep over St. Louis on the road from April 11-14 that year. In 1985, the Cardinals beat out the 98-win Mets team for the division crown en route to winning the National League pennant. But the Mets made a statement early next season that propelled them to postseason success, which is what Carter said he is hoping to achieve in his first season as Ducks manager.

“I remember [Mets manager] Davy Johnson telling us if we went in and proved to them in the first series that we can beat them, we’ll win this thing,” Carter said. “Sure enough, that’s the way it went. We just need to put a thought in their head.

“That’s all I’m thinking about is playoffs. I’m not counting our chickens before they hatch because anything can happen but that’s how I think. And that’s who [Southern Maryland] we would play.”

Bridgeport’s Corey Lee dominated the Ducks, allowing just three hits in seven scoreless innings as the Ducks dropped a 7-0 decision in front of the largest crowd in Citibank Park history. Southern Maryland posted a win Saturday afternoon and clinched the Liberty Division’s first-half championship with Bridgeport’s win.

Despite a new attendance high of 7,582, the Ducks’ fell to 34-31 and will need to win the division’s second-half title or capture a potential wild card berth in order to avoid missing the playoffs for the first time since 2003. While the records re-set July 10, the remaining five games in the opening half could still matter at the end of the season if there is a wild card race.

“I think it’s a good way of doing it and it gives every team an opportunity to regroup and have a chance to get in the playoffs,” Carter said. “Every game counts and in this situation, we just have to keep going out there and play hard.

“We can’t forget the last five games.”

There was some good news for the Ducks on a picturesque Independence Day with Preston Wilson returning to the Ducks lineup for the first time in more than a month. Wilson batted cleanup and went 1-4 as the designated hitter, marking his first game action since getting drilled in the face with a pitch that caused a displaced fracture of his nose May 28.

“It’s funny because for me, anytime I’ve come back from something, the first day is OK and it starts telling you how much time you’ve missed in the next few days,” Wilson said. “It’s a matter of stating focused and trying to keep everything as slow and simple as possible and not try to force it. Hopefully, it will come back quicker if [I] don’t try to force it.”

Ducks pitchers experienced severe control problems, walking seven batters to set-up Bridgeport’s rallies. Jake Dittler allowed just three hits and one run in six innings but walked five, including a sixth-inning leadoff walk that resulted in the game’s first run.

Luis Lopez followed a free pass to Tyrone Pendergrass by lining a double that landed just inside the rightfield line. Dittler ended his outing by escaping the jam, stranding Lopez at second before exiting. The right-hander took the hard-luck loss, dropping to 2-4.

A seventh-inning bullpen meltdown allowed Bridgeport to pad the lead with six runs, punctuated by Ryan Radmonovich’s three-run home run. Jason Norderum and Joe Valentine were both charged with three runs.

“Walks always comes back to haunt you,” Carter said. “That was the difference in the ballgame.”

Wilson’s return should bolster the lineup for a second-half push though it did nothing to stymie Lee. The Ducks did not have a single runner reach second until the seventh inning. Even with two runners on base, Lee ended the threat by forcing Johnny Hernandez to ground into a double play. Lee watched Matt Pike pitch the last two innings. The Ducks could not avoid its shutout this season.

“Bridgeport’s been swinging the bat well and getting some good pitching,” Carter said. “They are going to be just as tough in the second half.”

Wilson took an extra precaution at the plate to guard his face. The former major league All-Star wore a protective clear visor fixated to the the helmet’s brim. But the new equipment and long layoff didn’t hinder bat speed as Wilson lined a single sharply through the right side in his first at-bat against Lee. The former Mets, Marlins and Astros outfielder even laughed about his protective gear, pointing it out to catcher Luis Rodriguez before stepping into the batter’s box for the first time.

“It’s a big boost,” Carter said. “We came up with that shield that will protect him, otherwise he wasn’t going to be eligible until around [July] 9 or play in the field until the 14th.  There’s no question, it’s a big plus to have him back.”

The Ducks will look to salvage a split of the four-game series Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.

In the meantime, the Ducks will settle for a win after trailing 3-0 in the eighth. The Ducks scored twice in the ninth to send it to extra before Hernandez brought home John Pachot with the winning run against Jonathan Plefka (1-1).

Down two runs in the ninth, Victor Rodriguez reached on a one-out error when Todd Davison bobbled the ball. Two base hits sandwiched around strikeouts put the tying runs on base and booth advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch.

Pachot then hit a grounder down the third base line that Luis Lopez snared with a backhander. Rather than holding it, Lopez tried the low-percentage throw and his attempt skipped past first base, allowing Kyle Reynolds to score the inning’s second unearned run and tie the score at 3.

Manager Gary Carter nearly was ejected the next batter when Pachot, after advancing to second on another wild pitch, raced home from second when Juan Francia punched a single to left. The strong throw resulted in a bang-bang play and an out call, which caused Carter to jump in the air and scream in frustrating at what could have been the game-winning run.

A power surge temporarily knocked out the left-center field lights with two outs in the top of the sixth and the ensuing 1:08 delay ended a pitching duel prematurely. Cate and Bridgeport’s Kyle Jackson each allowed one base hit each before the rain swept over Citibank Park, leaving it to the bullpens.

Bridgeport finally opened the scoring with a three-run seventh, spoiling Cate’s dominating effort as the Bluefish posted a 3-0 victory. Cate struck out eight and walked just one in 5 2/3 innings. The lefty retired the first 10 Bluefish and faced the minimum through five innings before giving up a leadoff sixth inning walk.

Cate then struck out the next two batters before the delay. The left-center lights and scoreboard flashed on and off before the second strike on Shea Harris. Harris stayed at bat and struck out on the next pitch just as the lights went out in the scoreless game.

At that point the umpires called for the tarp as lightning flashed. Rain pelted the field for the next hour and Ron Flores was on the mound in relief of Cate when the teams returned 68 minutes later.

Flores got out of the sixth by inducing a pop out on one pitch. Yet the Ducks couldn’t muster any more offense despite the Bluefish going to the bullpen. Jackson picked up a no-decision, allowing one hit in five innings, striking out four while issuing zero walks.

The Ducks (34-29) trail first-place Southern Maryland by 5 1/2 games with seven games left for the first-half crown. All records re-set at the midway point, though the remaining first half games are still important should the Blue Crabs win the second half pennant as the best overall record determines a wild card entry.

Bridgeport (29-35) finally generated offense with the first four batters reaching base to start the seventh. Jesse Hoorelbeke lined a single to following a leadoff double and walk, loading the bases against the Ducks Rob Paulk.

With the infield playing in to cut off the run at home, Brandon Sing’s grounder skipped through the left side to plate Todd Davison with the first run while chasing Paulk. Jason Norderum came in and got a key strikeout before walking former Duck Ron Davenport to force in a run. Hoorelbeke scored Bridgeport’s third and final run on a wild pitch to cap the rally.

Cate’s effort came two days after the Ducks released Opening Day starter Brad Halsey. Halsey, a fellow southpaw, was 3-5 with a 5.86 ERA before his departure.

Julio Manon is the closest the Ducks have come to finding an ace, posting a 3-1 record and a rotation-best 3.29 ERA. Cate is the only Ducks starter with an ERA less than 4, making him a candidate to take over the No. 2 rotation spot and provide a lefty complement to Manon.

Halsey never found the consistency and didn’t miss many bats, allowing left-handed hitters to bat a collective .325 against him. The former Yankee prospect was jettisoned July 1 after allowing 73 hits in just 58 1/3 innings. Catcher Jamie Quinn, the team’s bullpen catcher, took Halsey’s roster spot after backup catcher Rob Sandora is out day-to-day with soreness in his leg.

Sound familiar? Benitez wasn’t even wearing a Mets uniform this time. Instead, the Newark Bears closer failed to hold a two-run ninth inning lead in the Atlantic League’s All-Star game Tuesday night, giving up four runs on five hits as the Liberty Division stormed back for a 7-5 victory.

Southern Maryland’s Mike Just tied the contest by working the count full against the former two-time major league All-Star. With one out and runners on second and third, Just blasted a two-run single up the middle to tie it at 5.

Bridgeport’s Luis Lopez ripped a RBI single down the leftfield line to plate Just with the game-winning run, tagging Benitez and the Freedom Division with the loss.

“Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose,” an upbeat Benitez said in the home clubhouse afterwards. “I felt like I wasn’t 100 percent until the last couple of batters.”

Benitez, who has taken over as Newark’s closer from former Red Sox Keith Foulke, said he wanted to win the exhibition but still was appreciative of the opportunity. The 36-year-old is a two-time major league All-Star but said earning the respect of fellow players, coaches and fans is important to him.

“You make the All-Star game because people picked you. You did something special,” Benitez said. “It’s a good opportunity to come back. It’s not the big leagues but to be in a situation here, it’s very nice. It’s cool for me and I take pride in being in the All-Star game.”

Just was the only Liberty starter to play the entire game, going 2-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored to earn MVP honors. Ducks closer Bill Simas entered in the eighth inning with the Liberty Division trailing by a run. Since the Liberty squad was the visitor, manager Butch Hobson wanted to ensure Simas got to pitch in front of the 20 scouts in attendance at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium.

The move left the Liberty squad with no more pitchers and Simas had to come out in the ninth for a five-out appearance. Yet Simas thrived on the workload, tossing a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the win.

“For us to come back like that, it’s a pretty big win,” Valentine said. “Even though it’s an exhibition, we’re here to win. Anytime you’re an All-Star, it’s an honor, wherever you are. And the talent that’s in this league; it’s pretty nice.”

The Freedom Division jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings, scoring once in the first before Lancaster’s Lloyd Turner blasted a two-run double down the leftfield line. Turner was in line for the MVP award if the Freedom team could have protected the lead.

Unlike last year’s All-Star game in Somerset, there was no pregame home run derby. Ray Navarrete represented the Ducks in the contest last year but still got to swing for the fences, knocking a two-run home run to left in the top of the third to put the Liberty Division on the scoreboard and cut the deficit to 3-2.

“Anytime there’s a home run derby, I always think it makes the All-Star game more fun,” Navarrete said. “Either way, I’m having a good time.”

The Liberty Division plated a run in the seventh before the Freedom squad picked up an insurance run charged to Ducks set-up man Joe Valentine in the eighth. Even the extra run couldn’t help Benitez, who started the ninth by allowing a weak infield single before Camden’s Jason Jacobs lined a single to right.

A pop out and a passed ball put two runners in scoring position for Just, who delivered his clutch hit. Just stole second in front of Lopez’s single and Camden’s Jon Knott brought Lopez home on a RBI double to left-center.

Atlantic League rules state that an extra-inning game would be decided by a homer-off, which would be baseball’s version of the NHL’s shootout where the game would be decided by a home run derby.

Freedom manager Chris Hoiles (York’s manager) said that scenario allowed him to use all his pitchers and save Benitez for the end, where it was his job to finish the inning without needing to worry about arms for extra-innings.

“I figured with what we have, Benitez is our closer and that was the best option I had,” Hoiles said.

No backflips accompanied Smith as he took his position during the Atlantic League’s All-Star pregame celebrity exhibition softball game. The 54-year-old said his crowd-pleasing acrobatic ways are a thing of his playing days.

“I play too much golf now. My back is stiff,” Smith said with a laugh inside Newark’s home dugout. “Don’t get old.”

Smith last played a competitive game in 1996 before retiring from the Cardinals. After getting inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002, the 15-time All-Star is relishing his role as an unofficial ambassador to the game.

Current players like Armando Benitez, who was representing the Bears, flocked over to Smith for a hug and a picture. Newark’s Michael Hernandez also wanted to pose with the 13-time gold glove award winner. Behind the backstop, fans clamored for autographs on baseballs, programs and ticket stubs.

Smith said the attention was hard to envision when he first came up with San Diego in 1978. After getting traded to the Cardinals, Smith earned a plague in Cooperstown, playing in St. Louis from 1982-1996, registering 2,460 career hits. That hit total is still impressive considering Smith’s claim to fame was his defense, where he finished his career with a .978 fielding percentage.

“There’s a positive legacy that you want to leave to where you had a positive impact on the sports,” Smith said. “I tried to conduct myself in a manner that would hopefully get me to this point to where people would come up to me, as they do now, and tell me how much they appreciate the way I went about my business.

“I’ve always taken a lot of pride in the way I’ve approached this game. I’ve never taken the game for granted and now I’ve reaped the rewards of it.”

Smith reached base with a first-inning single, where he immediately fist-pumped a mascot. It was just one of many light-hearted moments in a game featuring entertainment personalities and current big-name athletes like Justin Tuck from the Giants and the Jets’ Thomas Jones and Kerry Rhodes. Newark native Queen Latifah also participated as a team captain.

The softball comparisons brought up comparisons to a favorite off-the-field Smith memory. The famous 1992 episode featured Smith on the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant team that included then-major league stars like Steve Sax, Wade Boggs and Roger Clemens.

So, what softball moment did Smith enjoy more?

“Oddly enough, that’s one of the most-asked questions, people ask me a million questions about the Simpsons episode,” Smith said with a chuckle. “It was all a voice over. None of us were in the studio at the same time.”

Playing in Newark’s home ballpark brought Smith back to an independent league. It’s the same type of set-up for which Ozzie’s son Dustin is playing, as the younger Smith is currently leading United League Baseball in steals for Coastal Bend.

“He’s been in the league for a little bit,” Smith said. “A lot of people think it’s easy for sons or daughters of professional athletes to get in the business. It’s tough to break in. I had to take a different route to the big leagues and I’m hoping it’s the same case for him.”

But there were still plenty of smiles for the team’s four position players and two pitchers who were selected to represent the Ducks for the Liberty Division squad at Newark’s Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium. The Flock entered the four-day break riding momentum, posting an 8-2 record in the past 10 contests to move within three games of first-place Southern Maryland.

With 15 games remaining in the opening half race, Ray Navarrete said the respite will allow the Ducks to finish out the division race strong.

“Our confidence level in the clubhouse is at the highest point we’ve had,” Navarrete said before the game. “Anytime you get days off to rest and heel some injuries is good. It came at the perfect time.

“I really like our chances. We have a lot of special things ahead of us.”

Navarrete was making his second straight All-Star appearance in a Ducks uniform, hitting a two-run third inning home runs as the Liberty Division stormed back for three ninth-inning runs against Freedom Division closer Armando Benitez in a 7-5 come-from posted victory. After being a man without a defensive position the last two years, Navarrete moved to third base at the start of the season, going to a position in which he had little experience.

Manning the hot corner, Navarrete committed 10 errors but has looked more comfortable at the position. The former Mets prospect continued his torrid offense hitting, belting a team-best 10 home runs while driving in 34 runs.

“I’m grateful to be here today,” Navarrete said. “Third base has been a huge adjustment for me. I still have a long way to go before I turn into a good third baseman but it means a great deal to me.”

Earning an All-Star selection is an honor in any professional league, though Navarrete said he hopes he won’t have a chance to accomplish the feat a third consecutive year when the Ducks host the event in 2010.

“All of us, this is not our ultimate goal to continue to be in this league,” Navarrete said. “But if a lot of us don’t get the opportunity to get signed, this is the league in which we have to show our talents. Anytime our peers, coaches or media votes us in, you have to take pride in it because this is a great league with a lot of exceptional talent.”

Catcher John Pachot and rightfielder Estee Harris were the other Ducks to start the game while outfielder Johnny Hernandez entered for Harris in right in the top of the sixth. Pachot went 1-2 while Harris and Hernandez went a combined 0-5.

Joe Valentine, the club’s regular set-up man, entered in his customary eighth-inning and allowed a leadoff infield single before getting a strikeout.  Trailing 4-3, Liberty manager Butch Hobson then called on Ducks closer Bill Simas.

“It’s funny how it worked out,” Valentine said. “I knew I was going to face only one or two hitters and he [Simas] was going to come in because they wanted to get everyone into the game in front of the scouts.

“This is of course a more laid-back situation. For everybody promoting this area to get the fans back out here, I thought it was a great event.”

Simas induced a ground ball that first baseman Vito Chiaravolloti couldn’t field. The play was ruled a hit and put runners on the corners. Simas forced a slowly hit ball but it went far enough to allow Tom Collaro to score on the groundout, extending the Freedom Division’s lead to 5-3 heading into the ninth.

Before Benitez’s breakdown, Liberty manager Butch Hobson called on Simas in the eighth just to get him into the game in front of 20 scouts. Simas ended up needing to pitch the ninth, turning a five-out effort into a win. Hobson said Simas was OK with the extra workload and gave him permission for the extended duty. The Ducks do not resume play until Thursday, giving Simas an extra day of rest.

“He was fine. I just wanted to make sure I got him in the game,” Hobson said. “I don’t want to see anybody get hurt. With eight pitchers, you want to make sure everybody gets their opportunity.

Notes: QuackerJack, who has lost every single race at Citibank Park when he goes up against children, finally was able to claim victory. The Ducks mascot defeated a field of other Atlantic League mascots in a race around the bases before the top of the seventh.

The Ducks countered with just two such players but still put a big league hurting on the Bears, torching six Newark pitchers for 19 hits and two home runs in a 17-6 blowout win in a Citibank Park matinee.

Estee Harris drilled his second grand slam of the season, breaking the game open with his fifth-inning bases-clearing blast to right as part of a five-RBI afternoon. Alex Prieto went 3-4 with a homer, four runs scored and three RBIs. Every Ducks starting position player registered a base hit by the fifth inning, chasing Newark starter and former Yankee Shawn Chacon.

“When we get on base, the other guys bring us in,” Prieto said. “When one guy starts hitting, everyone starts hitting again. Right now, we’re doing pretty well.”

Prieto and Juan Francia went a combined 5-8 with five runs scored and five RBIs batting in the eighth and ninth position, marking the second straight game the bottom of the order has served as the offensive catalyst.

“When you get the bottom part of the lineup going, you’re going to have a day like today and score 17 runs,” manager Gary Carter said.

Jake Dittler continued to solidify his spot as a back-of-the-rotation contributor, going 5 1/3 innings in allowing six runs to pick up the win as the Ducks extended its winning streak to four. The Ducks capped an eight-game homestand with five wins before heading to Somerset for a four-game series against the Atlantic League’s best team.

“We’re looking to get that production from the middle of the lineup,” Carter said. “This was a big series for us, no question about it.

“To win three games against a powerhouse like Newark was a big plus for us. Guys are swinging the bats and it seems like we’re starting to jell at the right time.”

Entering Friday, the Ducks sputtering offense mustered just 11 runs in six games. Preston Wilson is still out until at least Monday, though the club continues to batter Atlantic League pitching without the former All-Star. The Ducks have scored 32 runs the past three contests, staying three games behind first place Southern Maryland.

Harris broke the game open in the Ducks six-run fifth inning. After working the count to 3-0 against lefty Cory Willey, Harris took a strike and sat on a fastball, whipping the bat through the zone to pull the ball hard over the rightfield wall. Harris’ fifth home run helped the Ducks turn a three-run cushion into a 12-3 edge.

“The previous at-bat against him, he didn’t go to his breaking ball,” Harris said. “He kept feeding me fastballs so I figured he would try it again.”

The offensive onslaught comes at a time when the Ducks are getting its rotation back healthy and productive. Combined with Southern Maryland losing its staff ace and closer to major league organizations this week and the Ducks are hitting its peak with just eight days left before the All-Star break.

Opening Day starter Brad Halsey looked dominate in his last start and 2008 wins leader Randy Leek threw two scoreless innings in relief Saturday in his first game back since being sidelined with an oblique injury.

Troy Cate started that game and allowed just one run in five innings as he works his way back from a groin injury and Dittler stayed aggressive when staked to a big lead. Newark took advantage of the pitches in the zone, driving up Dittler’s run total thanks to Andres Perez’s three-run home run in the sixth. The right-hander also had to sit through long innings and his manager said that prevented him from staying loose.

“He was upset about the three-run home run but for the most part, he was keeping the ball down,” Carter said. “With a pretty big lead, he wasn’t afraid to come in and throw strikes.”

The Ducks jumped out to a 6-0 lead, scoring once in the first and five runs in the second in which 10 batters came to the plate. Chacon needed 27 pitches to get out of the first and fired 32 in the next inning before Newark manager Tim Raines pulled the ex-Yankee and Colorado Rockies starter. The Ducks also shelled Chacon in another slugfest victory May 18 at home.

Every Ducks position player except Johnny Hernandez scored at least one run. The rightfielder still got into the action, driving in two runs in a 2-5 effort.

“When everyone is hitting like that, I don’t feel like a middle guy,” Harris said. “You don’t feel like it’s an extra burden. Everyone is doing what they need to do out there. It makes it easier on everyone.”

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY— Newark enjoyed a name-recognition advantage entering Sunday’s game against the Ducks, sporting a lineup featuring seven former major leaguers and a starter who also enjoyed success at the top level.

The Ducks countered with just two such players but still put a big league hurting on the Bears, torching six Newark pitchers for 19 hits and two home runs in a 17-6 blowout win in a Citibank Park matinee.

Estee Harris drilled his second grand slam of the season, breaking the game open with his fifth-inning bases-clearing blast to right as part of a five-RBI afternoon. Alex Prieto went 3-4 with a homer, four runs scored and three RBIs. Every Ducks starting position player registered a base hit by the fifth inning, chasing Newark starter and former Yankee Shawn Chacon.

“When we get on base, the other guys bring us in,” Prieto said. “When one guy starts hitting, everyone starts hitting again. Right now, we’re doing pretty well.”

