Long Island Ducks set Atlantic League steals record with 13 thefts

The Long Island Ducks stole 13 bases against the Lancaster Stormers, breaking the Atlantic League single-game record and turning a modern pro game into a nonstop test of the running game. Joe DeLuca caught all 13 steal attempts, but Long Island kept pressing until the previous league mark of 10 was left behind.

This was not a random burst. The Ducks had already shown the same identity in a win over the Birds, when they swiped 12 bases and put the rest of the league on notice that their offense was built to force movement, not wait for mistakes. By the time they ran wild against Lancaster, the pattern was clear: Long Island was committed to taking extra bases early, often and without hesitation.

The record mattered because of how decisively it rewrote the league standard. A jump from 10 steals to 13 is a sizable leap in a setting where catchers, pitchers and scouting reports are supposed to suppress the running game. DeLuca handled every pitch behind the plate, yet the Ducks kept finding ways to take the next base, showing that the battery could not control the tempo once Long Island decided to attack.

That aggressiveness says something about the Ducks’ offensive identity in the Atlantic League. Rather than relying only on one swing or waiting for power to carry a night, Long Island used speed as a weapon and made the Stormers react to them. The result was a record that reflected more than novelty: it showed a lineup willing to create pressure on every pitch and a coaching approach that trusted constant motion to break a game open.

The 13-steal night also fits a broader stretch in which the Ducks have treated the basepaths as part of their power game. With one record already tied to 12 stolen bases and another now set at 13, Long Island has turned running into a defining feature of its offense, and the rest of the Atlantic League now has a new standard to chase.