Long Island Ducks Fight for Playoff Berth – Jared Lansford and Bobby Blevins talk abut the teams recent success and race for another championship
The dog days of August are gone and in comes September; the most exciting month of the year if you’re an avid baseball fan. The race to the finish line is finally under way for the Atlantic League! The Long Island Ducks are in the middle of a postseason hunt, finding themselves three games back in the Liberty Division Second Half and two behind in the wild card chase.
With 19 games left to go in the regular season, the Ducks want nothing more than to qualify for their fourth straight playoff berth and to become the first team to win three consecutive championships in Atlantic League history.
After a shaky July, the Ducks battled hard in the month of August and posted an impressive 17-11 record to get back into the race. With a combination of timely hitting, consistency in the rotation and depth from the bullpen, the Ducks are a team determined to return to postseason play. While it has certainly been a team effort this season, some key players remained the catalyst in the Ducks’ second half surge. Starting pitchers Jared Lansford and Bobby Blevins are amongst those players who have been instrumental in their run.
In his third season with the Ducks, Lansford has successfully transitioned from bullpen to the starting rotation. He is second on the Ducks with 109 strikeouts, which is good for third in the Atlantic League and bolsters an earned run average of 3.01 (fourth highest in the league). According to Lansford, his success on the mound stems from “throwing strikes, pounding the zone and making them put the ball in play.” He also feels confident in the defense behind him. In order to get back to the postseason, Lansford believes the team should just continue doing what they been doing as of late. “We’re on a roll right now” Jared explained. “We’re hitting, pitching and fielding and doing it all together.” The pitcher believes the games they lost in the later stage of the first half and into the second were tough, one run games; however, they have since been winning such tight games. At this point, Lansford likes what he sees from this year’s squad and believes in their chances of getting in. “We played the teams that are in the playoffs already pretty well this year.. if we get in, we’re going to have a good chance.” said Lansford.
Third-year Duck Bobby Blevins stands third in the Atlantic League with a 2.85 ERA and has 99 strikeouts to his credit. Blevins also displays an outstanding 9-3 record for this season. Blevins believes his success comes from trusting his stuff on the hill and letting the fielders play behind him. He also had success with throwing strikes and attacking the hitters. “Ultimately, it comes down to execution” said Blevins. “Fastball down and away or whatever pitch is called, you [simply have to]execute and I think that has been credited to my success as of late.” Blevins stressed that winning every game right now at this stage is important, emphasizing how the Ducks treat the remaining games as win or go home contests. “We have a great group of guys and our chemistry is clicking” said Blevins. “We just got to take each one day at a time.”
The Ducks are heading into arguably the most challenging part of their season: A seven game, six day road trip against the first place Sugarland Skeeters. This next series will determine the Ducks playoff fate. If the Long Island Ducks continue to get offensive productions from their big guns, strong pitching from the rotation and solid defense all around, we could be looking at another postseason run in 2014.