Prieto and Juan Francia went a combined 5-8 with five runs scored and five RBIs batting in the eighth and ninth position, marking the second straight game the bottom of the order has served as the offensive catalyst.

“When you get the bottom part of the lineup going, you’re going to have a day like today and score 17 runs,” manager Gary Carter said.

Jake Dittler continued to solidify his spot as a back-of-the-rotation contributor, going 5 1/3 innings in allowing six runs to pick up the win as the Ducks extended its winning streak to four. The Ducks capped an eight-game homestand with five wins before heading to Somerset for a four-game series against the Atlantic League’s best team.

“We’re looking to get that production from the middle of the lineup,” Carter said. “This was a big series for us, no question about it.

“To win three games against a powerhouse like Newark was a big plus for us. Guys are swinging the bats and it seems like we’re starting to jell at the right time.”

Entering Friday, the Ducks sputtering offense mustered just 11 runs in six games. Preston Wilson is still out until at least Monday, though the club continues to batter Atlantic League pitching without the former All-Star. The Ducks have scored 32 runs the past three contests, staying three games behind first place Southern Maryland.

Harris broke the game open in the Ducks six-run fifth inning. After working the count to 3-0 against lefty Cory Willey, Harris took a strike and sat on a fastball, whipping the bat through the zone to pull the ball hard over the rightfield wall. Harris’ fifth home run helped the Ducks turn a three-run cushion into a 12-3 edge.

“The previous at-bat against him, he didn’t go to his breaking ball,” Harris said. “He kept feeding me fastballs so I figured he would try it again.”

The offensive onslaught comes at a time when the Ducks are getting its rotation back healthy and productive. Combined with Southern Maryland losing its staff ace and closer to major league organizations this week and the Ducks are hitting its peak with just eight days left before the All-Star break.

Opening Day starter Brad Halsey looked dominate in his last start and 2008 wins leader Randy Leek threw two scoreless innings in relief Saturday in his first game back since being sidelined with an oblique injury.

Troy Cate started that game and allowed just one run in five innings as he works his way back from a groin injury and Dittler stayed aggressive when staked to a big lead. Newark took advantage of the pitches in the zone, driving up Dittler’s run total thanks to Andres Perez’s three-run home run in the sixth. The right-hander also had to sit through long innings and his manager said that prevented him from staying loose.

“He was upset about the three-run home run but for the most part, he was keeping the ball down,” Carter said. “With a pretty big lead, he wasn’t afraid to come in and throw strikes.”

The Ducks jumped out to a 6-0 lead, scoring once in the first and five runs in the second in which 10 batters came to the plate. Chacon needed 27 pitches to get out of the first and fired 32 in the next inning before Newark manager Tim Raines pulled the ex-Yankee and Colorado Rockies starter. The Ducks also shelled Chacon in another slugfest victory May 18 at home.

Every Ducks position player except Johnny Hernandez scored at least one run. The rightfielder still got into the action, driving in two runs in a 2-5 effort.

“When everyone is hitting like that, I don’t feel like a middle guy,” Harris said. “You don’t feel like it’s an extra burden. Everyone is doing what they need to do out there. It makes it easier on everyone.”

“You deserved to win,” Carter said to Manon, who had a large ice bag strapped across his right arm.

The Ducks bullpen didn’t live up to its reputation as the team’s lone season-long strength, costing Manon a win while dealing another blow to the club’s first-half division title chances.

A rare lapse from set-up man Joe Valentine and closer Bill Simas allowed Camden to score twice in the eighth and ninth innings, capped by Brian Burgamy’s two-run homer in the last inning to move the Ducks to 22-23; the first time since May 28 the team dropped below .500.

“It’s a shame it turned out the way it did,” Carter said. “Julio pitched an outstanding game but I have enough confidence in my bullpen and I’m going to go back to them when I need them.”

Manon celebrated his 36th birthday by throwing seven scoreless innings. Fredrick Torres finally got to the former Montreal Expos pitcher in the eighth, taking him deep with one out to end his shutout bid. A single brought in Valentine, who entered with a 1.40 ERA. But a single through the right side put runners on the corners before Jon Knott ripped a RBI double off the rightfield wall to tie the score at 2.

Simas, who carried a 1.89 ERA, got the first out in the ninth before allowing a single. Burgamy entered with a .189 average and Simas allowed just one home run. Burgamy got the better of the matchup, ripping a full-count fastball to the row of advertisements beyond the rightfield wall for a crushing two-run homer. The Ducks remained 4 ½ games behind the Liberty Division-leading Blue Crabs.

Manon made just his season’s fourth start and worked into the eighth inning for a third straight outing. Matt Cavagnaro scored twice thanks to RBIs from Estee Harris and Ray Navarrete, staking the ex-Oriole to a 2-0 lead into the late innings.

On an overcast and cool night, Manon prevented Camden from squaring the ball, inducing 15 fly ball outs. Manon said he shrugged off the loss and supports the relievers who have kept the Ducks from falling out of the division race.

“We’re all one group and we’re all trying to do our best,” Manon said. “Whatever happened out there, we’re not meaning for it to happen. It just happened, that’s the way the game is.”

Last week’s seven game road trip featured series against the league’s worst two teams. The Ducks won two of three from Bridgeport but dropped three of four against last-place York, finishing the trip 2-4. Camden is just one game above .500 and have won two of the first three games in the series, meaning the Ducks are missing opportunities to surge up the standings.

Injuries also are mounting. Randy Leek, last year’s wins leader, is still out with an oblique injury and Preston Wilson is still recovering after getting hit in the face with a pitch. The Ducks offense is sputtering, scoring just 10 runs the past five games.

“I view those games as several missed chances,” Carter said. “We needed to capitalize against Bridgeport and York. Maybe the [upcoming] All-Star break will be a blessing in disguise because our guys have been pretty banged up and we’ve been doing it with mirrors, basically.”

John doesn’t seem to mind the close quarters. His Bridgeport Bluefish just posted a 10th-inning home run to prevent a three-game sweep to the Ducks in a Wednesday morning game that started at a bleary-eye-inducing 10:35 a.m. John will be ready to head on the bus soon for an upcoming road trip.

Despite 288 major league victories in a career that spanned 21 seasons, John’s currently lifestyle is decidedly minor league. The former Yankee standout and borderline Hall of Famer said the mileage and facilities hasn’t dampened his enjoyment in coming to the ballpark.

“I love to,” John said about reporting for work daily. “We’re going on a road trip and we look forward to it. Sure do.”

Since being named manager right before the 2007 season, John’s enthusiasm has been tempered by the Bridgeport’s mediocrity. Back-to-back finished out of the playoffs can be taxing, especially when a ballpark that used to be the crown jewel of the league is now almost antiquated as teams like the Ducks and Somerset Patriots built nicer ones a short time later and expansion teams like Lancaster and York developed state-of-the-art facilities.

The Bluefish finished 2007 with a 60-66 ledger, coming in fifth. Bridgeport posted a 67-73 record last year and the current campaign hasn’t started much better. Entering Friday, the Bluefish were 15-24, last in the Liberty Division and 8 ½ games behind first-place Southern Maryland.

The team is averaging 2,209, making it last in the league behind financially struggling Newark. Three clubs (the Ducks, Lancaster and Somerset) are averaging more than 4,700, putting the Bluefish at a disadvantage. If anything can wipe the smile off John’s face, it’s the constant struggle to get his team to make the step to being a contender.

“If you play well it does,” John said with a hearty laugh when asked if he is still having fun. “If you don’t play very well like we’ve had the last couple of days, it’s not a lot of fun to manage anything.”

John was a four-time All-Star and is in his sixth decade of professional baseball. It was 46 years ago he made his big league debut as a 20-year-old Cleveland Indians pitcher, starting a career that featured 2,245 strikeouts, four World Series appearances and a surgical procedure on his pitching arm that was so revolutionary and successful that it became known as Tommy John surgery and has saved many subsequent pitching careers.

The three-time 20-game winner pitched until he was 46, becoming one of the most successful left-handed pitchers in baseball history. He still gets to spend time on the field. In between innings of home games, the on-field host brings John out from the dugout to sip tea provided by a sponsor.

John eagerly takes a drink and gives a hokey endorsement to the crowd, a tongue-in-cheek play on baseball’s old-time commercials. His tutelage has also helped his players, like former Tampa Bay pitcher and current Bridgeport ace Esteban Yan, who is an All-Star candidate under John after starting 3-1 with a 2.68 ERA through his first six starts.

“Tommy’s cool. He says what he has to say and we try and do what we have to do,” Yan said.

Managing in the Atlantic League also gives John a chance to match wits with well-known former players and current managers like Tim Raines (Newark), Sparky Lyle (Somerset), Butch Hobson (Southern Maryland) and Hall of Famer Gary Carter, who manages the Ducks.

John said he is close friends with Carter, extending a relationship started during their playing careers. When they get together to talk, Carter does have bragging rights if he chooses to employ it. The backstop batted .375 against the 6-3, 185-pound southpaw, lining six hits in 16 at-bats with two RBIs. John struck out Carter twice and never allowed an extra-base hit to him, though.

Through the first six games in the ferry series, the Ducks and Bluefish have split.

“Gary’s been a friend of mine for a long time,” John said. “We played against each other when he was with the Mets and Expos and all that. Whether we win or lose, Gary’s a friend and it’s fun.”

Instead of falling out of the Liberty Division hunt, manager Gary Carter saw his team take care of business against the Atlantic League’s two worst clubs, sweeping York and taking the first two from Bridgeport.

Despite a plethora of chances, the Ducks failed to cap a second consecutive sweep. Carter saw his team make four outs on the base paths and leave three runners on base in the final two at-bats before Luis Lopez tagged Robert Paulk’s first pitch deep over the leftfield wall for a 10th inning solo home run, lifting the Bluefish to a 3-2 win in a rare morning start in front of 2,522 at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard Wednesday.

Instead of moving 1 ½ behind Southern Maryland, the Ducks were held scoreless for nine innings after a two-run first as the three-four-five hitters went a combined 3-14. Bridgeport staff ace Esteban Yan scattered eight hits in eight innings after entering the contest with the league’s seventh-lowest ERA at 3.89.

Estee Harris accounted for both Ducks runs, recording a RBI and a run scored while Ray Navarrete was the only visitor to log a multi-hit game in a 2-4, one-run effort. With a five-game winning streak over, the Ducks dropped to 20-17.

The Ducks put runners on first and third in the top of the 10th thanks to shortstop Rayner Bautista booting Harris’ ground ball that would have ended the inning. Instead, the ball glanced off his glove before rolling into shallow center as Navarrete advanced to third.

Andy Weimer prevented the go-ahead run from crossing the plate, setting up Lopez’s third home run of the season in the bottom of the inning as the Bluefish evened the season series at 3-3.

Ducks starter B.J. Lamura lived dangerously through six innings, walking five and allowing five hits in throwing 109 pitches. But the righty kept the Bluefish to just two runs, stranding seven runners to pick up the quality start.

While Lamura labored through his effort, Yan capitalized on the free-swinging Ducks, needing just 85 pitches to breeze through his eight innings. Yan, a former Tampa Bay Devil Ray, walked just one batter and registered a single strikeout.

“I’m glad they gave me a chance to win and prove what I can do,” Yan, an 11-year major league veteran, said. “I’d like to get the win, but I’m happy the team won. I’m proud of what I’m doing and will continue to throw every outing and every opportunity.”

Despite the starters’ style dichotomy, both pitchers ended up with no-decisions. Yan allowed just one runner to make it into scoring position after the Ducks scored twice in the first. Bridgeport manager Tommy John elected to take out Yan for the ninth, bringing in Weimer.

Ron Davenport lined a leadoff double and a walk put two runners  on base before Johnny Hernandez placed a perfect sac bunt attempt down the third base line, moving both men into scoring position in the ninth. Dennis Donovan then hit a weak grounder to third and Davenport broke on contact and caught caught in a rundown between third and home.

Bridgeport got the tag out and then completed the double play when Donovan tried to take second base and was thrown out by 10 feet, killing a rally with the fourth out the Ducks made on the base paths.

Bluefish manager Tommy John is friends with Carter from their playing days. After a rough start, the Bluefish won four of the last six even after dropping the first two to the Ducks. Bridgeport is still looking to find consistency with a 15-23 record.

“If you don’t play very well like we’ve had the last couple of days, it’s not a lot of fun to manage anything,” John said. “But it’s fun. Gary’s been a friend of mine for a long time. We played against each other when he was with the Mets and Expos.”

Ken Ray, Randy Leek and Brad Halsey were entrusted to anchor the Ducks top three rotation spots before Opening Day. Ray is now in the Indians organization, Leek is inactive with an oblique strain and Halsey is looking to regain the form that once made him a heralded Yankee prospect.

But the Ducks qualified for the playoffs the past five seasons based on depth and are looking to employ a similar strategy with the new campaign barely a month old. Enter Lamura and Jake Dittler, who are two right-handers looking to become established Atlantic League starters.

Harris and Victor Rodriguez jumped on Yan early, lining back-to-back RBI singles before taking second on wild throws to the plate in the opening inning despite the 10:30 a.m. start time. Rodriguez prematurely ended the rally, getting thrown out trying to take third.

Bridgeport battled back, supporting its top starter by manufacturing a run off Lamura. Adam Greenberg worked a a leadoff walk, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error before coming home on Jay Caligiuri’s infield single to make it 2-1 after the first inning.

Lamura struggled with command but was able to minimize the damage. In the third, the Bluefish put runners runners on the corners with none out before Lamura induced a pop out before Ryan Radmanovich hit a sacrifice fly to deep center to tie the score at 2. That would be it as the Ronkonkoma escaped the inning without Bridgeport taking the lead.

The Ducks will head to Somerset for a three-game series against the reigning league champions. The Patriots entered Wednesday evening with a Freedom Division-best 24-17 record.

Dittler still carried a 4.47 ERA that season, hardly numbers that suggest ace status. But Dittler’s best performance as a Duck came at crucial time with the club putting former staff No. 1 Randy Leek on the inactive list with an oblique injury.

Leek, who won a team-high 12 games for the Ducks last season, was removed from the active roster Saturday morning. Hours later, Dittler tossed seven shutout innings against York and Estee Harris drove in two runs, leading the Ducks to a 4-0 victory over the Revolution in front of 7,053 at Citibank Park.

“Tonight’s performance was outstanding when we needed a good performance,” Carter said. “To go seven innings and throw 88 pitches… I thought it was one of the better outings that we’ve had all year because he was getting ahead with his pitches and he never got himself into any trouble.”

Through his first four Ducks appearances, Dittler was tagged for a 10.80 ERA, allowing 15 hits in just 8 1/3 innings. The 6-4, 220-pound pitcher rewarded manager Gary Carter’s faith, retiring seven straight batters at one point in limiting York to three hits. Dittler struck out four and nearly cut his ERA in half, walking only one batter in the process The Ducks won its second straight to move over the .500 mark at 17-16.

“That’s what they brought me in for and that’s what I’m trying to do,” Dittler said. “Losing Leek was big but we’ll get him back and get him back healthy.

“Coming in, I was sitting at home and not working as much as I wanted. When I got here, I had to feel myself at a little bit and got into the rotation and got in my routine and I’m trying to hit my stride here.”

Leek was 12-3 with a 3.66 ERA in 2008, earning the Opening Day start while tying a team-high mark with two complete games in helping the Ducks to a fifth straight Atlantic League playoff berth.

The Levittown native and MacArthur High School standout couldn’t duplicate his effort. Leek’s 1-5 start with a 7.78 ERA was the dichotomy of his previous season. In seven starts, Leek averaged less than six innings per start and allowed 60 hits in 37 innings, necessitating a roster shakeup and give Leek time to heal.

“We figured by putting him on the inactive list, that will give him a couple of weeks to get healthy,” Carter said. “This is the best thing for him at this time.”

Before the game, the Ducks placed veteran reliever Dan Miceli on the inactive list. That hit to the bullpen didn’t hurt the club in this contest after Joe Valentine escaped a bases-loaded, one out jam in the eighth.

Valentine was unusually wild, sandwiching walks around a single after retiring the first batter. With the bases loaded, Valentine settled down, inducing a flyout to shallow left and getting Matt Padgett to pop out to second to end the threat and keep the team’s shutout bid intact.  Closer Bill Simas struck out the side a non-save situation in the ninth.

“I felt good,” Dittler said. “I wanted to go out and let guys put the ball in play. The defense did a great job making all the plays on the groundballs.”

York’s Dave Gassner matched Dittler pitch-for-pitch before the Ducks mounted a two-run fifth to break a scoreless tie. Preston Wilson’s one-out single started the rally and Victor Rodriguez followed by lining a run-scoring single off the right-centerfield wall to plate Wilson. Johnny Hernandez walked and John Pachot singled sharply to right, loading the bases.

Harris hit under the ball slightly, missing a grand slam but still sending it deep enough to center for a sacrifice fly a 2-0 lead. The Central Islip native extended that advantage one inning later, coming through with a clutch two-out single to center to plate Rodriguez.

“We had a great pitching performance and when your pitcher goes out and does that, it makes you want to go out and get runs for him,” said Harris, who finished 2-3 and made a strong throw off a catch in left to prevent York’s potential eighth-inning sacrifice fly. “When a guy puts up a performance like that, you definently feel motivated to go out and give him as much as you can.”

Dittler first came to the Atlantic League last season, splitting the campaign with Camden and Texas’ Double-A affiliate. The 26-year-old did not allow a runner past first base after the second inning, putting the Ducks in position to sweep the three-game series Sunday.

York and Bridgeport are the league’s two last place teams and the Ducks are now 2-0 in a 10-game stretch against the bottom feeders. Combined with Southern Maryland’s loss, the Ducks are 3 ½ games behind in the Liberty Division and are looking to make strides.

“We obviously have a little momentum going right now,” Carter said. “Hopefully we can get things going again and get everybody healthy.”

Notes: One day after welcoming the four millionth fan in team history, the Ducks drew another stellar crowd. The attendance total was more than 1,000 people the club recorded on Opening Day, where 6,051 came to the park. The Ducks previous season-high was 6,411, set on the second home game May 2…Former Yankee Brad Halsey will look to find his early season rhythm when he takes the mound for the Ducks Sunday afternoon. Game time is set for 1:35 p.m.

The Ducks still are fielding a veteran club, though the pitching staff took a hit when Miceli and starter Randy Leek (strained oblique) were placed on the Atlantic League’s inactive list before a 4-0 win over the York Revolution Saturday night at Citibank Park.

Right-handed Robert Paulk, a former Mets farmhand, was signed to take one of the roster spots while the club also activated infielder Ron Davenport.

“Miceli at this time has decided he needs to go home and resolve some personal issues,” Carter said. “There is a possibility that we could bring him back.”

After making his last major league appearance for Tampa Bay in 2006, Miceli spent the last two seasons at home. But instead of picking up a hobby, the 38-year-old decided to make a comeback attempt. Thanks to an endorsement from a former Ducks closer, Miceli ventured from his Florida home to Long Island for a career comeback.

“Danny Graves came over and said it was a good league so I decided to follow in his footsteps and see what happens,” Miceli said earlier in the week. “I felt like I have something left in the arm, so I gave it one more shot.

“I have one goal. The reason why I’m here is to try and make it back it the big leagues.”

Miceli’s absence removed an effective set-up man from the bullpen’s stockpile. The right-hander was 1-0 with a 2.81 ERA. Despite his age, Miceli still demonstrated a power game, striking out 18 in 16 innings while walking just seven. As a sixth-through-eighth inning option, Miceli logged 16 appearances, teaming with Joe Valentine and Ron Flores to protect leads for surging closer Bill Simas.

In 14 big league seasons, Miceli pitched for 10 teams. The Newark native also came close to home in 2003, pitching briefly for the Yankees. The 6-0, 200-pound reliever appeared in 631 games and helped the Padres make it to the Fall Classic in 1998.

Miceli also made more than $9 million his two-decade career. Yet for the first month of the season, he was back to riding buses and playing for the league’s average salary of nearly $3,000 a month. For the chance to make it back to the big time, Miceli said the minor league lifestyle was suitable.

“I enjoy it still. I enjoy the guys,” Miceli said. “Bus rides are just buses. I don’t mind.”

John Pachot caught the majority of Miceli’s Ducks appearances and said the former undrafted free agent for the Kansas City Royals still had good command and suitable velocity despite the two-year respite.

“He didn’t have a lot of velocity, but his splitter, cutter and slider were pretty good,” Pachot said. “He had good pitches.”

Carter never returned to the game after ending a Hall of Fame career for Montreal in 1992. But the Cooperstown enshrined former catcher said the game’s allure can be tempting when taking the children to school and home improvement projects replace batting practice and adrenaline-filled late-game pressure situations.

“Maybe he retired a little too early,” Carter said. “Maybe he also found that home-life isn’t as easy as it goes because when you still feel like you have a little something left in the tank, you might as well give it your best effort.”

The Ducks lost its best pitcher and top-two hitters in a 72-hour period. That didn’t include the on-field action, where the Ducks dropped two in a row to the first-place Southern Maryland Blue Crabs following a 4-2 defeat Wednesday night at Citibank Park.

Before the game, the Cleveland Indians organization signed away staff ace Ken Ray. A day earlier, Raul Gonzalez had his contract purchased by Tabasco of the Mexican League. Replacing a surging pitcher and hot-hitting slugger is daunting enough, though the news was worse after the the Ducks dropped 4 ½ games behind the Blue Crabs in falling to 15-15, the first time the club was .500 since May 1.

