BRIDGEPORT, CT - It was Lancaster’s night from a bouncer off the first base bag to a pair of three-run jolts as the Barnstormers took down Bridgeport, 13-4, in the opening game of the best-of-five championship series Friday night at Harbor Yard. All 13 runs came while starter Brian Whitaker, a 12-game winner during the regular season, was on the hill for the first six innings. Whitaker kept the Bluefish in check on four hits and one run while walking four and striking out three in becoming the third Lancaster pitcher to deal a quality start in the post-season.

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CENTRAL ISLIP, NY - Defense and pitching are the keys for a baseball team at any level to have a long post-season run. That old adage proved true for the Ducks in their series against the Bridgeport Bluefish. First, Long Island sabotaged their own cause by committing four errors in losing Game 1, then saw usually reliable big-game pitcher Bill Pulsipher give up a big three-run home run in the second inning and never recovered as the Ducks lost 10-4, getting swept out of the Atlantic League North Division playoff series. Bridgeport will now face the Lancaster Barnstormers in the final round. For the Ducks, the loss disappointedly ends a season that once had them talking about winning the franchise’s first championship since 2004. Manager Don McCormack saw his team clinch a post-season birth by winning the first-half division title in July. But after waiting throughout the summer for the post-season chance, all three facets of the game failed at some point when it mattered most.

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