South Jersey Baseball: Surf Comeback Falls Short as Game Starts at 11am Thursday, May 23, 2002 By Bob Stuart SJSports Staff Writer The Atlantic City Surf played a game on one of the most beautiful sunny mornings of the new season at the Sandcastle. The game started at 11:05 am in front of a crowd of 2,850. Most of the spectators were students from local schools. The Surf was coming off of a win the night before to bring their record to 8-8. This was the last of three games against the Long Island Ducks, who were also 8-8. The Surf fell short of a comeback by the score of 8-5. The Ducks had some chances to score with runners in position in the first four innings, but the Surf's starting pitcher, John Boker (now 0-2), pitched his way out of the jam. The Ducks, starting pitcher John DeSilva (now 1-1), had an easier time on the mound. In the top of the fifth, the Ducks' Darrel Whitmore (fourth of the year) hit a three-run homer to give the Ducks a 4-0 lead. By the end of the fifth the Ducks were up 6-0. The Surf's Keith Gordon hit a two-run homer, his fourth of the year, in the bottom of the sixth to make the score 6-2. Both team were held scoreless in the seventh and eight innings. In the top of the ninth, the Ducks' Patrick Lennon (fourth of the year) hit a two-run homer to straight away centerfield. This gave the Ducks an 8-2 lead, but the Surf did not give up. They scored three runs and had the bases loaded and one out with the potential winning run at the plate. The Ducks reliever, Hut Smith, got pinch hitter Gil Martinez to fly out to short right field. Smith then struck out Maleke Fowler to end the game and give the Ducks an 8-5 win. This was the Ducks' second win on a nine game road trip. The Ducks improved to 9-8, while the Surf fell to 8-9. Photos by Pedro Cancel & Boog Williams Photos by Pedro Cancel Photos by Boog Williams

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