“They’re positioned in the right place,” Ducks manager Gary Carter said. “They are playing solid defense and their pitching has been good, too.”

Southern Maryland moved in position for the three-game sweep with league win-leader Halama on the hill Thursday. The former Duck left-hander is off to a 6-0 start with a 2.36 ERA.

“Hopefully the guys will step it up a notch and beat the league leader in wins,” Carter said. “Halama’s a professional and has done it at the major league level. We’re going to have a tough go to try and beat him.”

But the Ducks still must worry about internal problems. Former Montreal Expos right-hander Julio Manon was lackluster in his first start of the season. Manon was tagged for three runs (two earned) in 4 2/3 innings. That production won’t make the Ducks forget about Ray, who was tied for second in the Atlantic League with a 4-0 record and 3 ERA.

Manon, who also pitched for the Orioles, surrendered two runs in the first. Richard Giannotti and James Shanks each belted doubles that rolled to the wall in the gap to start the game and opened the scoring. After Manon retired the next two batters, Travis Garcia’s run-scoring single to left made it 2-0.

Southern Maryland took advantage of fielding miscues. Suarez was charged with two errors on the same play, one for fumbling the ball and the other for throwing it into the dugout to allow the leadoff man to move to second base. Shanks added a two-out RBI double, extending the lead to 3.

Manon settled down, only running into trouble with two fifth-inning singles before getting the hook. The 35-year-old gave up six hits, striking out four while walking two in picking up the loss.

The Ducks could only get to Southern Maryland starter Ryan Bicondoa in the fourth via RBI hits from Ray Navarrete and Estee Harris. Four of the Ducks six hits came in that inning, as Bicondoa limited the opposition to six hits in six innings, improving to 3-1.

Johnny Hernandez worked a leadoff walk for the Ducks to start the eighth before Blue Crabs reliever Matt Hensley forced a line out. Matt Cavagnaro was called out on a questionable check swing call by the second base umpire. Thanks to the league’s three-umpire system, there was no one at third with a runner at first, and the punch out drew a protest from Cavagnaro and Carter from the third base coach’s box.

A weak groundout ended the eighth and the Blue Crabs tacked on another run in the ninth to close the win.

The 6-2 right-hander spent the entire 2006 campaign as an Atlanta Braves reliever, coming out of the bullpen for all 82 of his major league appearances. But Ray was successful as a starter in the Mexican League last season and became one of the few shut-down Ducks pitchers this year, emerging as the staff ace following a 4-0 start.

Ray’s surge could be a ticket back to the big leagues. Cleveland signed the 35-year-old Wednesday, assigning him to the Indians Double-A affiliate. Ducks manager Gary Carter hinted last week that Ray’s Long Island stint could be short after the former Royal picked up his fourth win, tying him for second-most in the Atlantic League.

“We’re very happy and proud for Ken and wish him the best,” Carter said. “He’s been a vital part of our pitching staff this season, and we’re excited that he will have the opportunity to get back to the big leagues.”

Ray cracked the league’s top-10 in ERA, allowing just nine runs in 27 innings. In five starts, Ray struck out 26 and walked just three while hitting three batters. With the hit to the rotation, Carter said the Ducks could use left-handers Randy Leek and ex-Yankee Brad Halsey to shrug off slow starts.

Leek is 1-4 with an 8.13 ERA as the Levittown native battles mechanical issues while Halsey, the Opening Day starter, is 0-3 since winning the season’s first game. Former Montreal Expo and Baltimore Oriole Julio Manon got his first chance to replace Ray, allowing three runs (two earned) during his first start of the season in Wednesday night’s 4-2 loss to Southern Maryland at Citibank Park

“They’ve been off their games,” Carter said. “I’m sure they are hoping to turn things around because it’s not the Brad Halsey we know and the Randy Leek we know.”

Ray pitched six scoreless innings in the Ducks 4-1 win over Camden May 17, though a line drive injured his left (non-throwing) thumb in his final start for the Flock. Carter said the bruise shouldn’t have any long-term effect. Yet he also said the comebacker might have caused the Indians organization to hold off a few more days before signing him.

Cleveland could still try to turn Ray back into a reliever, though that move would make little sense considering most players and coaches equate the Atlantic League’s talent level favorably to Triple-A. Ray said he would like the chance to start in the major leagues and shrug off a typecast bestowed on him years ago.

“I’d like to have an opportunity in an affiliated organization to where they would give me an opportunity to start,” Ray said. “It just seems that everyone sees me as a bullpen guy. Hopefully, I can change that.”

The lineup’s depth also took a hit. Tabasco, a Triple-A team of the Mexican League, signed outfielder Raul Gonzalez, who led the Ducks in on-base percentage at .425. Gonzalez was batting .333 with 10 RBIs through 24 games, scoring 19 runs and belting seven doubles while adding one home run.

“I’m just trying to find the right combination right now,” Carter said. “We have the possibility of players coming in as replacements.”

Newark is now challenging the Ducks for the biggest names in the independent minor league, carrying 15 ex-big leaguers on the active roster compared the Flock’s 13. But pedigree didn’t mean much Tuesday night after the Ducks tagged Newark starter Shawn Chacon for three home runs in a 12-5 win over the Bears at Citibank Park.

Alex Prieto, a one-time Minnesota middle infielder, took the former Yankee Chacon deep for a fourth-inning three-run shot. Like Prieto, catcher John Pachot also picked up his first home run of the season, taking Chacon over the leftfield wall with one out in the sixth to break a 5-all tie.

The Ducks had a collective nine home runs through the first 21 games before generating a power surge.

“It’s nice to see the onslaught of hits,” Carter said. “It was our first three-homer game, which was really inspiring to me. That was the one area we were a little concerned with.”

Lew Ford continued his quest to shake off an early season slump, solo homer and a sixth-inning  RBI double that provided a key insurance run as the Ducks took the opener of the four-game set, improving to 13-9 while winning its second straight. Ford entered the game tied with a league lead in doubles and added his seventh two-bagger in a 4-5 effort with three runs scored and three RBIs.

“He’s capable of doing that and I think he was just adjusting,” Carter said. “He was with Colorado in the spring and then was let go and he went through the transition that he did; I think he’s starting to get a feel for this now. All of these guys want the opportunity to get back.”

The Ducks turned a potential save situation into a laugher via a five-run eighth inning in which10 batters came to the plate. Before the insurance run barrage, the Ducks bullpen limited a potent Newark lineup to just three runs in four innings after starter Randy Leek went just four innings.

Carter said Leek exited after giving up two runs in four innings because of a slight oblique muscle strained. Carter said Leek is day-to-day and might not even miss a start.

Former Duck Carl Everett went 2-4 with a run scored for Newark. Jake Dittler struggled in his Ducks debut, giving up three runs in 1 1/3 innings in relief of Leek. While the 6-4, 220-pound righty was hit hard, Carter said Dittler is in line to make a spot start for Leek or Ken Ray, who is still nursing a bruised thumb on his non-throwing hand after taking a line drive off it Sunday afternoon.

“That’s a bonus in our favor that we know we have a guy in our favor who can start,” Carter said.

The Ducks right-hander made only relief appearances from 2006-07.  But Ray continued to find a comfort level as starter, tossing six scoreless innings in helping the Ducks post a 4-1 win over Camden in a Sunday matinee at Citibank Park.

Ray, who made 13 starts in the Mexican League last year, improved to 4-0 and tied John Halama for the Atlantic League wins lead while lowering his ERA to 3 in scattering just five hits.   Manager Gary Carter said Ray could soon be an ex-Duck after the hurler struck out seven against zero walks while hitting one batter with a scout watching from behind home plate.

“I’m very proud of him because he may not be with us very much longer,” Carter said. “He’s had some looks from some teams.  He’s a guy we can look to to break a losing streak. This was a big win for us.”

Three first-inning runs staked Ray to an early lead and the Ducks never trailed in snapping a three-game losing streak. Estee Harris busted out of his early-season slump, picking up his first home run and RBI of the season with a fourth-inning solo blast for the insurance run.

Ray prevented Camden from completing the three-game sweep. He struck out two batters from the second through fourth innings. Back-to-back strikeouts helped him escape a first-and-third, none-out situation in the fourth.

“The last couple of starts, it’s been my weak point when runners got into scoring position with less than two outs,” Ray said. “I’ve been giving up the big hits and taking myself out of some innings. Today was different. I was able to make a couple of key pitches and get myself out of the inning.”

Joe Valentine logged a perfect seventh and Dan Miceli labored through the eighth. Vito Chiaravolloti drilled a RBI double off the left-centerfield wall, though Miceli worked around two walks to keep it at 4-1. Bill Simas put the first two runners on but induced a flyout before striking out the last two batters in the ninth for his eighth save, improving the Ducks to 12-9.

The only uneasy moments came in the third when two Riversharks hit line drives off Ray. Jason Jacobs’ sent a shot off Ray’s glove hand and Christopher Walker added a two-out single that bounced off the pitcher two batters later. Carter and the trainer came out of the dugout off of Jacobs’ hit but Ray stayed in the game without even throwing a warmup pitch.

No visit was needed after Walker’s line drive. Ray wasn’t shaken up, flicking a hellacious curveball to get Brett Bonvechio looking at strike three to end the inning. His effort allowed the Ducks to go with its standard set-up combination followed by Simas closing the final inning

“His thumb was pretty badly bruised [but] he hung in there and got us through six innings and allowed us to go to the big three,” Carter said.

Ray spent his first five seasons in pro ball as a starter before moving into a relief role. The Atlanta native parlayed that role into a major league job, making 13 appearances for Kansas City in 1999.

Minor league stops in the White Sox and Braves organizations featured a return to a starters role before Atlanta converted Ray back into a reliever, resulting in a career-best season with the hometown Braves in 2006 in which the native son logged a 4.52 ERA in 69 games.

It took a trip south of the border last season for Ray to go back to a starting role for the third time in his career. The 35-year-old said his four-pitch repertoire and ability to work out of struggles makes starting more attractive.

“I’d like to have an opportunity in an affiliated organization to where they would give me an opportunity to start,” Ray said. “It just seems that everyone sees me as a bullpen guy. Hopefully, I can change that.”

Raul Gonzalez, Victor Rodriguez and Alex Prieto each drilled run-scoring base hits in the first. The Ducks jumped on Camden starter Ryan Drese early, tagging the former Texas Rangers right-hander for three runs on four hits to support Ray.

Ray Navarrete lifted a leadoff double against the rightfield wall and Raul Gonzalez cued a one-out RBI single just inside first base to plate the opening run. Rodriguez rocketed a double in the next at-bat and Alex Prieto brought home the third run via his hard shot up the middle.

Harris entered the contest batting .111 before reaching base twice. The Central Islip native provided a lift with fellow outfielder Preston Wilson still out of the lineup with a day-to-day injury and Ron Davenport still not available.

“I saw Estee in the spring and knew he could swing the bat,” Carter said. “Estee is taking the opportunity and going with it. We know what he can do. It’s just a matter of capitalizing on that chance.”

Leek lost his first two starts, allowing nine earned runs in 11 innings while Ford entered Thursday’s contest against Lancaster batting .135. But both deficiencies were fortified last night.

Leek regained his ace form, limiting the visitors to three runs over seven innings in helping the Ducks to a 12-3 victory at Citibank Park. Ford busted out of his early slump, lining two doubles during a seven-run third inning as the Ducks extended its winning streak to five, improving to 9-4 overall in completing the four-game sweep.

“I felt a little better than I had in the past,” said Leek after improving to 1-2. “I worked on my mechanics and was able to get the ball down in the zone for the most part.”

Six doubles in the third inning set a Ducks record for an inning and chased Lancaster starter Jason Scobie with the Barnstormers trailing 8-0. The Ducks tagged Lancaster for nine total extra-base hits.

Ford entered the contest hitless in the series, though the ex-Minnesota Twin started the inning with a double down the leftfield line and sent Scobie to the showers when he came up again and blasted a RBI double over centerfielder Michael Campbell’s head.

“Lou had been struggling with his timing at the plate and he was lunging at balls,” Carter said. “It was a matter of keeping his head still. It was good to see him break out.”

Ford registered just two extra-base hits through his first nine games before matching that total in a single inning. Carter kept Ford in the second spot, batting behind hot-hitting leadoff hitter Ray Navarrete. Ford rewarded that patience by going 2-4 with two RBIS and a run scored while continuing to play a solid centerfield, not making a single error through 10 games.

Leek pitched the Ducks to a fifth consecutive playoff appearance in 2008, going 12-3 with a 3.57 ERA. The Levittown native displayed that efficiency, retiring nine straight after a leadoff single.

In all, the southpaw recorded three strikeouts against zero walks. The Ducks supported Leek by setting a season-high in runs, pounding out 13 hits.

“It was like when a boxer comes out with a right and a left,” Carter said. “We just kept going.”

Every Ducks starter registered at least one base hit by the sixth inning. Johnny Hernandez tied Navarrete for the team lead in homers with two, lifting a sixth-inning solo shot to right to put the Ducks up, 11-2.

Raul Gonzalez continued his torrid start, lacing a hard first-inning single to right to plate Navarrete with the game’s first run. The Ducks soon made it a laugher, sending 11 men to the plate in the third. Gonzalez, who entered as the Ducks leading hitter, drove in his third and fourth runs of the series, adding a third-inning sacrifice fly to deep leftfield after Ford, Ron Davenport and Victor Rodriguez lined base hits to start the inning.

Three straight doubles resulted in three more runs before Ford capped the rally with his second two-bagger in as many at-bats. Lancaster got to within 8-2 in the fourth thanks to Danny Bravo’s solo home run and Adam Shorsher’s run-scoring single.

The Ducks got back those runs via Juan Francia’s RBI single to start a two-run fifth. Michael Campbell hit a solo home run in the Barnstormers half of the seventh, marking its last run against Leek. The Ducks will now head across the Long Island Sound to face division rival Bridgeport in a three-game set starting Friday.

“I was just trying to put the ball in play and use the defense,” Leek said. “It’s nice to have a big lead so you know that if you do make a mistake, it won’t hurt you too bad.”

Despite coming off his best two offensive seasons, Ray Navarrete was asked to learn a new position before spring training. In his 10th professional season, the former infielder and corner outfielder is the Ducks new everyday third baseman. The move reached into the past, since Navarrete last manned the hot corner on a consistent basis as a 22-year-old rookie in his first year in the Pirates system in 2000.

“It’s taken me a little while to get used to it. There are some balls hit right at me and I can’t believe how fast they’re coming,” Navarrete said. “I don’t have time to dance around like I did at second base.”

Over the past two seasons, Navarrete drilled 45 homers and racked up 170 RBIs while displaying defensive versatility in switching from the corner outfield spots to the middle infield. The Ducks have been the beneficiary of that production, as Navarrete batted .308 in 2007 and finished last season at .307.

Utility players are usually viewed as valuable contributors off the bench who provide occasional offense but serve as reserves. Yet Navarrete’s numbers made the utility tag seem out of place. Not many backups have three-homer games or earn All-Star selections; two items Navarrete crossed of his checklist in 2008.

While starting primarily at second, Navarrete saw time all over the diamond. That movement helped the Ducks plug in holes on the roster but possibly could have hindered major league teams from extending an offer. Now, a permanent position could be mutually beneficial for the individual and the club.

“This organization has been extremely supportive of my career so far and I think they are getting creative in thinking of ways of what can help me get noticed,” Navarrete said. “If this is an opportunity for me to help these guys win a championship and maybe get noticed for me to get picked up for a major league team, then I’m all for it.”

Making the transition easier is the fact an experienced infielder is the team’s co-owner and coach. Buddy Harrelson and coach Kevin Baez continue to tutor Navarrete, hitting him ground balls to hone his skills. New manager Gary Carter is a Hall of Fame catcher and said he also supports the decision and said the move could make his player more marketable.

“Everybody knows he can play the other positions,” said Carter, who also has Navarrete batting in the leadoff spot. “If he continues to excel and swing the bat, he will get noticed more playing at third base.”

Current pitching coach Dave LaPoint was manager the past two seasons and was able to provide Carter first-hand accounts about Navarrete’s productivity. Before spring training, Carter called Navarrete and broached the idea about moving to third.

So far, the move is paying off. Navarrete entered Monday with two errors, though he has two of the Ducks four home runs and is batting .267 while slugging .467.

“You try to set your team up which is best conducive to winning,” Carter said. “Ray Navarrete is best for us at third base right now.”

Navarrete last played in the affiliated minor leagues in 2006, when he split time between the Mets Double and Triple-A levels. Yet after setting career-highs in nearly every major statistical category last season, the offers failed to come.

“It was a bad year for free agents in minor league baseball,” Navarrete said. “Whether it had something to do with the economy or they didn’t want to sign free agents…I got a few phone calls. At the end of the day, I didn’t get an invite to spring training.

“There are a lot of guys in this clubhouse in this league and who are very deserving of being in Triple-A or even in the big leagues right now.”

With his 31st birthday coming at the end of the month, Navarrete is young enough to scoff at the elder statesman tag. But Navarrete can serve as an example for teammates new to Long Island. In the Atlantic League, a one-year stint is common for most players while two-year tenure is a benchmark for consistency.

While his record isn’t on par with Brooks Robison’s 23-year run with Baltimore, Navarrete in his fourth season wearing the Ducks orange-and-green colors, making him the organization’s longest-serving player.

“I think so now for the first time,” Navarrete said. “Not that I didn’t view myself as a leader in the past, but we had some pretty big-name guys in here who have had a lot of success at the major league level and I was one of the guys soaking it all in.

“Now, I’m one of the few guys to have comeback and proven that I’m a decent player. I’m trying to help some guys here learn the ropes. There is a certain way to play for the Long Island Ducks. I know the coaches are looking at me as a leader.”

In 2007, Navarrete batted .300 for the first time since his first year in professional baseball in 2000 when he was on Pittsburgh’s Single-A club. An encore performance in 2008 featured a career-high in home runs (27), RBIs (103), slugging (.546) and on-base-plus slugging percentage (.937).

The Colts Neck, N.J. native posted identical .391 on-base percentages the last two seasons. Those numbers could even improve now that a mental burden has been lifted. He has already reached base safely in eight of the first nine games.

“It’s good to know for the first time in a long time I have a position to call home,” he said. “I’m usually running   around the field like a chicken without a head. It’s nice to know I’m going to be in one spot.

“Hopefully I can turn into one of the better third basemen in the league.”

Thoughts of acquiring Wilson might have germinated two decades ago. As a member of the Mets, Carter put together a very preliminary mental scouting report on Wilson, though the competition level at the time was a little suspect.

“He was always the MVP of family days,” said Carter with a laugh.

Wilson is the stepson of Mookie Wilson, a teammate of Carter on the Mets 1986 championship team.  As a child growing up around a big league clubhouse in Shea Stadium, young Preston learned the game from players like his stepfather and Carter, who was in the midst of forging a Hall of Fame catching career.

Through the first two games of the new season, Wilson recorded a home run, four runs scored and four RBIs, including a 1-3, one-run, one RBI showing Friday night in a 10-6 Ducks victory over Southern Maryland that moved the Flock to 2-0.

Childhood memories aside, Wilson established a more tangibles connection to the Mets as an adult. The Amazin’s selected Wilson in the first round of the 1992 draft. As a 23-year-old in 1998, Wilson made his major league debut at Shea and played eight games for the Mets, where Mookie was the first base coach.

But the family reunion would not last long. Wilson’s Mets run lasted just eight games, though he became a key piece in one of the organization’s most famous trades. The Mets shipped the outfielder to Florida in the Mike Piazza trade.

Wilson played three full seasons for the Marlins before making stops in Colorado, Washington and Houston. He split 2006 with the Astros and Cardinals, marking his last full year in baseball. St. Louis. Wilson was limited to just 25 games with St. Louis in 2007, needing surgery to repair articular cartilage in his right knee.

With his 35th birthday coming in July, Wilson said he joined the Ducks for the typical reasons: get back to the big leagues, show the scouts his bat still has life and play against quality competition. But the Bamberg, South Carolina native said he has another goal for 2009.

“I was really frustrated sitting at home after the surgery,” Wilson said. “I came here to fall in love of the game again. It’s been such a big part of my life and I felt like I lost it.”

Despite batting a career .264 with 189 home runs and 668 RBIs in 10 major league seasons, no one called Wilson in 2008.  In 2003 the 6-2, 193-pound outfielder made his first All-Star team en route of belting a career-high 36 home runs while racking up 141 RBIs for the Rockies. Just five years later, Wilson was stuck in his Miami, Fl. home.

There are some positives for Wilson, who got to spend time with his six-year-old daughter. He said having to leave her to get on a plane to New York was the hardest part about starting the season, though a successful Ducks stint could mean his daughter might get the chance to see her dad play at the highest level once again. Wilson said his year off was difficult even if it allowed for personal reflection.

“No one is immune from life,” Wilson said. “I know there are people worse off than having to rehab a knee. When it’s done, it will be done.”

Carter said he would like to see Wilson make it to the majors and thinks the talent level is still there.

“I feel like he’s family,” Carter said.  ”I know how bad he wants to get back to the big leagues.”

New York will be Wilson’s home away from home this season, and Carter isn’t the only familiar face. Buddy Harrelson, the Ducks co-owner and coach, was the third base coach on the Mets 1986 team. That position of authority still resonates with Wilson 23 years later.

“I still call him Mr. Harrelson. It’s hard for me to call him Buddy,” Wilson said during Ducks media day. “I grew up around New York more than anywhere else.”

