CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — The Citibank Park crowd always cheers when Estee Harris makes a good defensive play or comes through with a clutch hit. But there is a smaller segment supporting him even in the difficult times.

Ducks’ fans naturally applaud when Harris hits a home run, though the blasts mean more to the group that tries to come to almost every one of his home games. The former Yankee prospect grew up in Central Islip, making it easy for his family and friends to make the short trek to the neighborhood ballpark.

Harris’ inner circle grew considerably last night after he smashed two homers, including the go-ahead three-run shot, in leading the Ducks to an 11-8 win over Camden. When the lefty-hitting outfielder took southpaw Aric Leclair’s offering over the rightfield wall in the seventh, it turned a one-run deficit into a two-run edge, helping snap a three-game losing streak before the Ducks embark on a nine-game road trip.

“Lefty-on-lefty, you just got to stay in there because you have less time to read it versus a righty,” said Harris, who knocked his first home run as a Duck last night, giving him three in the past two nights. “Maybe that fact that I have to do, it helps me lock in against lefities.”

The Riversharks swept both ends of a doubleheader Friday, helping to knock a game and a half off the Ducks’ North Division lead. Harris infused energy into a tired team, recording five RBIs to jolt his team heading into the three-city road tour.

Carl Everett added a two-run single in the eighth, providing the insurance markers. Newark lost York earlier in the evening, dropping five games behind with 21 regular season contests remaining.

“This was as bad as we needed a win all year,” manager Dave LaPoint said. “With Estee—I’m really grown comfortable with him against left-handed pitchers. If they throw a fastball that comes back in, that’s his strength. He stays pretty relaxed and he’s not really fazed by too much.”

For most of the season’s first four months, LaPoint utilized the ability to send players under contract by the Ducks to the Road Warriors until a roster spot opens up. Harris started the season on the Atlantic League-owned organization before getting recalled in mid-June. He was reassigned two weeks later, staying on the last-place club before LaPoint brought him back on Aug. 15.

“I always loved playing here,” Harris said. “To get a chance to play with these guys, a lot of them played in the pros. Being the young guy, I try to do what they do and pick their brain. It will only make me a better player being around them.”

Since coming back home, Harris has played in the outfield and served as the designated hitter. Despite being the youngest player on the team, the 22-year-old impressed the coaching staff and displayed the combination of speed and power that made him a second-round draft pick for the Yankees in 2003 with the 64th overall pick.

The 6-0, 175-pound former Central Islip High School standout played four seasons in the Yankee farm system advancing as far as the high Single-A level before being released. He now gets to play on a roster with former major league All-Stars like Everett and Edgardo Alfonzo, plus his parents can watch most of his games, along with his friends.

“They’ll usually yell to me during the course of the game and I’ll find them,” Harris said with a laugh. “After every game, I always talk to my parents. We go over the game. Always try to find the positives in every situation.”

At the very least, Harris contributed to one of the best comebacks in franchise history when he lined a game-tying two run single as part of an eight-run ninth inning against the Bluefish the day after he was recalled. The win slapped division-rival Bridgeport with a crushing loss that sent them into a spiral. They were 9 ½ games behind the Ducks entering Saturday.

“He’s played great for us,” LaPoint said. “That big hit up in Bridgeport might have just knocked them out. I don’t know what’s going to go on, but I want to keep him the rest of the year.

“He’ll help us periodically. I can’t start him every day, but having him here and letting him learn from these guys; he’s going to be OK.”

In a span of 10 days, the Ducks finalized six roster moves. Jose Leon was signed to be the everyday third baseman but left to go to Taiwan after just four days in Long Island. LaPoint said he was surprised by the move, since he obtained the former Oriole to help compensate for losing Jose Offerman to suspension. It also forced him to rotate Bryant Nelson to third and acquire Reggie Taylor to add depth.

Harris’ ability to play the outfield or come off the bench as a pinch hitter or pinch runner adds some stability to a roster in flux. Though he’s only appeared in 20 games for the Ducks, the one-time highly touted prospect said he will contribute in any capacity.

“Whatever I’m assigned, I’ll just go out and play,” Harris said. “I don’t worry about that. It’s [something] I can’t control.”

Notes: Danny Graves pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his league-leading 29th save. Camden wasted a chance to win for the eighth time this season at Citibank Park. The Ducks never have lost more than seven times at home to an opponent in one season…Everett’s two RBIs brought his season total to 89. The ex-Red Sox, Astro and Mets’ outfielder is just two away from tying a franchise record. He remained three home runs away from tying that Ducks’ single-season record…Ray Navarrete lined his 37th double in the third, leaving him one behind Pat Lennon for the top single season mark in team history. Lennon’s feat came in the 2004 championship season.

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