Spartanburgers Fall 3-1 in Pitcher's Duel at Aberdeen
SAL Hub City Spartanburgers

Spartanburgers Fall 3-1 in Pitcher's Duel at Aberdeen

Published on April 5, 2025 under South Atlantic League (SAL)
Hub City Spartanburgers News Release


ABERDEEN, Md. - Pitching has dominated through two games between Hub City and Aberdeen; the Spartanburgers fell on the wrong side of a 3-1 ballgame Saturday night at Ripken Stadium. Despite a strong start from Spartanburgers starter Jose Gonzalez, the Hub City offense didn't come alive until the late innings.

Gonzalez, a 23-year-old righty from Venezuela, had only made one appearance at the High-A level entering 2025, a four-inning start with Hickory to wrap up his 2024 season. While he matched the four innings in his Saturday start, Gonzalez held Aberdeen scoreless with five strikeouts. The IronBirds took the game's first lead in the sixth inning after Gonzalez was lifted from the game. Aberdeen never trailed from there.

Gonzalez was matched against Aberdeen's Michael Forret. The two provided for a fast-paced, scoreless start to the game. While Forret walked a pair of Spartanburgers in the first two frames, he managed to face the minimum thanks to a caught stealing and a double play. Only one baserunner reached scoring position through the first four frames. Forret stretched into the fifth inning for Aberdeen. He was replaced by Juan De Los Santos, who stranded Anthony Gutierrez in scoring position.

Wilian Bormie was first out of the pen for the Spartanburgers. In his first outing of the season, the righty faced traffic on the basepaths in both innings of work. Bormie left two IronBirds on base in the fifth but couldn't escape the sixth without giving up the first run of the game. Aberdeen added two more runs to its lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. Jake Cunningham drove home two IronBirds on a two-out double to give Aberdeen some breathing room headed to the ninth.

The Hub City bats again showed some life with their backs against the wall. Back-to-back singles from Danyer Cueva and Dylan Dreiling brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the ninth with nobody out. A walk to Malcolm Moore loaded the bases for Hub City, but a double play and pop out ended the offensive threat. The Spartanburgers scratched just one run across on the double play, falling 3-1 to Aberdeen to split the first two games of the season.

Righty D.J. McCarty gets the baseball to start tomorrow for Hub City against Aberdeen lefty Juan Rojas. Tomorrow's game serves as a rubber match in a three-game series to begin the year between the Spartanburgers and IronBirds. First pitch at Ripken Stadium is set for 2:05 PM tomorrow afternoon.

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South Atlantic League Stories from April 5, 2025


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