Before the Ducks posted a 7-4 Opening Day win over Southern Maryland to make Carter’s debut a successful one, the former Mets and Expos great said an October discussion with owner Frank Boulton sold him on the idea of coming to Long Island.

“When we first met, I played in Joe Namath’s tournament in Bethpage,” said Carter, who said Boulton gave him a car so he could come to Citibank Park and have a sit-down. “He made an offer and I shared it with my wife and she gave her blessing and I accepted it.”

Long Island fans can thank Namath for still helping to improve the area’s sports landscape four decades after leading the Jets to its only Super Bowl victory. Like Namath, Carter won a championship in New York, playing a starring role in the Mets 1986 World Series championship team.

Carter is now 1-0 as Ducks manager thanks to a bullpen that logged four innings of one-run ball. Preston Wilson, who was briefly a former Met, went 3-4 with three runs scored and two RBIs in his first game as a Duck while ex-Yankee Brad Halsey limited the Blue Crabs to three runs in five innings to earn the win.

After openly campaigning for the Mets managerial job last year, Carter said he is focused on his current job. The 55-year-old once nicknamed “The Kid” has enjoyed a successful post-playing career, first as roving catching instructor before becoming a minor league manager.

Working in the Mets farm system, Carter was named Manager of the Year of the Gulf Coast League in 2005. He duplicated that accomplishment in the Florida State League 2006, when he led the Single-A St. Lucie Mets to the FSL championship.

After leaving the Mets, Carter managed the Orange County Flyers in the Golden Baseball League, winning Manager of the Year honors there. Like the Ducks, the Flyers operate as an independent minor league team. The Atlantic League houses better facilities and a much higher class of baseball; something Carter said was a big incentive to come to Central Islip.

“This is a 4-A league,” said Carter, who said the quality is slightly above Triple-A level and features many players who are near Major League-ready. “I still have a lot of friends up this way and I love the idea of being on the East Coast.”

“I love this game. Frank said the Ducks are as exciting of an organization next to the Mets and Yankees on Long Island. I saw this ballpark and was overwhelmed because it’s such a pretty ballpark, it’s fan friendly and they draw well.”

The Ducks continue to lead the Atlantic League in attendance, averaging 6,092 fans per game in a ballpark with a listed capacity of 6,002. Standing room tickets make up for a packed stadium nearly every game, with the Ducks logging 49 sell-outs in 69 openings last season.

On the field, Carter will be asked to deliver the Ducks its second championship and first since 2004. The club has qualified for the postseason five straight seasons, though it has lost in the first-round four straight years, including three consecutive sweeps despite a roster that has featured more former major leaguers and high-profile players than any other competitor.

Carter said managing in the big leagues is still a goal. He added that if the opportunity does not come, he will not be too disappointed.

“I made my feelings known of what I would like, but that’s not the emphasis,” Carter said. “My passion and love is on the field. If it does materialize into something at the major league level in the future, that would be great. If it doesn’t, I understand the way the game works.

“I’ve learned that through my four years as a coach and catching instructor and now four years as a manager. It’s not always the most-prepared or the best person for the job. It goes without saying it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”

The former great Mets backstop will look to add another line to an impressive baseball resume and once again be part of a contending New York team when he makes his Long Island Ducks managerial debut Thursday night.

Opening Day features the Ducks kicking off its 10th season against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. Speaking at the team’s media day at Citibank Park on Wednesday, Carter said he has moved on from the criticism he endured for opening campaigning for the Mets managerial job last season.

Carter said he still would like to manage in the major leagues but insisted on numerous occasions that he is focused on bringing the Ducks it second Atlantic League title.

“I didn’t come here for any attention,” Carter said. “I wanted to challenge and I wanted to manage on the East Coast. All I’m concentrating on in this team.”

Dave LaPoint spent the last two seasons as Ducks manager. He returns as the pitching coach and the point man for personnel decisions and  said he is excited to see one of the more impressive pitching staffs the organization has compiled to start a season.

Former Yankee Brad Halsey will get the Opening Day start. Ken Ray, who last pitched in the majors for Atlanta in 2006, will go the second day and Ducks holdover Randy Leek will be third in the rotation, keeping him in line for the home opener start May 1.

Ray, a right-hander, will break up lefties in Halsey and Leek. B.J. Lamura is slated to start the year as the fourth starter. LaPoint said he is also excited about the bullpen, where the closer represents a link to the Ducks past.

Bill Simas, who closed for the Ducks 2004 championship team and was out of baseball from 2006-07 before coming back to the Mexican League last season, is penciled in as the closer. Setting him will be Dan Miceli, a veteran of 631 major league games. Joe Valentine closed games for the Ducks last season and is back for another term. Ed Buzachero rounds out the set-up corps.

“We have four relievers who can throw in the 90s,” LaPoint said. “When a guy needs a day off, we have options.”

The offense also features its share of former major leaguers, headlined by Preston Wilson and ex-Twin Lou Ford. Among the notable returnees is Ray Navarrete, who logged 103 RBIs in batting .307 for the Ducks last season. With those accomplished hitters and stable of veteran pitchers, Carter said he’s excited after seeing the Ducks go 2-0-2 to conclude last week’s exhibition schedule in Florida.

“Our lineup will score runs,” Carter said. “We only had a short time in spring training, but what I enjoyed most was the chemistry in the clubhouse and on the field.”

Halsey said playing for Carter, a catcher on the 1986 Mets and a 19-year major league veteran, is a special experience and one he cherishes more now than he would have when he was a 23-year-old coming up with the Yankees in 2004.

“It’s something that I’ve grown to appreciate through my two years away from the game while rehabbing,” Halsey said. “When you’re forced into a situation when you’re not able to play, that’s when you appreciate the game the most.”

Leek is the probable starter for the Ducks home opener after the club starts with seven road games, including a season-opening four-game set against the Blue Crabs followed by a three-game series in Lancaster.

Brad Halsey’s acclimation process lasted exactly one start. As a 23-year-old Yankee prospect in 2004, Halsey limited the Dodgers to just two runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings, earning the win in his major league debut.

As a reward, Halsey’s next two starts came in front of sold-out Yankee Stadium crowds who agonized and analyzed every pitch the Houston native threw. Asking someone barely out of college to pitch against the Mets and Red Sox-the Bombers top two rivals in terms of fan passion-can be a daunting task for any pitcher. While Halsey lost to the Mets, he held his own against the Red Sox and picked up a no-decision.

Five years later, Halsey is coming off arm surgery and looking to revive his career. That journey can take a positive turn tonight when Halsey takes the mound as the Ducks Opening Day starter against Southern Maryland.

Halsey last pitched in the majors in 2006, going 5-4 for Oakland. In 40 career starts, he is 14-19 with a respectable 4.84 ERA. The Yankees former eighth-round draft pick and University of Texas standout is just 28 and looking to complete a comeback following his July 2007 surgery to repair a torn labrum.

“I just take it one second at a time and enjoy every time I’m able to throw a ball and my arm feels good,” Halsey said.

The 6-1, 187-pound left-hander impressed Ducks manager Gary Carter and pitching coach Dave LaPoint enough to warrant the Opening Day assignment, which Halsey said is an honor at any professional level.

“It absolutely is an honor,” Halsey said. “There are a lot of guys in this clubhouse who have as much or even more major league experience than I do. Anytime you have an opportunity to start Opening Day, it’s a great thing.”

Former Ducks Bill Pulsipher was one of the players Halsey consulted in researching the Ducks. Earlier in the decade, Pulsipher parlayed a stint with the Ducks into another major league job, giving players like Halsey someone to emulate in trying to make a comeback into affiliated baseball.

Before coming to Long Island, Halsey pitched winter ball in Puerto Rico, where his new team got an endorsement.

“Just knowing some of the guys and for the last two years sitting at home doing rehab, I noticed there were a lot of good players in this league,” Halsey said. “For someone in my situation who has a lot to prove; this is a good place to do it.”

LaPoint said the Ducks signed an outstanding defensive catcher in John Pachot, who spent the last two seasons playing against the Flock for the Newark Bears. Pachot’s game-calling could help Halsey, along with playing under a Hall of Famer catcher in Carter.

“My experience is that catchers make the best managers because they have knowledge of the entire game” Halsey said. “Not only are they immersed in the relationship between the battery, they also have to take a bat up there all the time, which as pitchers, we don’t always have that experience.

“As a catcher, he [Carter] knows all facets of what goes on out there.”

“I’m very proud to be back in New York and with this organization,” said Carter after donning a home white No. 8 Ducks jersey. “I came here to try and provide a championship with the Ducks. I love to teach and to be in uniform and work with the kids. I’m here to provide my knowledge and experience.”

During his introductory press conference at Citibank Park, Carter said he is looking forward to managing again while also attempting to repair his reputation. Last spring, Carter was criticized by media members and former Mets teammates for publicly suggesting he would be interested in the Mets job before Willie Randolph was fired in June.

“Things can be taken out of context,” Carter said about proclaiming his interest in coaching or managing at the major league level. “There was no intention to undermine anybody. I was asked a question if I’d be interested. Of course I’d be interested in any capacity. If it’s not with the Mets, then maybe with someone else.”

“I’ve always worn my heart on my sleeve and that’s the way I answered it. Unfortunately, I was thrown under the bus for it. I’ve learned from it, though. ”

Managing the Ducks won’t be Carter’s first foray in the independent minor leagues. Carter led the Orange County Flyers to the Golden Baseball League (Calif.) championship last year. The Atlantic League is also unaffiliated with any major league clubs, though it is generally considered to be at a high level. Former big league All-Stars like Carl Everett and Edgardo Alfonzo, who both played for the Ducks the past two seasons, said it’s comparable to Triple-A.

The Atlantic League hasn’t elevated coaches through the big league ranks. Kevin Baez parlayed his experience as Ducks third-base coach into a job with the Mets as a minor league instructor before returning to Long Island last season.

But Carter said he is focused on leading the Ducks out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2004. A title this year would coincide with the Ducks 10th anniversary.

“I don’t put a lot of emphasis on a lot of rules and regulations,” Carter said. “I ask for three things: be on time, play the game hard and have respect for one another and the organization.

“There won’t be any embarrassing things that occur because then we’re going to have a problem. That’s all I expect of players. Once I see that, they won’t play. We should be honored to wear this uniform.”

Ducks principal owner Frank Boulton said Carter, 54, won’t be choosing a new coaching staff. Baez will still be the third-base coach and co-owner Buddy Harrelson will handle the first-base coaching duties for home games. Dave LaPoint, who served as manager the past two seasons, will be the pitching coach; the same job he handled for the team’s championship run in 2004.

LaPoint will also maintain his involvement in front office decisions. Boulton said LaPoint will be the franchise’s vice president of baseball operations.

“He’ll be the point person on putting our club together,” Boulton said. “We’re going to have pretty much a new club next year. We’re bringing in a lot of fresh faces. Dave will be working year-round with us for procuring the players.”

Carter, a two-time All-Star game MVP and five-time Silver Slugger winner, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003. The backstop of the Mets 1986 championship team earned two Manager of the Year honors coaching the Amazing’s system, leading his team to a Florida State League title in 2006.

Carter reunites with Harrelson, a coach on that 1986 team. The former Expos standout said he is looking forward to learning from Harrelson, who also served as a big league manager.

“He’s a great friend and being that he is a part owner and part of this team, I can feed off of him for his expertise,” Carter said. “Being a big leaguer manager and big league coach, I’m going to pick his brain.

“This league is a very competitive league, and that’s what I’m excited about because I’ll gain more experience and knowledge towards handling players who have played at the major league level. That will hopefully lead on to bigger and better things.”

Davis—the only Duck remaining from the 2004 squad—couldn’t find his dominant form Tuesday night. The southpaw was tagged for four runs in 5 2/3 innings as the Camden Riversharks won, 5-1, in Game 1 of the Liberty Division playoffs in front of 4,910 at Citibank Park.

Camden sent nine men to the plate during a four-run sixth inning, taking control of the best-of-three set. The Riversharks will have two chances to close out the series at home starting Wednesday night. Game 3, if necessary, will also be held at Campbell’s Field.

Kevin Walker quieted the Ducks bats, limiting the home team to just six hits in seven innings. The Ducks have lost its last seven postseason games dating back to the first round in 2005. Staff ace Randy Leek will go in the elimination game, giving manager Dave LaPoint reason for some optimism.

“There’s no panic situation,” LaPoint said. “We have a 12-game winner going for us and it’s not like we haven’t hit up there [Camden]. It should another great game. I would look for us to break out a little more offensively. We’ll be more in a groove.”

Walker allowed a run in the second but quickly found his grove. The lefty retired 12 straight batters from the third to the seventh inning. Walker induced two double plays and silenced the heart of the Ducks order. LaPoint watched his 2-5 hitters go a combined 2-16.

Carl Everett, who hit a team-record 29 home runs during the regular season, was 1-4 with a single. Ray Navarrete posted a franchise-record 103 RBIs, was just 1-4 and hit a bases-loaded fly out. Edgardo Alfonzo and Pete Rose Jr. each went hitless in four at-bats.

“We know what’s ahead of us,” Rose said. “We can’t look ahead to Game 3. We have to go out tomorrow and play. With the guys we have in here, I don’t think anyone is going to put any extra pressure on themselves. We’ll just go out and do whatever we need to do.”

Davis pitched out of trouble until the sixth when the Riversharks racked up four runs and five hits to chase the former Cincinnati Red. Shawn Boyd and Nic Jackson started the frame with singles. Following a flyout, L.J. Bierbaum erased a 1-0 deficit by lifting a RBI single to right.

Tyler Von Schell’s run-scoring groundout broke the tie the next batter. Third baseman Bryant Nelson didn’t field the grounder cleanly yet recovered to get the out at first. Biernbaum was running on the pitch, negating any chance of a double play on the grounder.

Bierbaum’s aggressive base running contributed to two insurance runs. Sheldon Fulse ripped a double off the base of the wall in left-center to score Biernbaum and Michael Thompson’s single plated Fulse and ended Davis’ evening with the Ducks trailing 4-1. Davis would not speak to the media after the game.

“He threw good and gave us a chance to get ahead,” LaPoint said about Davis. “The other guy just threw better.”

Davis escaped out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the second. After retiring the first batter, Davis allowed two singles and a walk before striking out ninth-hitting Josh Arhart on a 2-2 pitch and inducing David Espinosa to ground into a fielder’s choice to squash the scoring threat.

The Ducks responded by breaking open the scoring in the bottom half of the inning. Camden’s Juan Francia tapped a bases-loaded soft roller to third, where Michael Thompson scooped the grounder and fired to first. Thompson’s throw was in time, but first base umpire Dan Wilson ruled Von Schell bobbled the ball, allowing Nelson to score the game’s first run. Ray Navarrete couldn’t add to the lead, flying out to right to end the rally.

“He [Walker] didn’t change his game plan,” LaPoint said. “He just threw outside, outside, outside. He had really good control. He had a good changeup and sinker going into the same spot. The differential in speed…he was getting ahead of everybody with the fastball and a good sinker. It didn’t do us any good if we were aggressive or if we waited on him.”

Shawn Boyd belted a solo home run off Ryan Knippschild in the eighth, padding the lead to 5-1. Ben Grezlovski gave the Ducks offense a chance to make a comeback, tossing 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of Davis. Grezlovski surrendered just one hit and walk, striking out three.

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — When the Ducks collectively drove to the ballpark Sunday morning, the playoff picture looked murky. Six losses in the past seven games, including a three-game losing streak, cut the Flock’s lead in the Liberty Division standings to just a half-game entering a doubleheader against York.

But Randy Leek helped the Ducks take the opener and a late rally gave them an extra-inning win, salvaging a 3-6 record on the road trip. That sweep propelled the Ducks to a late season surge that lost momentum Thursday night after it blew a four-run lead.

Staff ace Randy Leek fell apart in the sixth and the lineup failed to push across any more runs after the fourth inning as the Patriots averted a four-game sweep with a 6-4 win. The Ducks saw its five-game winning streak end along with a chance to post its second consecutive four-game sweep over Somerset.

Southern Maryland defeated Newark, cutting the Ducks lead to just 2 ½ games in the Liberty Division with 10 regular season contests remaining.

“You can’t think about clinch or think about where you’re going to do it,” manager Dave LaPoint said. “It’s one game; one-inning at a time right now. If we look too far ahead, we’ll get into a bad rut. I don’t think anyone is looking past tomorrow.”

Leek was on his way to becoming the first Atlantic League pitcher to win 12 games this year before breaking down following five scoreless. Nursing a 4-0 lead, the Levittown native loaded the bases to start the sixth before striking out Teuris Olivares.

Brandon Larson, who hit three homers and drove in five runs in a loss to the Ducks the previous game, cleared the bases with a three-run double into the left-centerfield gap.

Matt Hagen completed the comeback attempt, ripping a one-out RBI single to center off Tony Price (0-1) to build a 5-4 Somerset lead. Hagen’s hit scored Larson and allowed Somerset to win on Long Island for the first time in eight games. The Ducks magic number to reach the playoffs remained stagnant at nine, meaning any combination of nine wins or Southern Maryland losses would secure a postseason appearance.

Set-up man Jason Richardson used his fastball to neutralize the Ducks last rally after walking Jamie Pogue and allowing a single to Haverbusch to start the eighth. Dennis Donovan, who entered the game for the injured Juan Francia, failed in three attempts to move the runners over, striking out on a bunt attempt.

Ray Navarrete also struck out on a heater and Pete Rose Jr. hit a soft pop fly to center to end the threat. Richardson (9-2) struck out three in two innings to get the win.

The Ducks jumped on Somerset starter Brian Tollberg early, scoring two in the third thanks to Bryant Nelson’s RBI fielder’s choice that plated Juan Francia. Shortstop Elliot Ayala’s throwing error on the double play attempt skipped past first base, allowing Ray Navarrete to score from second base.

Kevin Haverbusch expanded the lead the next inning, taking reliever Josh Brey’s fastball over the wall in left for a two-run shot. His 12th homer of the season made it 4-0.

If Leek (11-3) maintains his normal rest, he will get two more starts, giving him a chance to set the franchise record for single season victories. He still needs one more to tie Pat Ahearne’s franchise record of 12 victories, set in 2006. The southpaw is on pace to pitch the final game of the regular season if it a must-win scenario.

“He pitched good but he’s coming back a day early,” said LaPoint, who pitched Leek on three days’ rest. “We still had a chance to win the game. The effort was there. It’s tough to sweep them two series in a row.”

The loss dropped the Ducks home record to 41-27. That stands in contrast to a 25-37 road ledger. LaPoint’s team will now play its final three games at Citibank Park before ending the season with a three-game set in Camden and a four-game set against Bridgeport.

Considering the road woes and the fact the Bluefish are just 4 1/2 games back, the regular season finale Sept. 21 could be suspenseful. But LaPoint insisted the disparity in home vs. road record isn’t causing him sleepless nights.

“We have the type of team where home or road doesn’t make a difference,” LaPoint said. “Stats really don’t matter at this time. They are a lot of people playing at a higher level. All throughout the year, you have players going in and out. You’re in flux most of the year.

“Now you know who you got and who you’re going with. So it shouldn’t matter.”

Should the Ducks clinch a playoff spot for the fifth consecutive season, Game 1 of the best-of-three first-round series would be held at Citibank Park on Sept. 23 with the final two games held at Camden’s Campbell’s Field. The Riversharks own the home field advantage.

Carl Everett continued his meteoric rise up the offensive leader-boards, driving in two runs to support Lance Davis’ season-best effort as the Ducks swept the Somerset Patriots via a 6-0 victory Wednesday night.

Davis pitched a complete-game shutout, capping a 10-game homestand in which his club went 9-1. Edgardo Alfonzo broke open the scoring in the third, lining a two-run double to score the first of Nook Logan’s three runs on the evening.

In just 2:10, Davis helped produce the fastest game of the year after limiting the Patriots to just three hits. The southpaw, who limited Southern Maryland to just four hits in six innings last time out, has tossed 15 scoreless innings in his last two starts, improving to 3-2.

“That’s vintage Lance right there; 87 pitches,” manager Dave LaPoint said. “You keep building, building, building and the pitching just keeps getting stronger.”

Everett padded the one-run lead in the fifth, lining an opposite-field single to score Logan and Alfonzo for the insurance runs. The hot-hitting switch-hitter helped the Ducks extended its winning streak to eight, racketing his RBI total up to 87.

For good measure, Alfonzo belted his sixth homer of the season; lifting a two-run shot in the seventh to make it 5-0. Richard Hidalgo’s garbage time solo homer added the final run, providing Ducks with momentum entering a four-game series in Newark starting Thursday night.

“The whole thing right now; it doesn’t really matter home or road,” LaPoint said. “The pitching has been so good wherever we go. I think they’re building confidence with each other. They are all trying to get off to good starts so we can score some runs.”

When the Ducks arrived home Aug. 11, it trailed Southern Maryland by a game in the Liberty Division standings. The Flock’s only blemish on the homestand was a two-run loss in the second game. During the nearly two-week stretch that included sellouts for all 10 games, the Ducks outscored the Blue Crabs, Barnstormers and Patriots 77-37 and forged a five-game first-place lead.

Davis, the lone member on the current playing roster who was on the Ducks 2004 championship squad, even exceed fellow lefty Randy Leek’s outing on Sunday when the staff ace hurled a complete-game five hitter. With Abe Alvarez, Jose Paniagua and Alay Soler also picking up victories, the rotation is no longer a weakness.

Davis struck out four batters and pitched past the sixth inning for the first time in five starts since leaving home in Florida and joining the Ducks at the end of July.

