FerryHawks power past Ducks 11-4 behind Wagner's big night

Brandon Wagner drove in four runs and Staten Island backed him with a 12-hit attack in an 11-4 win over Long Island on Thursday night at SIUH Community Park. The FerryHawks did not need Ducks mistakes to take control. They kept stacking quality contact, and by the middle innings the game had turned into a showcase for a lineup that hit with force from top to bottom.

Wagner finished with a pair of extra-base hits, four RBIs and two runs scored, making him the centerpiece of the offense. Nick Decker added three hits, two RBIs and two runs, while Josh Palacios reached twice, scored three times, drove in a run and worked a walk. Staten Island’s production was spread across the order, and that mattered in a division series where every game still carries weight in the first-half race.

Long Island had its moments, but not enough of them. Alsander Womack reached base twice and scored once, giving the Ducks one of their few steady table-setters. Aaron Takacs provided the night’s loudest swing for Long Island with a 439-foot solo homer in the fifth inning, his third of the season. Marcus Chiu added a two-run homer in the ninth, sending a 392-foot drive to center field, but by then Staten Island had already built too large a cushion.

The box score told the story cleanly. Staten Island finished with 12 hits and one error, while Long Island managed seven hits and played a clean game in the field. The Ducks’ lack of miscues did not matter because the FerryHawks kept winning the critical contact battle, turning good at-bats into extra bases and extra bases into separation on the scoreboard.

The game came in the third contest of a six-game set, the kind of extended series that has become routine in the Atlantic League’s 126-game 2026 schedule. With 16 of 21 weeks built around six-game series, this matchup fit the league’s new rhythm, one that rewards clubs capable of adjusting quickly from one night to the next. That made the turn from Long Island’s 17-1 win on Wednesday to Staten Island’s response on Thursday especially stark.

Long Island entered the stretch still trying to stay in the North Division conversation, but the FerryHawks answered with the more complete offensive night. Wagner, Decker and Palacios gave Staten Island repeatable extra-base damage, and that lineup identity was enough to flip the series mood back in the home club’s favor.