De Leon's 12-Strikeout Gem, Anderson's 10-RBI Week Propel IronBirds to Series Win over Blue Rocks
SAL Aberdeen IronBirds

De Leon's 12-Strikeout Gem, Anderson's 10-RBI Week Propel IronBirds to Series Win over Blue Rocks

Published on August 11, 2025 under South Atlantic League (SAL)
Aberdeen IronBirds News Release


The Aberdeen IronBirds won four of six games over the Wilmington Blue Rocks last week at Ripken Stadium en route to their first home series win of the season. The IronBirds won a season-best four straight games in the middle of the series and outscored the Blue Rocks by 18 runs in the series. Aberdeen also clinched the season series over Wilmington, winning 11 of the 21 games between the rival squads.

The IronBirds won the middle four games of the series, which included two shutout wins in the span of three days, and they scored at least seven runs in three of the four. Offensively, four players stole the show against the Blue Rocks. Griff O'Ferrall (19 games) and Ethan Anderson (17 games) extended their career-high on-base streaks, reaching safely in all five games that they played in. O'Ferrall went 8-for-19 with three doubles, two RBI, three walks and four stolen bases while Anderson also went 8-for-19 with a double, a home run, a team-high 10 RBI and three walks. Vance Honeycutt, who was activated from the 7-Day IL on Tuesday, went 9-for-22 with four extra-base hits, four stolen bases and seven runs in five games. Thomas Sosa went 5-for-19 with a double, two home runs and seven RBI in five games.

The bats were hot all week, but the pitching shined as well. The IronBirds' pitching staff turned in a league-best 1.33 ERA across six games, as they allowed only eight earned runs in 54 innings. The Birds' arms also combined for a season-long, 20-inning scoreless streak from the top of the third inning on Friday through the top of the fifth inning on Sunday. The most-dominant outing of the series came from left-hander Luis De Leon, who posted new career-highs with six innings and 12 strikeouts in his start on Saturday. De Leon struck out the side in the first, retired eight straight batters to start the night, and did not walk a batter throughout his masterpiece. Michael Forret followed that with another gem on Sunday, going five shutout innings with six strikeouts and one walk to lower his ERA to 1.51 this season. Wellington Aracena, who made his High-A debut in the series opener on Tuesday, also grabbed some headlines. Aracena collected six strikeouts in four hitless innings, allowing just one run and three walks.

The Birds are now 20-21 with a +10 run differential in the second half. The Birds are 6-4 in their last 10 games and 11-9 since the All-Star Break ended. They have not lost three straight games in over a month and they have scored at least six runs in a game 13 times in the second half.

The IronBirds are on the road this week to play six games against the Hudson Valley Renegades from Tuesday-Sunday, August 12-17. After that, the IronBirds are back home for their final 12 home games of the regular season. The longest homestand of the season starts with six against the Brooklyn Cyclones from Tuesday-Sunday, August 19-24 and wraps up with six more against the Jersey Shore BlueClaws from Tuesday-Sunday, August 26-31. To purchase tickets and for more information and upcoming games, promotions and theme nights, please visit www.goironbirds.com.

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South Atlantic League Stories from August 11, 2025


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