CENTRAL ISLIP, NY— Thanks to his 6-4, 230-pound stature, Rob Cafiero looks like a power hitter when it steps to the plate.

His statistics failed to reflect that image, as the Massapequa Park native went homerless the past two seasons while playing a utility role for the Ducks.

But in his 224th at-bat since coming back to Long Island in 2005, Cafiero took Brian Adams’ first pitch of the fifth inning over the left-centerfield wall, breaking a scoreless tie to help the Ducks capture a 3-2 win over Somerset in the opener of Thursday night’s doubleheader.

It took 87 games over parts of three seasons, but the former Phillies 32nd round draft pick (2002) finally recorded a home run, supporting John Riedling’s pitching gem. Manager Dave LaPoint inserted Cafiero into the starting lineup as the designated hitter for both games, while Pete Rose Jr. started at first.

“He hit well in spring training, too,” LaPoint said. “His swing is real calm right now. He’s not making too many mistakes. We don’t lose anything by putting him out there.”

Up until that point, Adams (2-1) had surrendered just two hits, matching scoreless innings with Riedling. When the ball landed just beyond centerfielder Anton French’s grasp, Cafiero could jog around the bases for the first time since 2004 and the 21st time since he started playing professionally for the Phillies Single-A Batavia club in 2002.

“I thought it had a chance, but the wind was swirling around out there tonight,” Cafiero said. “It’s a good feeling, running around the bases at home.”

Fellow Massapequa resident Kevin Haverbusch said he actually called the homerun of his fellow Nassau County native, and Ducks owner Frank Boulton was on hand to see it as well after discussing the possibilities for the home run earlier in the season.

“Boulton and I spoke prior to today’s game, and he was saying he didn’t want to miss my first one at home,” Cafiero said. “Before the at-bat, Damian Rolls came up to me because he was flipping it to me earlier in the cage. He said, ‘work on what we worked on in the cage.’ I was hitting the ball pretty well, so it was good to get it.”

Added Haverbusch: “I told him before the game, ‘I have a feeling you are going to hit a home run tonight.’ I knew they had two lefties out there, so Rob knew he was going to at least get two full games in there. I don’t know, I just had a feeling.”

Riedling was throwing a no-hitter that point, though he eventually needed Todd Erdos to bail him out of the seventh inning to secure the win.

Cafiero’s blast started the three-run Ducks fifth inning, giving him more home runs so far than sluggers Edgardo Alfonzo and Carl Everett.

Minor injuries to Everett (calf) and Rolls (tight hamstring) and the prospect of playing two seven-inning games prompted LaPoint to start Cafiero, who previous appeared in three games this season as a utility player.

“It’s the third week of the season. Everyone’s still trying to get their feet underneath them and get adjusted,” Cafiero said. “Different guys every night are coming up in big spots.”

Cafiero, a graduate of Massapequa High School in 1998, hit a career-high 10 home runs for the Atlantic League’s Road Warriors in 2004. After signing with the Ducks in 2004, the former Villanova University star struggled to replicate those numbers in fewer at-bats.

He batted just .232 in 42 games in 2005. His RBI total improved from 9 to 19 in the same number of games last season, and Cafiero finished with a .270 average. When injuries and player defecations decimated the pitching staff last season, then-manager (and current bench coach) Don McCormack used the 27-year-old Cafiero as a relief pitcher. He responded by posting a respectable 3.38 ERA in 10 appearances, logging 16 innings.

LaPoint said he has no immediate plans to use Cafiero in that role again, but he has turned to him in late innings as a defensive replacement and a pinch hitter. The burly right-handed hitter even has displayed his bunting prowess, extending a ninth-inning rally in a win over Lancaster May 11 thanks to his perfect placement on a sacrifice attempt.

“I know if we put him out there; fundamentally he’s not going to beat us. He’s not going to make any mistakes and be a free swinger,” LaPoint said. “He’s going to hit for the situation.”