CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — It was a whirlwind day for Lance Davis. The southpaw arrived at Citibank Park in the early afternoon, signed his contract and then was asked to take the mound and keep the Ducks competitive in an important game.

Davis didn’t fail in his 2008 debut, allowing just two runs (one earned) in five innings while the Ducks belted two home runs in the fourth inning, leading to a 7-3 victory over the Camden Riversharks last night.

In picking up the victory, Davis allowed five hits and three walks, striking out one batter. The 31-year-old is the only current Duck who played on the club’s 2004 Atlantic League championship team.

“I got a little nervous but after the first inning I was all right,” Davis said.

This marks Davis’ fourth season on Long Island and the second time in the last two seasons manager Dave LaPoint has cajoled the 6-0, 170-pound lefty to leave his home in Florida to aid in the organization’s playoff push. Last season, Davis joined the Ducks in the middle of June after working out on his own following his release from the Detroit Tigers’ spring training camp.

This year, Davis again went home to watch his children’s little league games and act as a stay-at-home dad before deciding to resume his career.

“I was sitting down in Florida and hanging out with my buddies and every once in awhile I would throw,” said Davis, who went 8-4 with a 4.74 ERA in his lone major league stint with Cincinnati in 2001. “Mechanics-wise and my arm speed; everything has to come together. Maybe a couple of starts and a bullpen [session] will [help] me progress.”

Davis allowed a leadoff single to Nic Jackson, who scored on L.J. Bierbaum’s first-inning single. Carl Everett supported his new teammate, crushing Camden pitching from both sides of the plate. The switch-hitting designated hitter registered just his second triple of the season in the first inning, driving in Pete Rose Jr. from first for the tying run.

Everett also took Camden reliever Kevin Walker’s offering over the left-field wall for a three-run homer that extended the Ducks lead to 7-2 in the fourth. Damian Rolls belted a solo home run to start the inning before two more singles chased Riversharks starter and former Duck Kevin Mannix (1-8) from the contest.

Everett ripped his three-bagger left-handed against the righty Mannix and added his 16th home run from the right-side against the left-handed Walker. Rose has seven hits in the last two games, providing much-needed production from the middle of the order.

“When they get going, everybody gets going,” LaPoint said. “Knock on wood and just hope they keep it up.”

The Ducks went ahead for good in the second by capitalizing on an error. Centerfielder Nic Jackson dropped a fly ball, allowing Kevin Haverbusch to reach second base following Jamie Pogue’s leadoff double. Ray Navarrete brought in both with a two-run double.

Former Met Alberto Castillo cut the deficit to 3-2 in the third, reaching on Damian Roll’s fielding error and scoring on Jackson’s RBI single. But the Ducks put the game out of reach with a four-run fourth, allowing the team to (Southern Maryland result)

Following Castillo’s run, Davis would not allow another runner to advance past first base. It was his first game action since last year, when the Winter Haven native went 9-4 with a 4.79 ERA in helping the Ducks qualify for the postseason for the fourth straight season.

“Last year, he didn’t really pitch that good,” LaPoint said. “Tonight, he had his good fastball. Who knows what to expect? But he was definitely a lift just the way he went out and threw strike one all night.”

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