“I feel really comfortable,” Davis said. “When I first got here, I had to get some innings in and get underneath myself. Now, I feel like my arm is alive and we have a really good defense behind me. You just have to use everybody.”

Somerset flubbed two routine ground balls in the third inning Monday night. Consider that the key to failure, as the Ducks capitalized by scoring five runs en route to a 13-4 blowout victory over Somerset in Game 2. By sweeping the doubleheader over the Patriots, the Ducks extended its winning streak to six and have now won 11 in the past 13.

The surging Ducks offense was mostly quiet in the opener of the twin seven-inning contests. But Rob Sandora produced the clutch hit, breaking a tie via a two-out RBI single in the sixth inning as the Ducks won Game 1, 3-2, in front of the 38th sold-out crowd at Citibank Park this season.

Earlier in the evening, Southern Maryland snapped an eight-game losing streak. But the Ducks still gained a half-game in the Liberty Division standings, now sitting four games on the top spot.

“It’s good because we have to work for everything we’re getting right now,” manager Dave LaPoint said. “Everybody’s working pretty hard to get there. They feel good about themselves.”

Despite playing just seven innings, the Ducks still cracked the double-digit run total for the fourth time in six games. Kevin Haverbusch continued his torrid hitting in the nightcap, recording three RBIs to support Jose Paniagua’s strong start. Pete Rose Jr.’s grand slam padded the run total and allowed LaPoint to rest the majority of his key relievers.

Following Abe Alvarez’s complete-game, two run gem, Paniagua followed with another quality start in the second game. The righty did not allow an earned run in five innings, improving to 3-0 as the Ducks are riding its longest winning streak of the season.

“What’s good about us is, if there’s a guy on second with less than two outs, we’re going to try and get them over for the next guy,” Rose said. “The big thing is if I don’t get my job done, other guys will pick me up.

“Guys are starting to understand that if we don’t get the job done, we have confidence in the guys behind us that they will pick us up.”

The Ducks batted around in the second, scoring five times against Somerset’s Josh Brey. Richard Hidalgo’s leadoff single resulted in a run two batters later. Damian Rolls saw his 22-game hitting streak end in the first game but started a new ledger in his first at-bat, driving home Hidalgo before scoring on Haverbusch’s single.

Nook Logan added a two-run triple and scored on Carl Everett’s RBI infield single as the Ducks forged a 5-0 lead. The only bad news for the Ducks was Hidalgo exiting after making the last out in the third. The former Mets outfielder did not come out for the top of the third. Sandora entered into the game as his replacement.

“He jammed his hip a little bit going back to first base,” LaPoint said about Hidalgo, who he listed as day-to-day. “We had a big lead. There was no sense in taking a chance and running him out there anymore. I’m sure if he gets some rest tonight, he’ll be fine tomorrow.”

Edgardo Alfonzo misplayed a pop up to start the third. That miscue led to two unearned runs on a pair of sac flies. Paniagua would not allow another runner to cross the plate, giving way to Ryan Knippschild with a 12-2 lead to start the sixth.

The Ducks turned the game into a laugher in the fourth. Brey retired the first batter and induced Rolls to hit a slow roller to first. Josh Pressley couldn’t keep the ball in his glove for an error and a walk to Pogue chased Brey.

Rick Asadoorian entered and struck out his first batter. A walk loaded the bases but Asadoorian appeared to get out of the jam, forcing Dennis Donovan to hit a grounder to short. Teuris Olivares booted the ball, allowing Rolls to score while reloading the bases for Rose.

Rose drilled his ninth homer of the season, taking Asadoorian’s offering to right that fell just short of the second row of advertisements. All five runs in the inning were unearned.

Carl Everett continued his torrid hitting, moving up all three Triple Crown categories by blasting a solo homer to start the sixth. Everett’s 23rd homer off Steve Keller tied the seven-inning contest at 2. Ray Navarrete followed with a double and advanced to third on Richard Hidalgo’s groundout.

Damian Rolls saw his 22-game hitting streak end in ignominious fashion, striking out to waste a quality chance. Rolls finished 0-3, though Sandora picked him up by lacing an opposite-field single to right to plate Navarrete and open a one-run lead.

By Atlantic League rules, twinight twin-bills consist of two seven-inning games. Ducks starter Abe Alvarez stayed in to close it out before nearly giving away the lead. Somerset’s Travis Anderson belted a double to start the seventh, advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt.

Alvarez, who is emerging as a key rotation member, induced the biggest out of the game by forcing Elliot Ayala to ground out. Edgardo Alfonzo actually needed to leave his feet at shortstop to field the bounce off Ayala’s bat, but gloved it and fired a strike to Rose at first for the second out. Sean Smith flied out to shallow right, allowing the Ducks to extend its winning streak to five.

“Abe coming back the way he did, that was a great game he pitched,” manager Dave LaPoint said. “They’re doing it at the right time. The pitchers are going late into the games and saving the bullpen.

“They’re all doing their jobs right now.”

Somerset pulled ahead of the pitchers’ duel in the sixth. Alvarez had retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced before Matt Hagen lifted a full-count offering into the Patriots bullpen in left. The two-out solo shot put the visitors up 2-1.

Alvarez’s only other mistake came in the third when Smith’s RBI single plated Vito Chiaravalloti to open the scoring. The southpaw still improved to 6-1 and lowered his ERA from the 3.58 mark with which he entered. Since coming to Long Island in trade with Camden for Jamal Strong, Alvarez has made the transition from reliever to starter. The former Red Sox pitcher notched his first complete game of the season, striking out five and walking three.

Everett started the evening just nine RBIs behind Pat Osborn for the league lead. The switch-hitting veteran also was fourth in average and moved just two homers behind Somerset’s Josh Pressley for the Atlantic League home run lead. The former major league All-Star still has an outside chance of the Atlantic League’s first Triple Crown with almost five weeks remaining in the regular season schedule.

The Ducks lineup is so hot, it nearly scored-around in the seventh last night. Once again, the bats carried lackluster pitching. Carl Everett erased a one-run deficit by ripping a grand-slam in the seventh, propelling the Ducks to a nine-run inning and an impressive 12-5 victory over Southern Maryland.

Everett’s 22nd homer epitomized the lineup’s emerging juggernaut status. The Ducks cracked the double-digit run total for the third straight contest and are in position to sweep Southern Maryland Sunday evening.

Eight of the nine Ducks scored in the seventh. Edgardo Alfonzo made two outs in the frame, the only batter not to reach base or cross the plate. Damian Rolls extended his hitting streak to 21 games in the inning, as the Ducks took the second straight game of the three game set and moved 2 ½ games up on the Blue Crabs for the Liberty Division lead.

“We knew going into this series that we had to play all nine innings in order to beat them” manager Dave LaPoint said.

Southern Maryland actually looked to be in control thanks to a sixth-inning rally. Alay Soler started strong for the Ducks before tiring in the inning. The former Mets right-hander allowed a leadoff homer to James Shanks but struck out Atlantic League RBI-leader Patrick Osborn.

Two consecutive singles preceded Curtis Pride’s two-run double. Solar finished the inning before exiting with Southern Maryland nursing a 4-2 lead that was extended in the top of the seventh when Clint Johnson added a RBI single.

Considering the Ducks have scored 32 runs the past three games, the three-run hole represented a minor impediment to the club’s eighth win in 10 games.

“We know if we have our starting nine in there and our pitchers throw well, we have a good chance of winning day-in and day-out,” Rolls said. “We take it pitch by pitch. With the lineup that we have, if we put together good games, there’s a good chance we’re going to win in the end.”

Jamie Pogue, who reached base safely in all four of his plate appearances, started the seventh with a leadoff double and advanced to third on Kevin Haverbusch’s single.

Blue Crabs manager Butch Hobson called on Kenny Baugh to relieve starter Ryan Bicondoa to face Nook Logan, who promptly added the first of his two RBIs in the inning, plating Pogue. Alfonzo lined out and Pete Rose Jr. walked, loading the bases for Everett.

Baugh got ahead 0-1 before leaving a fastball over the heart of the plate. Everett didn’t miss, pulling the fastball to right-center that left the bat like a laser, putting the Ducks ahead 7-5.

“They had a pitcher knew to the league who didn’t know Carl and what he can hit,” LaPoint said. “Carl’s a pretty smart hitter. He watched the at-bats of the other guys, knew what to look for and got it. He’s been carrying us for awhile, too.”

The barrage didn’t end there. Back-to-back walks set up Rolls, who was 0-3 before that point before extending his hitting streak via a run-scoring single. Pogue reached on an error and Haverbusch hit a two-run single before Logan’s sacrifice fly capped the scoring.

“Before the seventh inning, I said, ‘let’s get them with the bloops,’” LaPoint said with a laugh. “We were hitting the ball hard all night and had nothing to show for it. We got a couple of breaks there. We are a momentum team. If a couple of guys get hits, everyone feels confident.”

Rose added his eighth homer of the season thanks to a solo shot in the fifth. The Ducks only other run before the outburst came in the first, when Everett doubled home Alfonzo. Everett finished 3-5 with three extra-base hits while Vic Darensbourg picked up the win by virtue of good fortunate. Darensbourgh allowed a run on two hits in one inning but was the pitcher of record during the seventh.

The Ducks manager decided to stay with a thriving combination, keeping the same the batting order intact for Friday’s marathon contest against Southern Maryland and Saturday’s rematch. Different days, same results; as the Ducks moved 2 ½ games over the Blue Crabs in the Atlantic Division.

“They can sniff it right now,” LaPoint said. “We’re playing better baseball. The pitching is starting to get better. They’re getting the feeling of, ‘maybe we can get to the postseason.’ Everybody is feeding off each other right now.”

Backup catcher Rob Sandora did not play last night but continued his hot hitting the previous two games, belting a three-run home run in the fourth to help the Ducks jump out to a 10-1 edge on Friday. Sandora took Keith Ramsey’s offering over the wall in left, marking his second long ball of the season. Sandora also logged two RBIs the previous game, allowing LaPoint to rest All-Star catcher Jamie Pogue.

Sandora’s homer was his second of the season, giving the 27-year-old one more than the total he accumulated in five seasons in the Expos/Nationals organization. In 48 games, the 6-1, 200-pound backstop is batting .269 with 21 RBIs and 39 hits.

“You just look for good pitches. I put a good swing on it,” said Sandora before Saturday night’s contest. .

The hot hitting lineup has featured former Nationals outfielder Nook Logan as the leadoff man. Former major leaguers Edgardo Alfonzo, Pete Rose Jr. and Carl Everett have filled out the 2-4 slots with Atlantic League All-Star Ray Navarrete protecting Everett.

Richard Hidalgo, another former Met, provides power potential in the six hole. Damian Rolls continues his recent surge, carrying a 20-game hitting streak into last night. Rolls is batting .397 during that span. Sandora and Pogue have split time catching and hitting eighth, while Haverbusch has broke out his funk since dropping down to ninth.

“That’s one of my pet things as a manager: I like to have a strong lower end of the lineup because sometimes the pitchers relax and think they are easy outs when they really aren’t,” LaPoint said.

Sandora continues to be a pleasant surprise. He never advanced past high A-ball after signing as an undrafted free agent with Montreal in 2003. The West Babylon native played his college ball at Stony Brook University after transferring from Briarcliffe College. He came to the Ducks with the opportunity to play at a higher professional level in his home county and continues to capably back-up Pogue.

“You try and soak up as much as you can,” Sandora said. “You’re playing with Carl [Everett] and Pete [Rose Jr.], all the big leagues guys that have been there. They know the game. You try and learn from them.”

As for Friday night’s contest, in which the last out was recorded shortly before 1:00 a.m., Sandora said the field became almost unplayable after the sixth inning. He said he had never experienced that type of long delay that late in the ballgame in his career.

“That was a first for everybody in the clubhouse,” Sandora said. “We thought once they pulled the tarp, the game was going to be called. It was a weird situation.”

“I was thinking about it. There are no really easy games,” LaPoint said at the time. His words proved prophetic last night.

The Ducks jumped out to an eight-run lead entering the eighth inning. But LaPoint needed Mother Nature to register a key hold. Southern Maryland scored seven runs against three relievers in the eighth as the bullpen put in a Mets-esque performance; turning a 10-1 game into a 10-8 contest.

The Blue Crabs started the ninth with consecutive singles, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate with none out before the umpires called for the tarp to be placed on the field. The timing of the call infuriated Crabs manager Butch Hobson, and a nearly two-hour rain delay ensued before the final inning resumed after midnight.

Charlie Weatherby came in following the long and controversial delay and produced a strikeout. A fielder’s choice scored Pat Osborn, cutting the deficit to one. Weatherby then got Jeremy Owens to pop out to second, ending the game and preserving a 10-9 victory that took almost six hours in real time to complete.

Only a a fraction of the 6,113 fans at the sold-out Citibank Park crowd stayed for the start ninth after heavy rain bombarded the field for most of the contest. After the Crabs mini rally, the umpires decided the field had become unplayable and called for the tarp shortly after 10, prompting Hobson to argue for the continuation of the inning.

The Ducks played through the dampness and lightning for much of the evening before the break and were able to take the opener of a three-game set and move 1 ½ games over the Blue Crabs in the Liberty Division.

The wackiness started early when Ducks scored two first-inning runs and put five men on base without a base hit. Brad Whitworth lasted just 2/3 of an inning. The lefty walked two and hit a batter to load the bases. He then walked Richard Hidalgo and Damian Rolls to force in two runs before scheduled starter Keith Ramsey came in relief and forced a pop out to limit the damage.

The Ducks extended the lead the following inning, capitalizing on a leadoff error to ignite a rally. Nook Logan lined a RBI single and Pete Rose Jr. added a run-scoring single. Ray Navarrete added a sacrifice fly, opening a 5-0 edge.

Rob Sandora, starting once again for All-Star catcher Jamie Pogue, drilled his second homer of the season in the fifth. His three-run shot in the fourth forged an eight-run lead, seemingly more than support for starter Lance Davis.

Davis pitched six innings of scoreless baseball, allowing just four hits and one walk. – gave up one run in the seventh, a seemingly innocuous run at the time. But Ryan Knippschild imploded in the eighth, recording just one out. Back-to-back singles brought up Pat Osborn, the Atlantic League’s RBI leader.

Osborn padded his numbers, ripping a towering three-run homer to left for RBIs 90, 91 and 92. Knippschild hit Clint Johnson before giving up Chris Maples’ two-run homer. Travis Wade fared no better, giving up a walk and double before exiting for Grezlovski.

The righty logged a big strikeout, whiffing Adam Shorsher with runners on second and third. George Sandel plated another run via an infield single and John Ramistella hit a RBI double, putting the tying runs in scoring position. Grezlovski recovered by forcing a groundout as the Ducks headed back to the dugout to the sounds of the derisive cheers from the sparse remaining crowd.

Grezlovski started the ninth and allowed Osborn and Johnston to single. He did not come back after the delay, allowing Weatherby to pick up his first save of the season.

Just like Wednesday’s win over Lancaster, the eighth and ninth hitters combined for five RBIs. Kevin Haverbusch went deep in Wednesday’s game, appearing to bust out of a slump after LaPoint dropped him to ninth in the order.

Haverbusch again batted ninth and hit another homer, hitting a two-run homer in the seventh with what appeared to be just tack-on runs. It turned out to the game-winning it, allowing the Ducks to win for the seventh time in the past nine games, although a far more controversial victory than usual.

Not surprisingly, the Ducks entered the first half far behind the Liberty Division standings. Yet that trend could be reversing itself at the right time. During the last road trip, the Ducks posted four wins in five games in Camden and Bridgeport.

Entering a 10-game homestand that commenced with two victories in three games over Lancaster, outfielder Kevin Haverbusch said improved road play is helping the team shoot up the standings. The Ducks entered last night tied for first place with Southern Maryland before the game against the Barnstormers was rained out. A Blue Crabs loss propelled the Flock to a half-game lead.

“On the last road trip, you started to see the wheels turn in motion and things to start to gel,” Haverbusch said. “Bullpen guys having rolls, guys are getting healthier and starters are going deeper. It just seems to being coming together at the right time.”

Just 39 games remain in the regular season. Continued success on the road will be the key towards making the postseason for the fifth consecutive season. Only 17 of those contests are at home. That leaves 22 on the road, including a season-ending seven-game road trip that runs though Camden and climaxes with a four-game set against Bridgeport.

There is some positive news from the schedule-makers. The Ducks will not have to travel to Southern Maryland any more, thereby avoiding the longest road trip in the Atlantic League. Instead, the Blue Crabs will venture to Citibank Park for a three-game set starting tonight and for another three games Aug. 26-28.

“It’s supposed to be an advantage being at home, but they have a good ballclub and they don’t ever quit,” LaPoint said. “So, we’re going to have play six hard-fought games to beat them.”

But the lineup continues to propel the Ducks up the Liberty Division standings. Once again, an offensive explosion was used to bludgeon an opponent. The Ducks belted out 10 runs in the second inning last night, sending 14 men to the plate to ignite a 10-4 victory over the Lancaster Barnstormers.

“You see very few innings like that,” Kevin Haverbusch said. “Everybody was just putting good swings on every pitch the guy threw.”

A sell-out crowd of 6,321 enjoyed pregame dancing and singing as part of the Irish night celebration. Yet the Ducks didn’t need the luck of the Irish to tag Barnstormers starter Chris Steinborn. Rob Sandora and Haverbusch, the eighth and ninth hitters, combined for five RBIs in the second. Coupled with Southern Maryland’s loss, the Ducks moved into a first-place tie in the Liberty Division; the first time since July 11 the Flock have claimed at least a share of the top spot.

“Everybody’s in a pretty good mood today. Everybody did pretty well,” manager Dave LaPoint said.

Two singles and a walk loaded the bases to start the second. Damian Rolls filed out to shallow right, forcing all runners to hold. That would be the highlight of the inning for Steinborn. Sandora followed by hitting an opposite-field single that landed just inside the third base foul line, opening a 2-0 lead.

Batting ninth, the struggling Haverbusch broke the game open by drilling Steinborn’s 1-0 changeup over the YMCA sign in left. The three-run shot was Haverbusch’s eighth of the season, helping the Ducks score 10 runs or more for the 14th time this season.

“I sure as hell hope so,” said Haverbusch when asked if the homer could help him break out of his recent slump. “I’ve been pretty much terrible. It’s been hard not playing and then being out for so long. Hopefully, it gets me going so I can help out.”

Pete Rose Jr., Ray Navarrete and Richard Hidalgo each added RBI hits while Carl Everett logged two hits and two runs in the inning. Damian Rolls capped the rally, ripping a run-scoring double to extend his hitting streak to 19 games. Steinborn pitched the entire inning and actually stayed in the contest, pitching six innings despite his ledger that included 14 hits against one walk.

“You usually don’t see it manifest itself in one inning like that, usually it’s over the course of a game,” said Haverbusch about the offensive barrage. “But that inning, it just picking up right where the last guy left off.”

Jose Paniagua made the run support stand-up and provided LaPoint with optimism that the rotation could start to stabilize. The former White Sox, Mariners and Expos right-hander allowed just one run in six innings, striking out three in his first start of the season.

The 34-year-old pitched three innings in relief while making his Ducks debut last week and seamlessly made the transition back to starter. Michael Wood’s RBI single was the only run Lancaster could muster against Paniagua.

“We got a big lift out of Paniagua,” LaPoint said. “He pitched one of the better games of the year right there. It’ll be a big lift for us if he can keep doing that.”

Frey, who compiled a 323-287 career record as a big league manager, acted as the honorary manager for Sparky Lyle’s Freedom Division. Don Zimmer served in the same capacity for Dave LaPoint’s Liberty Division.

The tranquil environment stood in stark contrast to Frey’s other involvement with All-Star games. As the Royals manager in 1980, Frey led Kansas City to the World Series following a sweep of the Yankees in the ALCS. Kansas City lost the World Series but provided Frey the opportunity to skipper the AL squad in the 1981 All-Star contest at Cleveland Stadium.

But a player strike that lasted from June 12 to July 31 pushed back the game’s date from July 14 to August 10. The 77-year-old Frey said the All-Star game served as a precursor to regular season play resuming. The exhibition was attended by 72, 086 people, a record that still stands.

“That’s an awesome feeling to be looking up and there’s almost 80,000 people watching you,” Frey said. “It was tough to manage because the players weren’t all really fit and they weren’t in the frame of mind. It was kind of like ‘we got to go.’ It wasn’t like they all wanted to be there. It was different in that sense.”

Frey said his relationship with Zimmer dates back to his teenage years. Both shared the same suite, where Zimmer was sporting a 2000 diamond-encrusted Yankee championship ring with a studded interlocking NY logo in the center. The connection runs deeper, with Frey hiring Zimmer to manage the Cubs before the 1988 season.

“Jim Frey and I go back almost to elementary school,” Zimmer said. “We played American Legion ball together. He was my boss in Chicago.

“At first, I wanted to have four days off when [Somerset chairman] Steve Kalafer asked me to come, so I said, ‘Steve, I’m going to say no,’” Zimmer said. “So I hung up and an hour later I said, ‘hold on, I can’t say no. He [Frey’s] been too good a friend.”

Both are still involved with baseball. Zimmer still works as an advisor for the surging Tampa Bay Rays while Frey serves as Somerset’s vice chairman.

“Zimmer and I go back to when were 13 years old playing knothole baseball in Cincinnati and we ended up going to the same high school,” Frey said. “We’ve been friends ever since. In that sense, it’s a lot of fun just getting together with him.”

