Ducks get back-to-back Atlantic League titles as Ray Navarrete comes up big in last game

<rob zombie halloween blu rayp> BRIDGEWATER, N.J. - Win or lose, Sunday night's Game 5 of the Atlantic League Championship Series was going to be the finale for the Long Island Ducks' Ray Navarrete.

Navarrete, making his first start of the series, had a big hand in making it a win. The designated hitter's three-run blast to leftfield in the fourth inning gave the Ducks the lead for good as they defeated the Somerset Patriots, 6-4, at TD Bank Ballpark to win their second consecutive league championship.

The Ducks won the series 3-2, after dropping Games 3 and 4 in Bridgewater to extra-inning walk-offs by the Patriots, including a more than 5-hour game Saturday.

Following rightfielder Adam Bailey's series-ending catch close to the wall and the celebration on the mound, Navarrete was carried on the shoulders of his teammates to the dugout.

"We weren't swinging the bat well and we needed a spark," Ducks manager Kevin Baez said about his decision to start Navarrete. "To go out like this is special. He deserves it."

Somerset scored in the first and held that advantage until the fourth.

The Ducks' Bill Hall (2-for-4, two doubles) hit a one-out double and advanced to third on a groundout. Ramon Castro singled up the middle to tie the score. Ryan Strieby followed with a walk and Navarrete went deep with David Harden's first offering.

"I walked up to the plate and said I was going to let it go if he threw a first-pitch fastball," said Navarrete, an eight-year member of the Ducks. "That home run felt like it took two hours to get over the wall."

Long Island added two more runs in the fifth inning.

John Brownell, the winning pitcher in Game 1, pitched into the ninth inning of this game and was named finals MVP.

He got off to a shaky start, walking leadoff man Jonny Tucker, who scored on Yunesky Sanchez's double in the corner. But Brownell got out of that and settled down, allowing solo homers to Sanchez and Jeff Baisley once the Ducks took the lead.

"Brownell's been our bulldog all year," Baez said. "[Somerset] kept coming. It was uplifting for us and Brownell settled down."

Brownell said: "I just kept confident. There was a lot of game left. I trust in our hitters and defense to pick me up, and they did."

Leo Rosales came on to close out the Patriots, who had the tying run at the plate.

"That's the last time I'm going to be on the field as a player," the 35-year-old Navarrete said. "You couldn't be more grateful how it ended, like a perfect ending in a movie."

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Source: Newsday