River Town thriving again on Long Island, this time as a Duck
The Long Island Ducks' River Town drills a triple to the centerfield fence against Charleston on Sunday at Fairfield Properties Ballpark. Credit: George A. Faella
River Town may be in his first season as a Duck, but it’s not his first time slugging baseballs on Long Island.
The Atlantic League midseason All-Star entered Sunday hitting .325, with more hits (82) than all but five players in the league. But six years earlier, Town spent the summer of 2019 playing for the Sag Harbor Whalers in the Hamptons Collegiate League.
At 19 years old, Town traveled across the country from his hometown of Zachary, California, to stay with a host family in the Hamptons. He led the team in hits (43), striking out only 12 times in 153 plate appearances.
“I still keep in touch [with the host family],” Town said. “They actually come out to Ducks games now, so it’s a pretty cool full-circle moment.”
This season marks the first time Town has hit over .300 since 2021 with Dallas Baptist University. Ducks manager Lew Ford is a fellow DBU alum, so when Ford called the outfielder after his release from the Kansas City Royals organization during spring training, Town said the decision was an easy one.
“When the opportunity presented itself, I had a great history there,” he said.
The 26-year-old outfielder now finds himself back on Long Island, and his .428 on-base percentage ranks among the league’s best. He had a 26-game on-base streak with Double-A Northwest Arkansas last spring.
“He had a great eye at the plate,” Ford said. “I think he was walking more than he was striking out in the minor leagues. He had a little bit of power too — double-digit home runs — so there was a lot to like.”
Town went 2-for-6 with a double, a triple, two walks, three runs scored and two RBIs Sunday against Charleston at Fairfield Properties Ballpark in Central Islip. The Dirty Birds flew away with the win, however, downing the Ducks, 17-16, in a 12-inning game in which Charleston set an Atlantic League record with 10 home runs in a game that lasted nearly five hours.
Chad Sedio delivered a two-run homer followed by Keon Barnum’s solo shot in the 12th as Charleston finished with 22 hits to Long Island’s 14.
The Ducks’ Troy Viola delivered a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning, but the rally fell short on an odd play. Ivan Castillo’s grounder to third hit the bag and Austin Bates was tagged out on his way to third moments after Cody Thomas scored on the play.
Taylor Kohlwey’s three-run blast helped the Ducks (5-7, 40-35) launch a seven-run rally in the seventh, but Charleston added three more runs via homers from Sedio in the eighth and Zach Daniels in the ninth.
“It got out of hand early, but we kept fighting, we kept clawing,” Town said.
Town delivered an RBI double and scored on a wild pitch in the ninth to force extra innings.
“You always want to get the job done,” he said. “All the hitters that were competing to get us back in, all the pitchers competing to keep us in it . . . We had a lot of big moments tonight, and I’m glad I was one of them.”
Michael Sicoli covers high school sports for Newsday. He graduated from Quinnipiac in 2022 and left with a master’s degree in sports journalism in 2023.
