Ducks Sweep Their Way to a Championship

The Long Island Ducks are Atlantic League champions once again.

The Ducks defeated the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, 7-2, on Friday night in Game Three of the Atlantic League Championship Series at Fairfield Properties Ballpark, completing a three-game sweep and capturing the 2026 Atlantic League championship.

The title marks the fifth Atlantic League Championship in franchise history for Long Island, joining the championship teams from 2004, 2012, 2013 and 2019.

The Ducks capped their 26th season in impressive fashion, finishing the regular season with the most wins in the Atlantic League with 80. Long Island also captured the Second Half North Division Championship with a 43-20 record before sweeping the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars in the North Division Championship Series. The Ducks then went a perfect 6-0 during the playoffs.

Long Island’s five Atlantic League championships are tied for the second-most in league history.

The Ducks wasted little time taking control of Friday night’s championship game. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on back-to-back RBI doubles by Henry Kusiak and Jorge Bonifacio off Southern Maryland starter Andrew Thurman.

Jacob Robson added an RBI single in the fourth inning, followed by Alsander Womack’s RBI double in the fifth, extending the Ducks’ lead to 4-0.

Wilmer Difo then launched a leadoff solo home run over the right-field fence in the seventh, putting Long Island ahead 5-0.

The Blue Crabs attempted to rally in the eighth when Ezequiel Pagan delivered a two-out, two-run double to cut the deficit to 5-2. The Ducks quickly answered, however, as Kole Kaler drove in a run with a double before Chris Roller added an RBI single to make it 7-2.

Nick Margevicius delivered the finishing touch, pitching all nine innings while allowing two runs on seven hits and no walks. He struck out five and threw 79 of his 97 pitches for strikes.

For his performance, Margevicius was named Championship Series Most Valuable Player.

Womack led the Ducks with two doubles and an RBI, while Difo collected two hits, an RBI and two runs. Bonifacio, the Ducks’ 2026 Team MVP, added two hits and an RBI.

It was a championship finish to a remarkable season on Long Island.