Harrison Francis throws first pro complete game in Ducks win over Lancaster

Complete games have become rare currency in modern pro baseball, which is why Harrison Francis’ nine innings at Fairfield Properties Ballpark stood out immediately. Francis finished what he started on June 17, allowing one run on four hits and a walk while striking out six in Long Island’s 6-1 win over Lancaster.

It was the first complete game of Francis’ professional career and the Ducks’ first nine-inning complete game since Robert Stock no-hit Southern Maryland on July 18, 2023. That alone placed the outing in recent franchise history, but the way Francis got there mattered just as much: he threw a season-high 114 pitches, 83 for strikes, and never surrendered control of the game after the first few innings.

Long Island gave him room to work early. Ronaldo Hernandez put the Ducks in front with a sacrifice fly in the first inning, Chris Roller followed in the second with a 422-foot, two-run homer, and Hernandez added another sacrifice fly in the third to push the lead to 4-0. Lancaster broke through in the fourth on Joseph Carpenter’s solo homer, but the Stormers never forced Francis into a true chase mode.

The Ducks kept adding separation. Jacob Robson delivered an RBI single, and Anthony Garcia launched a 396-foot solo shot in the seventh to make it 6-1. Roller finished with two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored, while Garcia added a pair of hits and drove in a run of his own, giving Long Island exactly the kind of timely offense that lets a starter finish nine innings instead of handing the ball to the bullpen.

Francis’ outing carried extra weight because it came in his first season with the Ducks and his eighth in professional baseball. Signed on February 10, 2026, after spending his first four pro seasons in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, Francis looked like a pitcher with the kind of command and efficiency that can still bend the pace of an Atlantic League game. With the Ducks in the middle of a six-game homestand and the schedule tightening, a starter who could cover every inning was more than a luxury.

The complete game also fit a larger franchise thread. Stock’s 2023 no-hitter was only the second in Ducks history, following Rod Henderson’s on May 25, 2001 against the Atlantic City Surf, and the Atlantic League called Stock’s gem only the sixth individual no-hitter in league history. This time, Francis did not need to be that dramatic to make his mark. He simply went the distance, and for Long Island, that was statement enough.