Frey managed the Royals for two seasons before serving as a Mets coach. That eventually lead to another managerial job with the Cubs, where his tenure lasted from 1984-86 and included a NL East title his first season on the bench. It marked Chicago’s first postseason appearance since 1945. After leaving the dugout, Frey became the Cubs general manager from 1988-91.

But Frey said he disagrees with Major League Baseball’s rule giving the winning league of the All-Star game home-field advantage in the World Series. The Ohio native said that edge should be determined by regular season performance.

“I don’t think it’s fair to do that,” Frey said. “The fair to do is the team who has the best record in baseball should get the home-field advantage. No matter how hard you try or how much importance you place on an All-Star game, the players don’t face the game the way they would a [regular season] game.

“It’s an exhibition and there are a lot of distractions.”

Gary Cater took home the game MVP award in 1981 as the National League won, 5-4. The America League starting lineup feature Hall of Famers Dave Winfield, Carlton Fisk, Reggie Jackson, George Brett and Rod Carew. The rest of the lineup contained players familiar to New York sports fans: Willie Randolph, Bucky Dent and Ken Singleton rounded out the starting nine with potential Hall-of-Famer Jack Morris serving as the starting pitcher.

Frey said even with that collection of talent, he would have been forced into a motivational speaking role if home-field advantage rested on the game’s result.

“I would have tried to convince the players to play differently,” said Frey, who captured the 1984 National League manager of the year award. “I probably wouldn’t have managed differently, but there is a certain attitude that you might try to instill the importance of the players.”

Ray Navarrete started at second and Jamie Pogue got the nod at catcher, though the pair of Ducks pitchers were each tagged for two runs as the Sparky Lyle-lead Freedom Division held on for an 8-6 victory in front an All-Star record crowd of 8,290 at Commerce Bank Ballpark.

Leek allowed a leadoff single to Lancaster’s Michael Woods before Newark’s Ramon Castro drilled an opposite-field homer to rightfield. Castro’s blast was the first of his pair of two-run home runs, earning the Bears’ shortstop the game MVP for the Freedom Division.

“Everybody got in the game and everybody played and showed their wares to the scouts,” said LaPoint, who used all 22 players on the roster. “The fans had a good to show to watch, so that’s what we’re here for.”

Leek settled down and left after two innings down 2-0. It was another honor for the southpaw. The Levittown native was also selected to start Opening Day, giving him two honors in a four-month span.

Valentine, the Ducks closer, entered in the unfamiliar situation of the third inning. He allowed two runs but none of them were earned after Pogue couldn’t handle a third strike pitch, allowing Somerset’s Brandon Larson to reach first and eventually score on Newark’s Jose Herrera.

“I’m sure they [Leek and Valentine would have liked to have done better, but All-Star games are different,” LaPoint said. “Joe’s pitching the third inning instead of the ninth. Who knows if he’s mentally ready for that. But everybody had a good day.”

Pogue atoned for his mistake, registering an RBI groundout in the Liberty Division’s four-run fourth inning. His shot to third was gloved on a nice scoop by Matt Hagen, but he still turned a four-run deficit into a tie game with the productive out and took teammate Leek off the hook for the loss.

“It was a whole lot of fun,” Pogue said. “You come here with the expectation of just going out there relaxed and try and enjoy the game. You try and slow it down as much as you can and take as much in as you can. I had a lot of family and friends able to come and watch. It was extremely enjoyable.”

Castro ensured the Freedom Division went back on top on the bottom of the fourth. Southern Maryland right-hander Ryan Bicondoa relieved Valentine before walking Woods. That set up Castro’s second blast, handing Bicondoa the loss.

No Duck was in the game after the sixth inning. Navarrete finished 0-3 but wowed the crowd before the contest in the home run derby. The All-Star second baseman advanced to the championship round and blasted eight home runs in total.

“It’s always a great opportunity to be able to be in the same clubhouse with the other guys you are admiring through the season,” said Navarrete about sharing a dugout with the best players from Bridgeport, Southern Maryland and Camden. “You don’t get a chance to talk to them or hang out with them as much. I was really lucky to be a part of it.”

Pogue said making the trip to New Jersey instead of taking the full four days offs was a sacrifice worth making. Even after catching five innings and giving way to Adam Shorsher, Pogue still kept busy by warming up Liberty Division pitchers in the bullpen.

“I like to play all the time, so the way they do it, we still have three days off,” Pogue said. “There are only a few guys tonight that had to play nine innings anyway. To go over four days and have to catch half a game, that’s not going to wear me down. It was just awesome.”

Sitting in his familiar home dugout, Lyle trotted out Newark’s Patrick Stanley to start for the Freedom Division. As the Somerset manager, Lyle previously watched his team face off against the righty ace, who struck out 15 Lancaster batters in a game in May.

Stanley was dominating in his two innings last night, striking out three while not allowing a base-runner. In a statically oddity, Lancaster’s Eric Ackerman picked up the victory despite giving up four runs and five hits in his one inning of work, the product of Castro’s well-time homer in the bottom of the fourth when Ackerman was technically still the Freedom Division’s pitcher.

Herrera, Castro’s teammate with the Bears, added another RBI single. The two teammates played all nine innings in front of the 22 major league scouts in attendance.

“An All-Star Game is about rising to the occasion,” Lyle said.

“I took the best swing I could and luckily I ran into one,” Navarrete said. “It was a great experience.”

Navarrete was forced to settle for a second-place tie when Somerset’s Josh Pressley smacked six home runs in the final round, including a homer off the side of the rightfield scoreboard and a tack-on shot that cleared the batters’ eye 402 feet away in centerfield. Pressley wowed the hometown fans with his long blasts, as the Patriots first baseman earned a loud ovation from the sold-out Commerce Bank Ballpark crowd.

Navarrete, the Ducks lone representative in the contest’s field of six, avoided a four-way tie in the first round when he lifted a pitch into the second row of advertisements after using up six of his allotted seven outs.

“Ray did well. He’s not as big as some of the other guys, so he really has to hit it to get it out,” said catcher and teammate Jamie Pogue. “A lot of times you try to do too much and muscle up. It slows your bat speed down a little bit. A lot of people say the toughest thing to do in sports is hit a baseball. Even when the guy’s trying to let you hit it, it’s not as easy as it looks.”

Entering the four-day All-Star break, Navarrete recorded a league-leading 21 doubles and 38 extra-base hits. The 30-year-old batted leadoff and played second base for the Liberty Division during the actual game. Navarrete earned that spot by ranking second in hits (90), runs scored (60) and third in home runs (16).

“I’ll be the first to keep telling people that I really don’t think I’m a home run guy,” Navarrete said. “I’ve been running into some balls into the last couple of years.

“The home run derby was a lot of fun this year. It takes a little while to get used to. In batting practice, you have the cage around you and you also don’t have 6,000 people cheering you.”

Ducks third base coach Kevin Baez was Navarrete’s pitcher for the home run derby, where his offering lead to Navarrete’s first homer on third swing. After advancing to the final round, Navarrete started to pick up his pace.

With totals resetting and each of the three finalists receiving another seven outs, Navarrete initially looked tired before regaining a second win. He once again pulled the pitch to left on his fourth swing before adding his second homer to straightaway center. Back-to-back homers capped his evening, where he finished tied with Bridgeport’s Jesse Hoorelbeke with four homers in the last round.

“I’m glad I wasn’t shutout and me and Jesse gave the Patriots guy a little run for his money.”

Pressley is listed as 6-6 and 230 pounds while Hoorelbeke is 6-3, 225 pounds. Navarrete said he didn’t let the body-mass discrepancies bother him.

“I’m getting a little older and I realize that of course being bigger and stronger helps, but in baseball, you don’t need to be the biggest of guys to learn how to hit the ball a little bit harder,” said the generously listed six-foot, 190-pound infielder. “My last couple of years here, I’ve played with such great guys, it taught me a couple of things. I’ve learned how to use my body.”

Unlike some major league home run derby participants, Navarrete said he is not concerned that the competition would negatively impact his swing once the regular season resumes Friday night.

“I don’t think it’s going to have any effect on my swing,” Navarrete said. “I have a certain approach. I’m going to stick by it. God willing, I’ll run into a bunch more of home runs but if I don’t hit any, it just wasn’t meant to be.”

Dave LaPoint, the Ducks manager and skipper of the Liberty Division, said he enjoyed watching his player compete.

“It was pretty impressive. I thought he loosened up but then he got tired,” LaPoint said. “But Pressley just had too good of a swing and knows this ballpark pretty well.”

But not even Pressley’s power displayed rivaled Josh Hamilton’s epic 28-homer first round during MLB’s derby at Yankee Stadium. That feat wowed Don Zimmer, who was in attendance and part of the pregame festivities. Zimmer, a member of the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers championship club, said Hamilton’s outburst was once of the most impressive things he’s seen in his nearly 60 years in baseball.

“What Josh Hamilton did was something people will never forget,” the 77-year-old Zimmer said. “Just to keep looking up and seeing all the home runs was very, very special.”

Zimmer played, coached and managed some of the best players in the game’s history. When asked what former player who would have liked to have seen hit in a home run derby, the current Tampa Bay Rays senior baseball advisor said Jim Rice would have thrived.

“Jim Rice was absolutely awesome. I would have liked to have see him in a home run derby with anybody,” said Zimmer, who managed Rice with the Red Sox from 1976-80.

Navarrete wasn’t hitting in Yankee Stadium or outslugging any baseball legends, but that didn’t stop the former Mets prospect from having a good on a sweltering July night.

“The stadium looked incredible,” he said. “It was a great day and a great experience. It’s always a great opportunity to be in the same clubhouse with the other guys you look up to throughout the season and get a chance to talk to them.”

Atlantic League CEO and Ducks’ co-owner Frank Boulton said the championship round will maintain the best-of-five format. The change, effective in 2009, will give the first-half division winner the option of choosing to play the first two games at home and next three on the road or playing Games 3-5 at home.

Boulton also announced the site of the next two All-Star games. Newark will host the event next year while Citibank Park, home of the Ducks, will be the host stadium for the 2010 game.

League executive director Joe Klein, along with Boulton, also divulged that the rosters will temporarily expanded in 2009. From Opening Day until May 31, the rosters will increase from the current 25-player limit to 27. The rosters will contract back to 25 on the last day in May with the excess players put in a pool for a dispersal draft.

“Any player not selected will be granted his release,” Boulton said. “Our expanded roster proposal based unanimously.”

With some of the best players in the independent minor league already signed by major league-affiliated organizations, Boulton said the league will move up its All-Star game to the last full week in June starting next year. The scheduling change was made in hopes of holding the event before the best first-half performances are enticed to leave the league.

“There are 27 guys you could argue are our better players who have moved on,” said Boulton before last night’s exhibition at Somerset’s Commerce Bank Ballpark. “We are going to make this more of a showcase for the players in the AL. Make it more interesting for the better players in our league to be a part of this All-Star game. “

Citibank Park last hosted the All-Star event in 2002. This year’s rendition featured a departure from years past since the league retooled the former South and North Divisions into the Liberty and Freedom Divisions.

Newark, a Freedom Division member, will be up next year. Long Island will then be up the following year.

But when the Ducks finally produced two strong pitching performances, the lineup picked a poor time to go into a slump. One night after wasting ace Randy Leek’s complete-game effort, the Ducks couldn’t capitalize on Carlos Castillo’s stellar outing, mustering just four hits against Newark’s Patrick Stanley in a 4-0 loss to the Bears at Citibank Park.

Castillo allowed no runs in 5 2/3 innings, looking sharp in his Ducks’ debut. Signed off the waiver wire from Bridgeport the previous day, Castillo surrendered just four hits and walked one, earning the no-decision. The 6-3, 245-pound righty was coming off a two-week respite and said he needed to work his way back into game shape.

“When I was Bridgeport, I hadn’t gotten my rhythm yet. I missed spring training,” Castillo said. “My rhythm was better and I kept us in the ball game. In the sixth inning, I ran out of gas a little bit.”

Robert Sandora caught Castillo and the former White Sox hurler said he developed a rapport with his backstop.

“It was just about making my pitches,” Castillo said. “I got along real good with my catcher; the signs and stuff. I felt comfortable with him and good defense always helps.”

Castillo was overshadowed by Stanley, who struck out 15 batters last month. Stanley wasn’t that dominate last night, though solid defense allowed him to log a complete-game shutout as the Ducks fell to 19-21 and into sole possession of last place, — behind Camden.

The Ducks scored just one run during the previous game, dropping a 3-1 decision despite Leek’s outing. One run in 18 innings left manager Dave LaPoint frustrated. His team hasn’t racked up more than two consecutive wins since May 21.

“I’ve never lost confidence in this team, period,” LaPoint said. “But we do need to put everything together for a little rush. As long as we stay one, two or three games out of first until we start putting it together, then I’m comfortable.”

Ryan Knippschild ensured Castillo of a scoreless ledger, entering a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the sixth. The southpaw induced Val Majewski into an inning-ending double play. Knippschild’s luck ran out when he gave up two straight singles to start the seventh. Ben Grezlovski entered the game following John Pachot’s sacrifice bunt and facilitated a comebacker to the mound for the second out.

Grezlovski couldn’t escape the jam, watching as Bobby Hill lifted a two-out double that landed just over Ray Navarrete’s head in left field, plating Keith Reed and Randall Simon to break open the scoring.

One inning later, Majewski added two insurance runs by turning on a belt-high fastball. As the ball cleared the fence in right, the Bears surged to a four-run lead. Stanley capitalized on the support to improve to 5-0.

“He didn’t make a whole lot of mistakes,” LaPoint said. “He’s got a pitch that no one else in the league has with that overhand curveball, so you’re on the defensive. You don’t get a lot of chances to hit that, so it’s a learning process.”

Just like the previous contest, the Ducks enjoyed chances to ignite a rally. Newark responded by playing highlight-reel defense, punctuated by Keith Reed’s wall-climbing catch in center to rob Kevin Haverbusch of a second-inning home run. Reed jumped over the yellow line in left-center to complete the catch, resulting in one of his 10 putouts.

Stanley finally showed signs of cracking in the sixth. Alex Sanchez singled but was caught stealing. Pete Rose Jr. started a two-out rally, signing and advancing to third when Stanley drilled Carl Everett and walked Navarrete to load the bases.

Up stepped Haverbusch, who worked the count to 2-0 before Newark catcher John Pachot threw down to first and picked off Navarrete to end the threat. Navarrete, the Atlantic League-leader in runs scored, extra base hits and slugging percentage, stated down on the ground and pounded the dirt in frustration.

“Ray’s won a lot more games for us then he’s made mistakes and cost us the game,” LaPoint said. “He’s always an aggressive base-runner but that was not the right time to be fooling around.”

Leek responded by pitching eight strong innings to pick up the victory May 30 in Southern Maryland. The Levittown native did one better last night, tossing a complete game. But the Ducks’ offense failed to capitalize on his outing, getting stymied by Camden’s Brian Reith in a 3-1 loss to the Patriots at Citibank Park.

After racking up 26 runs the past three games, the Ducks could only muster seven hits against Reith. The right-hander’s only blemish came on Kevin Haverbusch’s sixth-inning RBI single. Reith improved to 3-0, striking out three in a brisk 2:19 contest.

“He really came at us hard with a lot of hard stuff,” LaPoint said about Reith after he induced 12 fly outs. “He won the game tonight. He shut the door.”

Leek also hummed through Somerset’s lineup. The exception was hot-hitting Brandon Larson, who recorded two of his team’s seven hits and scored twice. Larson entered batting .331 and started the second by lining a single. A walk and a sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position. Matt Hagen lifted a sacrifice fly to plate Larson and David Housel drove in the second run.

Plate umpire Kareh Valentine, who was behind the plate during a 20-walk game at Citibank Park last month, called a couple of borderline pitches balls early in the game. Leek looked agitated on the mound and said afterward some of those early calls contributed to his shaky start.

“I just let my emotions get to myself there,” Leek said. “I let some calls that I thought were bad get to my head and I didn’t make good pitches. That’s my own fault. That’s me letting the team down and I can’t do that.

“I just need to start throwing better early in games. It’s been my downfall this year and it hurt us again.”

Added LaPoint: “Leek got a couple of balls up there in the second inning and they happened to hit them where we weren’t standing.”

Larson added a key insurance run, ripping a solo homer to left in the fourth to extend the lead to 3-0.

“He doesn’t swing at bad pitches,” Leek said. “He doesn’t swing at balls. He’s a good hitter and keeps the bat in the zone a long time. I just fell behind him.”

LaPoint said working with Leek during side sessions helped improve his delivery. The tinkering resulted in a two-game stretch when the southpaw has allowed just four runs in 17 innings.

“He was just rushing a little bit,” LaPoint said. “I think his arm might have been tired and he was trying to do a little more with his body. We had to slow his motion down a little bit and get him to throw the pitches where he wants them.”

Considering three of the starters carried ERAs over six into the contest and Leek’s outing helped preserve an overworked bullpen. Leek’s ledger fell to 3-2 despite walking just two in front of 5,416 fans.

“We had a good work session when we went to Lancaster and got all the kinks ironed out and he’s been able to put it into play the last two starts,” LaPoint said. “Another typical great job by Randy. The bullpen thanks him.”

The Ducks still dropped below the .500 mark, falling to 19-20 and back into last place in the Liberty Division. Brock Till pitched the final two innings to pick up the save.

Before the contest, the Ducks signed Carlos Castillo. The 6-3, 245-pound righty pitched for the Road Warriors last season and will join the rotation. Castillo adds depth the staff. Clint Nageotte is bothered by a knee injury and Jamal Strong was placed on the inactive list to attend to personal issues.

“We desperately needed a spot starter,” LaPoint said. “He throws everything from an upper-80s fastball to a slow curve that is about 50 miles per hour. He throws strikes and that’s all we’re going to ask him to do.”

Mike Myers, who started the season pitching for a Long Island-based semi-pro team, was rocked in his three innings of work. The Patriots tagged him for 10 runs (seven earned), 10 hits and three walks. By the fourth inning, every Somerset starter reached base safely and scored at least one run with the exception of Matt Hagen.

Atrocious defense didn’t help matters. The Ducks committed three errors and could have been charged with at least five as they dropped to 18-19 and into last place in the Liberty Division. The Ducks have now alternated wins and losses in the past eight games and the club’s last winning streak of over two games was May 21.

Manager Dave LaPoint talked with Donaldo Mendez in his office following the game and citied the club’s overall effort as unsatisfactory. Mendez committed two of the three errors in Myers’ second professional start.

“We didn’t show up tonight as a team and he paid for it, too,” LaPoint said. “He [Myers] wasn’t getting much help behind him. He kept battling and I give him a lot of respect for that.”

Myers’ implosion came two days after Clint Nageotte couldn’t make it out of the second inning in a 14-3 loss in Southern Maryland. Jason Simontacchi is still on the inactive list but the Ducks are struggling to fill in the rotation spots behind Randy Leek and Manny Ulloa. Nageotte, Myers, and Steven Kent have failed to distinguish themselves, each logging an ERA over six.

Jon Searles, a quality No. 3 starter, was placed on the inactive list May 28. LaPoint hinted that help could be coming from outside the organization.

“You’re always looking for better pitching,” LaPoint said. “There is just nobody out there right now. We have to go with what we have.”

Mock cheers from the 5,615 in attendance at Citibank Park marked the only time the crowd was able to have an impact. The Ducks surrendered five runs in the first inning and went down 10-0 before the fifth.

All nine Somerset hitters recorded at least one base hit, including Gera Alvarez and Brandon Larson’s solo home runs. Myers lost the strike zone in the first, hitting a batter and walking another following a leadoff single. Larson worked a bases-loaded walk to score the first ring. Myers struck out the next hitter but then gave up Vito Chiaravalloti’s two-run single. Hagen’s RBI single capped the rally.

“I look back and think the 0-2 curveball on the first hitter when he gave up the first hit shook him up a little bit,” LaPoint said. “It [wrecked] his concentration and he doesn’t have enough experience to know how to settle himself down and get back into the game.

“It’s a learning process. We’ll keep working with him.”

Myers came out for the second and promptly allowed Elliott Ayala’s double. Michael Ryan’s one-out double brought home Ayala. The Wantagh native would allow two unearned runs in the third before finally taxing LaPoint’s patience in the fourth. Larson’s blast put another run on the board and a walk and single chased Myers.

Hagen greeted reliever Kevin Mannix by lining a RBI single and Travis Anderson walked to load the bases with none out. Two foul pop ups and a flyout ended the threat without any more runs. Catcher Jamie Pogue caught two of those pop flies right behind home plate, drawing sarcastic applause rarely heard in the Atlantic League.

The fans’ frustration was understandable considering a particularly egregious mental mistake earlier in the fourth. Hagen ripped a single with Josh Pressley on second and Chiaravalloti on first. Pressley originally intended to hold at third before racing home once the ball reached Brent Abernathy at second base.

Abernathy had a clear play at home but held on to the ball, which would have resulted in at least one out since Chiaravalloti was about 20 feet off the base. But Abernathy failed to notice the runner in front of him, leaving everyone safe as jeers rained on the field.

Arm surgeries have regulated Lawrence and Drese to the Atlantic League’s Camden Riversharks, where they hope to show MLB scouts that they can recapture the movement and velocity they possessed before the injuries.

The duo has helped pitch Camden into first place in the Liberty Division. Both pitched well in Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Ducks at Citibank Park, as Drese looked almost fully recovered from Tommy John surgery.

