Ducks win Battle of the Belt, boost late-season momentum

The Ducks turned a 12-1 game-two rout of the FerryHawks into the 2026 Battle of the Belt, and the result landed with late-season weight for a club still chasing York in the North Division. Long Island said its offense erupted after a tightly played twin bill opener, then buried the second game in a finish that matched the rivalry atmosphere.

The club’s recap tied the offensive burst to Jim McKenzie and Jordan McGregor, and a separate Ducks post put the celebration in blunt terms: the belt was “back where it belongs.” That language fit a night the Ducks clearly treated as more than another regular-season date, with the featured game giving Long Island a chance to show it could take a spotlight assignment and leave no doubt about the result.

The timing made the win more than a trophy moment. An Instagram standings post showed the Ducks at 18-9 and 3.5 games behind York in the North Division as of Aug. 3, a gap small enough to keep every game relevant and every clean win useful. In that setting, a 12-1 finish matters because it does not just add a mark in the standings. It shows Long Island can convert a rivalry game into a statement performance when the calendar is moving toward the stretch run.

Battle of the Belt has been part of the Ducks’ branding since 2022, when the club first promoted it with “Battle of the Belt” Takes Flight in 2022. The Ducks have since leaned on the theme again in belt-centered recaps such as “Ducks Strike First in the ‘Battle of the Belt’” and “Ducks Keep Belt on Long Island,” building the matchup into a recurring marker of the franchise’s identity. That history has sat alongside bigger organizational milestones, including the club’s 2019 Atlantic League championship, its record fifth consecutive division championship, and a 2024 season the Ducks labeled “a season to remember!”