Lawrence also said he feels completely healthy after a torn labrum in his right shoulder wiped out his 2006 campaign. Lawrence returned to action the next season, making 19 starts in Triple-A and six for the Mets, going 1-2 while logging a 6.83 ERA.

“Everyone I talked to says you don’t feel 100 percent for two years. Knowing the way I feel now, it’s true,” Lawrence said. “I pitched last year and I wasn’t 100 percent. I thought I was, but I felt it between starts. Now, I can go out and pitch and feel good about the recovering and bouncing back.”

In his first five starts for the Riversharks, Lawrence is 2-1. The 6-2, 195-pound hurler picked up that second victory in the nightcap of the twinbill, limiting the Ducks to three runs in six innings in Camden’s 6-3 victory. Lawrence said his Mets’ stint was frustrating because his numbers weren’t indicative of his ability.

“It’s frustrating because I was able to pitch in the big leagues and throw 200 innings and have double digit wins,” Lawrence said. “Now, I feel like I was a better pitcher than I was then. I can’t even get a job. But you try to put all that aside and go out there. I’ll go where I’ll go.”

From 2002-04, Lawrence racked up at least 10 victories as a member of the Padres. He logged a career-best 15 wins in 2004, tossing two complete games and a 4.12 ERA. The 32-year-old is a career 50-63 in six major league seasons.

Camden manager Joe Ferguson said the independent minor league provides veterans a chance to showcase skills while also allowing younger players to benefit from watching how an ex-big leaguer prepares between starts.

“It’s his experience and you hope the younger pitchers watch how he goes about his business,” said Ferguson, who knows a thing or two about pitchers having caught 14 years for four organizations. “He doesn’t pitch out of contact. He pitches into contact and he’s not afraid to throw the ball over the plate and you need to do that to be a successful pitcher.

“He’s been an absolute joy to be around and I hope he finds a way back to the major leagues.”

Opposing batters can usually tell if they are facing an experienced pitcher. Estee Harris went 1-2 against Lawrence and said mound presence is one difference he noticed when he stepped on the plate.

“I could tell right away that he was very sure of himself,” Harris said. “There’s definitely a difference. Knowing who he is, he’s not going to make many mistakes so you just have to make sure that when you get a pitch you can do something with, make sure that you do it. If he makes a mistake, you have to make him pay because chances are you’re not going to see that good pitch again.”

Lawrence is just one of 37 pitchers in major league history to strike out the side on nine pitches, accomplishing the “immaculate inning” in 2002 when set down Baltimore’s Brook Fordyce, Jerry Hairston Jr. and Melvin Mora. The Fort Collins, Co. native said that is not his favorite accomplishment.

“I didn’t even realize I did it until after the game,” Lawrence said. “Looking back, that was nice, and to me, the complete-game shutouts are fond memories. Getting my 15th win in 2004 was a goal I had to set. To be able to reach that was something special to me.”

Lawrence made his debut with San Diego in 2001 following a three-year apprenticeship in the minor leagues. The Padres eventually traded him to the Nationals at the end of the 2006 season in exchange for Vinny Castilla. Lawrence never pitched for Washington before getting released.

Lawrence, who starred for Northwestern State University, was 13-13 and posted a 3.81 ERA for the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate last year. Those numbers did not lead to a contract offer or even a spring training invite; a snub Lawrence can use as motivation.

“I didn’t think there’d be any way I couldn’t get a Triple-A job at least,” Lawrence said. “You have goals. Obviously, I want to be in the big leagues and I think I’m good enough. I can’t look forward and guess where I’m going to be.”

Bridgeport once again victimized Ducks pitching, outslugging its opponent for an 8-6 win over the home team last night at Citibank Park. In five meetings this year, the Ducks have surrendered 58 runs. That works out to be more than 11 runs per contest, by far the worse output against any opponent.

The offense has still kept the games competitive, as the Ducks are just 2-3 against the Bluefish. Pete Rose Jr. did his best to ignite a comeback bid, scoring two runs and driving in another. Most of the sell-out crowd of 6,513 stayed for fireworks night and nearly saw a comeback attempt.

“We’re battling and it’s early,” Rose said. “No one is hitting the panic button.”

Down four runs in the bottom of the sixth, Carl Everett came to the plate with the bases loaded lifted a 0-1 pitch deep to right. Braden Florence raced back before settling under the ball on the edge of the warning track, ending the Ducks best rally.

“We had some chances and hit some line drives at people,” acting manager Bud Harrelson said. “I thought overall we were a heck of a lot better than we were last night.”

Unlike Friday’s brutal 15-8 loss, the Ducks did not commit any errors. But they still dropped two games below .500 and at 13-15 trail Camden by six games.

Steve Kent lasted just 4 2/3 innings, getting tagged for 10 hits and seven runs (all earned). In losing the first two games of the series, the starting pitchers have gone a combined six innings to strain an undermanned bullpen that lost closer Joe Valentine when he was signed to the Phillies Triple-A affiliate earlier in the evening.

Florence started Bridgeport’s first-inning rally, singling and scoring on Calvin Pickering’s two-run double. Pickering scored on Brian Munhall’s RBI single to cap a three-run outburst. Luis Lopez sent his Atlantic League-leading average skyrocketing past the .400 mark. The second baseman entered batting .395 and went 4-4, adding a walk, two RBIs and two runs scored.

Lopez finished a home run short of the cycle, singling home Henry Mateo and scoring on Pickering’s sacrifice fly in a three-run fifth that chased Kent and provided Bluefish starter Tim Drew (3-1) enough cushion to pick up the victory.

“If we could figure out a way to get Luis Lopez out, we’d be OK,” Harrelson said. “This is a very tough offensive ball club. They’re tough. We’re a little beat up and we got guys we had to rest.”

Rose scored twice in the first three innings, chipping at the Bluefish lead. Jamie Pogue capped a two-run third, platting Rose on a RBI single. Pogue doubled and scored in the seventh and Kevin Haverbusch’s ground out scored Ray Navarrete in the eighth before the Ducks ran out of chances. Wes Wilkerson pitched a flawless ninth to pick up his fourth save.

The good news is second baseman Brent Abernathy is expected to return from his rib injury soon and Damian Rolls came off the inactive list and played for the first time since May 10.

“Everything’s going to come around,” Rose said. “As a team, we’re starting to swing the bats. I think it’s just a little rut and some crazy things that haven’t gone our way. Those two guys have been out and they can’t wait to get back in the lineup.”

Bridgeport collected 28 hits the previous two games. Pickering, a near 300-pound designated hitter, knocked in three runs and surprised everyone in the ballpark by stealing second base in the third. Pickering was not held at first and Kent failed to pay attention to him after his single. The lumbering slugger took off and stole the base easily.

Jon Asahina stopped the bleeding, allowing just one run in 3 1/3 relief innings. Jason Simontacchi is still on the inactive list, providing a chance for Asahina to move into the rotation.

“We’re building him because he looks pretty good,” Harrelson said. “He’s young and strong and we may need him as a starter eventually. I thought he handled himself very well out there.”

That streak ended in a big way last night when the Phillies purchased Joe Valentine’s contract, assigning him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley of the International League. The move gives Valentine a chance to make it back to the big leagues but leaves the Ducks devoid of a closer who recorded six saves and 14 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings, logging a 1.62 ERA as one of the Atlantic League’s hardest throwers.

“We’re very happy for and proud of Joe,” Ducks principal owner Frank Boulton said in a statement. “He’s been an integral part of our pitching staff over the past two seasons, and we’re excited that he will have the opportunity to get back to the big leagues.”

Former Oriole Todd Williams, signed earlier in the week to fortify the set-up role, is one possibility to take over the closer’s role. The right-hander could also be used in front of Tom Martin, the ex-Colorado Rockies’ southpaw looking to return from a rib injury in the coming days.

Acting manager Bud Harrelson said he can use Williams, Ben Grezlovski and even Martin in the role when he returns from the inactive list. Manager Dave LaPoint will make the final decision when he returns from his son’s college graduation this weekend.

“We have to give Williams a chance to build himself up,” Harrelson said. “He’s a major league-quality closer. He just doesn’t have the timing yet as far as his release point. We’re open-minded and we need another pitcher. Dave’s been talking to a couple of guys. We’ll be all right.”

Valentine, a former Cincinnati Reds reliever, came to Long Island for the stretch drive last year. He quickly captured the eighth-inning role in front of then-closer Danny Graves, providing the Ducks a pair of MLB veterans that helped secure a playoff appearance.

The 28-year-old Deer Park resident struck out 37 batters in 35 innings in 2006, holding opposing hitters to a .208 average. On the eve of the season opener, Valentine said the key to getting back on the scouts’ radar is simply to continue getting batters out.

“If one guy out there in the front office of one team likes you, sometimes it’s the right place, right time,” Valentine said.

Pete Rose Jr. said the clubhouse was happy for Valentine even if his departure leaves a void in the bullpen.

“It couldn’t happen to a better guy,” Rose said. “Joe’s a good friend. That’s what we’re all here for. Nobody’s here to be a Duck. We’re all here to get back to the big leagues and get in organizations.

“It’s great for Joe and good things are going to happen for him because he goes out and battles and has good stuff. I’m glad someone finally took a chance on him. We wish him the best.”

Damian Rolls filled Valentine’s roster spot, starting at third base. A rib injury had sidelined Rolls since May 10, and rust showed in his 0-5 performance.

As one Duck returned to the lineup, Alex Sanchez gave the club another potential injury scare, crashing into the centerfield wall on Luis Lopez’s third-inning triple. Sanchez stayed down for several moments before the trainer arrived but got up and stayed in the game.

Sanchez lined 10 hits in 15 at-bats, ripping four extra base hits and scoring seven runs through his first three games before cooling off slightly last night.

As a leadoff batter, Harrelson said the one-time Detroit Tiger can be a table-setter for run-producers like Carl Everett, Pete Rose Jr. and Ray Navarrete.

“These guys have to be rubbing their hands together because he [Sanchez] is going to be in scoring position and he’s going to be on base a lot,” Harrelson said. “He hasn’t been here that long but he’s got more hits in three games than I had in a month.

“But I go a lot more walks,” the long-time Mets’ shortstop added with a laugh.

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — Alex Sanchez’s first two games as a Duck were so productive that his manager suggested it would be better if he cooled off just slightly.

Sanchez, who signed with the Ducks on Wednesday, went 6-9, scored four runs and belted a home run in his first two days on the club. That output means a .667 batting average and a gaudy 1.222 slugging percentage and a possible ticket back to a MLB-affiliated club if his hot hitting continues.

“He has to make a couple of outs so we don’t lose him here in the next couple of weeks,” LaPoint said with a laugh. “He’s been a big lift and automatically it forces their pitcher to come out throwing good pitchers to start the game off.”

Starting as a call-up with Milwaukee in 2001,Sanchez played 427 major leagues games among four different franchises. The speedy outfielder owns a career. 296 average in the big leagues, including a.322 campaign in 79 games for the Tigers in 2004.

The 31-year-old was working out at home when LaPoint called him to join the Ducks. Sanchez hadn’t played since winter ball wrapped up, though he looked comfortable as the leadoff batter and centerfielder.

“My agent was familiar with this team and sent me over here because I need to keep playing to be ready for anything happening,” Sanchez said.

The Atlantic League has a history of sending players back to Double and Triple-A. Recent Ducks’ history also shows examples of players making it all to the major leagues, such as another former hard-hitting centerfielder: Mel Stocker.

Sanchez also stole a base during the Ducks’ 10-4victory over Camden Thursday night. The 5-10, 180-pound Miami-Dade College product once stole 44 bases for the Tigers before leg injuries slowed him down in recent season. He said he feels healthier now and will look to reincorporate speed into his game.

“I feel very good right now,” Sanchez said. “My leg is ready and I’m [running].”

Before major league teams start calling, Sanchez and his lefty swing will continue to serve as the catalyst for the heart of the lineup featuring veteran hitters Carl Everett, Pete Rose Jr. and Ray Navarrete.

“If you get him out, the next three guys aren’t very easy, either,” LaPoint said. “They all set each other up.”

Younger players like Estee Harris now can enjoy another experienced outfielder on the roster. Harris said spending time with accomplished players like Everett has helped his game and expressed optimism that he could develop a similar rapport with Sanchez, who split the 2005 season between Tampa Bay and San Francisco.

“Just picking his brain and watching how he takes care of his business; I can learn a lot from all these guys,” Harris said.“That’s what is so great about this clubhouse, the mix of guys and all the experience. I’m definitely glad to have him on the team. It makes us better.”

The rule book was the last of the Ducks’ worries last night. Kevin Mannix slogged through his second straight poor outing, getting lifted after recording just four outs and nine runs (three earned) in a brutal 14-9 loss to division-rival Bridgeport.

Mannix was tagged for six runs—all unearned—in the first inning thanks in part to two fielding errors and one infield single generously ruled a single. Mannix walked five and lasted just 1 1/3 innings as the Ducks dropped one game below .500 when just a night before they reached the break-even point for the first time since May 11.

“You knew he was in trouble right away. He was walking guys and walked two [runs] in,” said Harrelson, the Ducks’ co-owner filling in for Dave LaPoint, who is attending his son’s college graduation this weekend. “We didn’t help him early on with a couple of miscues. They got a couple of bloops and started blasting us.”

An infield single, fielding error and walk loaded the bases with no outs in the first. Bridgeport benefitted from a second misplay when third baseman Pete Maestrales threw a potential double play ball into right field, allowing two runs to score. Two batters later, Brian Munhall registered the first of his evening’s four RBIs, drawing a bases loaded walk.

Though all the runs were unearned via the two errors, Mannix suffered the ultimate indignity by walking pitcher Matt Pike to force in the fifth run of the inning. Pike, a pitcher, was making his first professional plate appearance, playing left field in an emergency situation because of injuries to the Bridgeport roster.

Fielding miscues represented a moiety of the Ducks’ problems. Mannix’s woes continued in the second when he allowed two hits and a walk to load the bases with one out. Brian Munhall then ripped a two-run double, prompting a coaching mound visit.

Immediately after the conference, Harrelson walked out to remove Mannix. But by rule, a pitching change cannot be made following a mound visit until the current pitcher faces one more batter (except in a pinch-hitting situation).

Mannix couldn’t end his night on a good night as Jake Daubert’s RBI double chased him and put the Bluefish up 9-2. The Ducks (13-14) chipped into the edge, cutting it as close as 9-6 on Alex Sanchez’ fourth-inning solo home run off Rafael Bergstrom.

Bridgeport (13-14) reestablished a comfortable lead in the fifth, deflating the sold-out Citibank Park crowd by tagging long reliever Mike Myers for four runs. Ryan Bear added a two-run double and Jesse Hoorelbeke’s single platted Braden Florence to put the Bluefish up 12-6.

“Myers is an inning-eater,” Harrelson said. “We started to come back and he gave up four and it kind of got out of hand.”

The Ducks racked up 15 hits but couldn’t bail out the pitching staff. Myers rejoined the organization two days after getting released and provided length instead of quality. The Wantagh native saved the bullpen by going 4 1/3 innings. He also surrendered eight hits, three walks and five earned runs, preventing the lineup from pulling out the slugfest in front of 6,047 fans.

Sanchez continued his amazing hot streak, recording a multi-hit game for the third time in three nights since joining the club. Sanchez finished 4-6, scoring four runs. In his brief Ducks career, the former Tigers outfielder has compiled 10 hits, seven runs, 2 homer, four extra base hits and three RBIs in just 15 at-bats. Sanchez played winter ball before working out in his home prior to joining the Atlantic League.

“He’s on fire,” Harrelson said. “It’s my understanding that he hadn’t really done anything for three months. But he’s got that nice, quick swing. He could probably take three years off and hit like that.”

Two hits and presented a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the ninth for the Ducks. Donaldo Mendez continued his season-long funk, striking out. Sanchez came up to extend the rally and lined the ball hard to second. Instead of finding the hole, Luis Lopez fielded it on one hop and turned the game-ending double play.

“He hit the ball as hard as you can hit it,” Harrelson said. “He has to hit it that hard to be doubled up.”

The Ducks dropped to 13-14 and will look to get even tonight in the second contest of a three-game set. Lefty Steve Kent will start for the home team and face Bridgeport right-hander Tim Drew.

But things may be picking up now. The Ducks continue to get healthy and are also getting a spark from new addition Alex Sanchez, who lined three hits for his second straight games to help his new club take three of four from first-place Camden following a 10-4 victory last night at Citibank Park.

Sanchez, who signed before Wednesday’s doubleheader, went 3-4 in his debut. He matched that production in his second contest, scoring a run and driving in another via a third-inning home run. The former Detroit Tiger finished just a triple short of the cycle as the Ducks (13-13) reached the break-even point for the first time since May 11.

“As a team, we think that if we get all together and get everybody back, then we still have the best team,” manager Dave LaPoint said. “Luckily, all the injuries happened to us early and we still have time to make up ground.”

Camden saw its lead over the Ducks drop to four games in the Liberty Division, though the Riversharks mounted a comeback in the eighth. Down 6-2, Camden loaded the bases with one out for Richard Lewis.

Todd Williams induced Lewis to hit a potential double-play grounder before second baseman Ray Navarrete dropped the transfer from the shortstop for an error. Gary Cates scored on that play and Ron Davenport plated the inning’s second run with a RBI ground out in the subsequent at-bat to make it 6-4.

Ex-Met Jason Phillips, who drilled a two-run homer in the fourth, came to bat with the runners on second and third. LaPoint then turned to Joe Valentine for a four-out save, and the closer delivered by getting Phillips to pop out to first on the second pitch to strand the potential tying runs in scoring position.

The Ducks added four insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth to preserve the victory.

Sanchez has four runs, six hits, two RBIs and a homer in first nine at-bats, igniting the offense from the leadoff spot. The 31-year-old is a career .296 hitter in 427 major league games for five different organizations. Sanchez said he is looking to return to the show for the first time since splitting the 2005 season with San Francisco and Tampa Bay.

“I’m trying to help this team first and do a good job and then we’ll see what happens in the future,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch to start the first. Pete Rose Jr. brought him home by lifting a sacrifice fly and the Ducks added a second run thanks to a throwing error that scored Carl Everett for an early 2-0 lead. Sanchez extended the lead in the third, belting Chris Young’s offering off the second tier of advertisements in right field for a solo shot.

“When I stand at home plate, I see the pitches very good,” Sanchez said. “I’m seeing the ball good and I’m trying to hit the ball hard. Last night was my first game since winter ball.”

The Ducks did not make any roster moves before the contest, ending a stretch of eight transactions in a three-day whirlwind stretch. Manny Ulloa provided stability from the pitcher’s mound, improving to 2-1 thanks to a six-inning, five-hit outing.

Phillips’ two-run homer to left was the only runs Ulloa surrendered. The righty needed help in the sixth, getting the hook following consecutive singles to start the frame. Southpaw Ryan Knippschild struck out a lefty batter and Ben Grezlovski maintained the 3-2 lead, getting a big assist from Jamal Strong’s diving catch in foul territory to end the inning and the bases loaded threat.

“You have everyone out here playing hard and you just want to fit in and do whatever you can to help the team win,” Strong said.

Strong also was 3-4 with two RBIs. He shifted to left field so Sanchez can play his natural position in center, providing the highlight reel catch near the stands on Chris Walker’s fly ball.

“I’m looking at him thinking he’s going to ram his head into the side wall,” LaPoint said. “He never hesitated. He went all-out and I think when you have a good team and everyone feels good about themselves, they start making those plays.”

But Leek imploded after getting the first out in the third. The southpaw allowed six runs on six hits in an eight-batter sequence as the Camden Riversharks took Game 2, 6-3, to split last night’s twin bill at Citibank Park.

In a battle of aces, Leek opposed former Met pitcher Brian Lawrence following a 3-2 Ducks victory in the opener. Carl Everett’s two-run single broke open the scoring against Lawrence in the first

That edge appeared to be enough for Leek, who surrendered just six earned runs in his first five starts before nearly matching that total in a one-inning stretch. Then the wheels came off the lefty.

Ron Davenport laced a triple before Gabe Suarez’s RBI single drove him home. Chris Walker followed by blasting a home run to left. All three hits came on the first pitch, leading to three runs. But the Riversharks put two more men on base before Jason Phillips popped out.

L.J. Biernbaum’s run-scoring single plated Gary Cates and Richard Lewis lined a two-run double as Camden batted around. Leek (1-1) finally got the last out but would not come out for the fourth inning. The Levittown native lost his first regular season decision at home in 13 career starts.

“Randy hasn’t pitched good the past couple of games,” manager Dave LaPoint said. “The warm-ups weren’t that good, either. Something’s lacking that we have to work on.

“It’s probably more mental than it is mechanical. He has a different look about him when he’s pitching good. There’s something just a little bit off somewhere that have to fine tune.”

Lawrence enjoyed MLB success as a member of the Padres and pitched for the Mets last season. Camden’s new ace improved to 2-1 following six strong innings, striking out three and walking just one.

“I could tell right away he was sure of himself and had a good mound presence,” Estee Harris said.

In the first of the two seven-inning contests, the Ducks nearly dropped a close one. Once again, a starter failed to provide length. Jon Searles, the staff’s No. 2 starter, lasted just 3 1/3 innings before needing Jon Asahina to bail him out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fourth.

Asahina came through, forcing Cates to hit into an inning-ending double play. The righty logged two more scoreless innings to keep the deficit at 2-1into the sixth. Harris capitalized on the bullpen’s effort, extending his hot streak from the leadoff spot by singling and scoring in the fifth.

After scratching out just one run on five hits in five innings against former Texas Ranger Ryan Drese, Julio Guerrero came in for the six-out save. Guerrero retired the first two batters before Dennis Donovan reached on a single.

Harris, who scored five runs and three RBIs the previous two games, lifted a fastball to right that continued to carry. Bierbaum continued to back-peddle before unsuccessfully jumping to catch the ball at the wall. Instead, the ball cleared the yellow line for the go-ahead two-run shot, extending the Ducks’ three-game winning streak that was subsequently broken.

“Early in the count, I was looking for a pitch to drive but I wasn’t going to go out of my zone to do it,” Harris said. “I just put a good swing on it. I knew I hit it well. I just didn’t know if I had gotten under it too much.”

Donovan’s single and run atoned for his earlier futility. The Center Moriches product struck out looking with the bases loaded to end the fourth.

Harris scored three runs and drove in another during Monday’s series-opening victory over Camden. Tuesday’s rain out necessitated the doubleheader, and Harris played both ends as the Ducks remain five games behind in the Atlantic League’s Liberty Division.

“I’ve just been seeing the ball good,” Harris said. “I’m getting myself in good hitter’s counts and hitting the ball hard. I’m getting my pitches and putting them in play.”

But Myers will not get a chance to make a second appearance for the Ducks in the near future. Manager Dave LaPoint signed former Yankee and Oriole right-hander Todd Williams before splitting last night’s doubleheader against the Riversharks.

Myers was released to open a roster spot and Rob Cafiero was taken off the active roster so the Ducks could add veteran major league outfielder Alex Sanchez. Cafiero will serve as a coach and is eligible to rejoin the 25-man roster at a later date.

“This league doesn’t lie. You need experience to last,” LaPoint said about Myers. “We released him because we had to make a roster spot but we told him, ‘stay close, we might need you again.’ He’s OK. He’s going to continue to work out with us and be around the ballpark. If we need him, we’ll get him.”

Williams adds depth to the bullpen. Tom Martin is still out because of a rib injury, though his return will give the Ducks four relievers with big league experience. Williams pitched 227 games for five MLB organizations from 1995-07, logging a 4.33 ERA and a 12-14 record.

A 6-3, 210-pound righty, Williams last pitched in the majors for Baltimore, registering 14 appearances. The 37-year-old joins Martin, an ex-Rockies’ hurler, to form a lefty-righty tandem in front of closer Joe Valentine. Set-up man Clint Nageotte is the other reliever with experience at the game’s highest level.

“We needed some new life and they are both really good ballplayers,” LaPoint said. “Right now, we feel like they can give us a better chance [to win].”

Sanchez will look to provide punch from the left side of the plate. The 31-year-old is a career .296 hitter in 427 games among four big league clubs. He last played in the show in 2005, splitting time with Tampa Bay and San Francisco. Sanchez, who played all of last season for Triple-A Charlotte, will try to provide a jolt to an inconsistent lineup. Dominick Ambrosini was placed on the inactive list last week after batting .191.

The moves were completed before Game 1. Hours later, Estee Harris continued his torrid hitting. The Central Islip product completed a come-from-behind victory by lifting a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth. Closer Joe Valentine pitched the final inning to pick up the save in the seven-inning game as the Ducks took the opener, 3-2.

Harris said adding an experienced outfielder is something that can help him as one of the club’s youngest members.

“Just picking his brain and watching how he takes care of his business; I can learn a lot from all these guys,” Harris said about veterans like Sanchez, Jamal Strong and Carl Everett. “That’s what is so great about this clubhouse, the mix of guys and all the experience. I’m definitely glad to have him on the team. It makes us better.”

Steve Kent didn’t necessarily provide length. But he did enough to qualify for the victory, limiting the first-place Riversharks to just one run on five hits in five innings in an 8-2 Ducks’ victory Monday night.

The Ducks won for the third time in four games, slicing Camden’s Liberty Division lead to five games. Estee Harris served as the offensive catalyst, scoring three times and lining a RBI double from the leadoff spot to ignite the lineup.

Harris struggled to start the season before driving in three runs and scoring three more to help the Ducks take two of three against division rival Bridgeport. He now has five runs and three RBIs the past two contests.

“Estee— no matter where I’ve put him the past couple of days— is starting to swing the bat a lot better,” manager Dave LaPoint said. “It looks like he’s getting more towards what he looked like last year.”

Following a 2-4 road trip, the Ducks (11-12) returned to Suffolk County. Pete Rose Jr. added run-scoring singles in the first and third as the Flock improved to 8-3 at home. Away from Citibank Park, the Ducks are just 3-9.

Camden, on the second leg of a 16-game road trip, dropped to 16-7. Mike Myers ensured Kent (1-1) picked up the victory by allowing just one run in three innings in his professional debut.

The Wantagh native entered in the sixth to protect a 6-1 lead. Myers faced former Mets’ starting first baseman Jason Phillips as his first opponent, retiring the ex big leaguer on a ground out. The right-hander got Phillips out again in the seventh, inducing him to hit into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.

“I thought about it and looked up and said to myself, ‘wow, there’s an ex-major leaguer,’” Myers said. “I was glad to get him out and break his bat. It was great.”

His cheering section consisting of his mother, father and college friends gave him a standing ovation as he walked off the mound. The 27-year-old previous was pitching as an amateur for the Long Island Storm before getting the chance to turn pro.

“It was a dream come true,” Myers said. “I was nervous until I got the first batter out. I actually played in high school in this stadium. It was great to come back and relieve the experience.”

L.J. Bierbaum’s leadoff homer tagged Myers for his first run. Myers, who tried out last week for the Ducks, showed the velocity and biting curveball that led to his successful career for nearby Division II Adelphi, setting down to retire the next three hitters. Meyers allowed four hits and two walks in his three innings, though he limited the damage to a single run while preserving an overworked bullpen.

“It was a big lift for our team to have a guy with no experience whatsoever to come out there and shut the door for three innings and give our bullpen a break,” LaPoint said. “I didn’t think he’d be intimidated.

“He had good velocity. His slider was a little better than his curve tonight. He’s got a changeup against lefties. But as long as he throws his fastball for strikes, we’re going to be OK.”

The Ducks put the game away in the fifth, tagging Camden starter Darren Sack (1-2) for three runs. Carl Everett’s sacrifice fly platted Harris and Kevin Haverbush drilled his first home run of the year with Ray Navarrete on base to turn a 3-1 lead into a five-run cushion. Sack allowed six runs on six hits in five innings.

Three weeks into the campaign, the transaction list numbers over 20 moves. Following a 2-4 road trip, manager Dave LaPoint completed four moves before last night’s 8-2 win over the first-place Camden Riversharks.

Pitchers Mike Myers (not the former major leaguer) and Kevin Mannix were added to the roster as Tom Martin continues to be held out. Former big league catcher Mike Rose was released before the contest and ex-Orioles farmhand Pete Maestrales was signed.

Maestrales started at third base and batted eighth. He ripped a RBI double to the right-centerfield gap in the sixth for an insurance run.

Before departing for the road last Sunday, the Ducks had up to seven regulars out with injuries. The Ducks got a boost when shortstop Donaldo Mendez returned to action two days after reliever Ben Grezlovski came off the inactive list.

Brent Abernathy and Damien Rolls continue to be out with rib injuries. Martin and starter Jason Simontacchi are also sidelined. The Atlantic League’s disabled list is seven days, allowing teams to recall players within a week compared to Major League Baseball’s 15-day DL.

Rose, a veteran of 27 big league games for Oakland, Los Angeles and St. Louis, struggled in 10 games, batting .156 with zero home runs and just one RBI against 15 strikeouts in 32 at-bats. Dominick Ambrosini batted .191 in 50 at-bats before being placed on the inactive list.

To fortify the depth chart, the Ducks continued to court local talent. Ten players on the roster are from Long Island. That includes Mannix, who is making his third stint for the Ducks, playing for the organization the previous two seasons.

Mannix, a Syosset native, appeared in 41 games from 2006-07, with all but five coming out of the bullpen. He started Sunday’s contest against Bridgeport, allowing three runs in three innings in a game the Ducks would win 12-11.

LaPoint also added another Long Islander to the 25-man roster in Myers, who lives in Wantagh and starred for Adelphi. The 27-year-old righty made his professional debut Monday night, allowing just one run in three innings to help preserve the win for Steve Kent. Myers previously was undefeated for the amateur Long Island Storm.

“I was pretty confident he was going to throw strikes,” LaPoint said about Myers’ outing. “He went at them. He didn’t nibble. That’s all we can ask.”

But the Ducks still walked away empty handed. Four pitchers surrendered 13 walks to lose a slugfest in the opener and closer Joe Valentine blew his first save of the season, allowing the Blue Crabs to score two runs in the top of the ninth for a 4-3 loss in Game 2.

Randy Leek did his best to fill the stopper role, giving up just two runs on five hits in 7 2/3 innings. Valentine picked up the final out in the eighth before struggling in the last frame as the Ducks were swept in the day-night twin-bill.

Damian Rolls belted a solo home run in the second to the put the Ducks ahead by three runs. Yet his error at third proved costly, allowing John Ramistella to reach first leading off the ninth. Valentine walked a batter and hit another to load the bases for Patrick Osborn, who tied the game via a RBI ground out.

Chad Ehrnsberger followed with a single to plate the go-ahead run, tagging Valentine for the loss. The Ducks nearly took its closer off the hook in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases with nobody out before Matthew Schweitzer entered the contest.

The lefty closer came through in the clutch, striking out Rolls, Dennis Donovan and Jamal Strong to end the threat without surrendering the lead. Schweitzer picked up his third save thanks to his dominating effort.

“Not to make contact…it’s disappointing,” manager Dave LaPoint said. “We weren’t going for the tie. We were going for the win. It’s the timing of everything. We very easily could have won the first game and we should have won the second.”

Leek provided a welcome respite after the two clubs played a four-hour game in the afternoon session. His offense staked him to a 3-0 lead, a sizable advantage for a pitcher who hasn’t lost a regular season game at Citibank Park.

Carl Everett lined a RBI double and scored on Pete Rose Jr.’s sacrifice fly to jump on former big league pitcher Daniel Reichert in the first inning. Rolls added his solo shot the next inning to help his starter.

“That’s why it’s so disappointing because Leek came out and pitched his heart out,” Rolls said. “Joe came in and started it the right way and I booted it in the field. Things happen.”

Leek retired the first 12 batters while striking out four. Following a four-hour Game 1, the Levittown native also allowed just one walk in limiting the Blue Crabs to three hits before Terrence McClain lifted a two-run homer down the leftfield line with one out in the eighth.

George Sandel poked a two-out single to left to chase Leek. LaPoint called on Valentine to get the four-out save. Sandel was caught stealing to end the threat before the ninth-inning collapse.

Leek helped preserve a bullpen in need of rest following Jon Searles’ four-inning outing in Game 1. The Ducks will conclude a four-game series Sunday afternoon in a makeup of Thursday’s rainout.

“That’s why we love Randy,” LaPoint said. “We knew he was going to bring us into the game and not have to spend the bullpen two games in a row because we’re thin right now. We barely have any pitching. He did what he had to do.”

“Joe’s going to have a bad night every once in awhile and it happened to be tonight,” LaPoint added. Valentine entered with three saves and a 1.17 ERA. “We’re a good team. We’ll bounce back.”

But those gaudy statistics looked like an aberration after three Ducks pitchers surrendered 13 walks and 14 hits, leading to a 12-8 defeat to the Blue Crabs in the opener in the ugliest game of the season at Citibank Park.

How poor was the pitching? First baseman Rob Cafiero was the most efficient Duck hurler, tossing a scoreless ninth inning in a mop-up appearance. Both teams combined for 20 walks, 28 hits and 50 base runners.

The seventh, eighth and ninth hitters all blasted home runs as Southern Maryland jumped on Searles for seven runs (four earned) in four innings. Blue Crabs starter Adam Johnson didn’t fare much better, recording just three outs before giving way to the bullpen.

The Ducks still had a chance to win the four-hour, five-minute monstrosity before Scott Rice (2-1) was tagged for four runs in the eighth. Patrick Osborn led off with a single and Chad Ehrnsberger broke an 8-all tie, blasting a two-run homer to left. John Ramistella and Kyle Nichols added RBI singles for the insurance markers.

Plate umpire Kareh Valentin appeared to squeeze both teams’ pitchers, contributing to eleven walks through the first three innings. Ducks manager Dave LaPoint said the control problems stemmed from poor pitching and a tight strike zone.

“It’s a combination of both,” LaPoint said. “Both sides were erratic, and it’s hard for an umpire to get a rhythm when no one is throwing first pitch strikes. Normally if you’re throwing first-pitch strikes, you’ll get the calls on the corners. You can’t blame him [Valentin] for the whole game.”

Kevin Haverbusch started at third base for the first time this season. His inexperience showed in the first when he couldn’t secure a catchable ball, leading to the opening run.

His second-inning fielding error made three of the four runs that inning unearned. The Massapequa native atoned for his mistake, as Haverbusch finished 4-5 and ripped a two-run single in the fourth.

Searles’ shortest outing of the year was still better than Johnson, who issued four consecutive walks to start the second before getting the hook. Johnson’s final line read three runs, five walks and two hits in one-plus innings.

In the fifth, Dennis Donovan singled and scored the tying run when Estee Harris doubled him home. Pete Rose Jr. put the Ducks ahead 8-7 thanks to a single that drove in Harris.

That lead held up until ninth-hitting Adam Shorsher ripped a solo shot leading off the seventh, taking Steve Kent deep in his Ducks debut.

Kent, singed the day before the contest, didn’t allow any other run in his three innings. The southpaw preserved an overworked bullpen for the nightcap, which LaPoint acknowledged by coming out of the dugout to pat him on the back following the seventh inning.

The slugfest could have featured many more runs. Southern Maryland left 16 men on base. The Ducks stranded 13 runners.

Notes: Eric Crozier walked four times… The first eight runs came on just five combined hits. How slow was the pace? The Yankee game started two hours after first pitch was in the seventh when the game concluded…The attendance was 5,515.

Of course, a baseball team looks smart when every member of the lineup reaches base safely and the bullpen is stellar. The Ducks wasted a six-run lead before capitalizing on a key two-out Newark error in the sixth, pulling out a 10-6 victory over the Bears Sunday afternoon.

Donaldo Mendez lined run-scoring doubles in the second and third innings. The ninth-hitting shortstop finished 3-4 and also scored two runs, adding a nice defensive play to throw out the leadoff man in the eighth inning.

“We have good speed and our lineup has veteran guys who can get on base. That’s the key,” said Mendez, who played on last year’s Atlantic League champion Bears’ squad.

Ben Grezlovski retired all six batters he faced to hold the lead in the seventh and eighth innings, allowing the Ducks to take two of three in the season-opening series. The contest featured a combined 16 runs, three errors and eight walks. But the victory made it a thing of beauty for the manager.

“I would say it was very pretty because we got the first weekend out of the way,” LaPoint said.

Joe Magrane cruised through the first three innings after the Ducks staked him to a 6-0 lead. Carl Everett broke open the scoring with a RBI single in the first. Mendez and Brent Abernathy tacked on to the lead by lining consecutive run-scoring hits.

Four hits and a walk in the third inning chased Newark starter Matt Sweeney. Estee Harris’ one-out single plated Dominick Ambrosini before Robert Sandora added a RBI single. Mendez ended Sweeney’s effort, belting the third straight hit to score Harris before reliever David Pellegrine induced a double play to end the threat.

Magrane nearly gave it all back the next inning. Randall Simon started the fourth by turning on a fastball, blasting a home run that cleared both rows of advertisements in rightfield. The monster solo shot appeared to rattle the righty, who allowed four straight singles after a deep fly-out.

Mike Just came to the plate with runners on first and third. Magrane got the outcome he wanted: a comebacker to the mound. Yet the former Yankees’ farm-hand promptly added to his woes, blowing a sure double play by throwing the ball wide to second. Scott Knazek scored on the error and Vic Gutierrez came home on sac fly to cap the five-run inning.

“Once again a pitcher’s error cost us momentum,” said LaPoint, referencing Randy Leek’s fielding error in the first game. “We let them back in the game. But we didn’t back down from it, so I’m OK.”

The Ducks would also benefit from a poorly timed fielding miscue. Harris and Sandora both walked in the fifth against Pellegrine (0-1), advancing to second and third on a groundout. Abernathy then grounded sharply to short. Gutierrez fielded it but his throw went past Simon and into foul territory, allowing the go-ahead runs to score for an 8-6 lead.

Scott Rice (1-0) pitched 2 1/3 quality innings in relief of Magrane, surrendering just one run on a fifth-inning ground out to pick up the victory in his Atlantic League debut. Grezlovski made his third appearance in as many days, forcing five groundouts and one shallow fly-out against six batters faced. Closer Joe Valentine pitched a 1-2-3 ninth in a non-save situation.

“Ben was the most important guy out there today,” LaPoint said. “If he struggled, I was going to put Joe in for two innings. But we were very short today so we let him go. He was throwing strikes and usually when he’s throwing strikes, he has good fortune.”

Grezlovski was tagged for Saturday’s loss, allowing one hit and one run in a third of an inning. LaPoint went back to him again, continuing a trend set last season. Grezlovski’s 58 appearances were second on team in 2007, and he looks like he’ll be receiving regular work as the rotation is still unsettled.

“I pride myself on being ready every day,” Grezlovski said. “I feel more of a team player when I’m in there every day like that and getting ready to play as much as possible.”

Notes: The attendance at Citibank Park was 5,234. Pre-game rainy conditions contributed to the season’s first non-sellout…Pete Rose Jr.hit a two-run single in the eighth to add to the lead…The Ducks unveiled new Sunday attire. The new uniforms feature a sleeveless green shirt with orange number, black undershirts and white pants. In prior seasons, the team featured black shirt with orange numbers and white hats on Sundays.

Right?

“That’s what Pointer told me,” Leek said with a laugh, indicating that manager Dave LaPoint was the reason behind his exit. “I hadn’t thrown more than 60 pitches in spring training. I felt good. But it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

A two-out rally in the opening inning provided Leek with all the necessary support, staking the southpaw to a four-run lead that would be sufficient for a 4-1 season-opening victory over the Bears in front of a sold-out crowd.

Eleven players are back from the 2007 team that captured the second-half division championship. Four holdovers—Carl Everett, Ray Navarrete, Kevin Haverbusch and Damien Rolls—lined four consecutive two-out hits to jump on Newark starter Michael Bumstead in the first.

Jamal Strong led off the contest with a single before Bumstead retired the next two batters. Everett kept the inning alive by beating out an infield single. Navarrete poked a single into shallow left to break open the scoring and Haverbusch followed by lining a full-count offering into the rightfield gap to plate two more. Rolls capped the rally by belting a run-scoring single.

“It’s a manager’s dream that your team comes out and gets that many two-out hits at important times,” LaPoint said. “They worked the count good. They waited for their pitch and they got some big hits.”

Staked to a 4-0 lead, Leek worked quickly and limited the Bears to just five hits. The 31-year-old struck out four and walked one.

“It’s a confidence boost when you jump out on top,” Leek said. “It’s a lot easier pitching with the lead. To get those four runs was big.”

Leek’s only mistake came not on the mound, but in the field. He dropped Cory Aldridge’s two-out popup by the third base foul line, allowing Mike Just to score the visitor’s lone run.

Other than the fielding miscue, Leek showed the form that led to a 5-1 record with a 2.23 ERA last year. That would have led the league if he accumulated enough innings to qualify. His time in Long Island was curtailed after getting a call to play for the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse and going to Taiwan for a stint.

“I was all over the place. My wife was ready to kill me,” Leek said. “That’s the goal. You want to get back into affiliated ball and get back to the big leagues.”

Leek (1-0) left 15 tickets for family and friends before the game. The cheering section witnessed his first Opening Day start since his collegiate days at William and Mary. It also marked a rematch of last season’s first-round playoff series. Newark swept the Ducks in the best-of-three North Division set, tagging Leek for the heartbreaking 3-2 Game 2 loss.

“Jamie Pogue mentioned to me in the spring training that I was going to be the first pitcher in Ducks history to start two games in a row,” Leek said while laughing. “I’ll try to work a bonus into my contract.

“I wish it wouldn’t have been the last game last year. But I got the Opening Day start. It’s an honor.”

LaPoint, who is entering his second season as Ducks manager, brought back the core of a team that finished 72-54. Before the game, he cited his team’s baseball intelligence as a reason why the Ducks can be contenders for the franchise’s first championship since 2004.

“When we throw the nine guys out there, we have nine smart guys. And that’s what wins baseball games,” LaPoint said.

That intelligence was show in the opening two innings when the Ducks’ veteran hitters worked deep counts against Bumstead (0-1). Newark’s righty lasted just three innings, giving up all four earned runs on six hits.

“I would say the first two innings he had to be up around 65-70 [pitches],” LaPoint said. “That’s from having a bunch of smart players who know how to play the situation. They were letting him get in trouble and waiting for their pitch. They didn’t give in.”

LaPoint cited Haverbusch as a player who worked hard to improve in the offseason. Former Duck Dominick Ambrosini was signed before the game, giving the Massapequa native some extra competition in the outfield. Haverbusch responded with a game-high two RBIs, which he said came as a product of a patient approach.

“Two out hits are the name of the game if you can do them,” Haverbusch said. “A couple of us were saying you wanted to see pitches the first game instead of swinging wildly. We were patient and he missed his spots a couple of times and we got in good hitter’s counts.”