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SAL Aberdeen IronBirds

Willems' Walkoff Blast, Sunday's 15-Run Outburst Highlight IronBirds' Series Win over Crawdads

June 18, 2024 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
Aberdeen IronBirds News Release


The Aberdeen IronBirds stayed hot at the plate on their way to four wins in six games over the Hickory Crawdads last week at Leidos Fields at Ripken Stadium. It's the IronBirds' third six-game series win of the season and they're now 9-5 in June.

Both team's bats were relatively quiet in Game 1, and after a late IronBirds rally, the Crawdads took home a 5-2 win. Tavian Josenberger tied the game at 2-2 with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the eighth, but the Crawdads went back on top with three in the ninth. Preston Johnson started for the IronBirds and gave up just one run in four innings with two strikeouts, while Douglas Hodo had two hits and a stolen base. The IronBirds bounced right back with a convincing 8-2 win in Game 2. The Crawdads had an early 2-0 lead, but the Birds rallied for eight unanswered runs, which included a six-run fifth inning. Enrique Bradfield Jr. led off the frame with his first career home run, Creed Willems put the Birds ahead with an RBI double, and Jalen Vasquez added a two-run triple. Edgar Portes tied a season-high with seven strikeouts in four innings and four relievers combined for five shutout innings.

In an absolute thriller in Game 3 of the series, Aberdeen rallied late for an 8-6 walkoff win in 10 innings. The IronBirds scored all eight of their runs over the final three innings on their way to their third walkoff win of the season. Mac Horvath led off the ninth with a home run and Maxwell Costes tied the game with a two-run single. The Crawdads scored two runs in the 10th, but the resilient Birds came right back with four of their own. Horvath ripped a game-tying, two-run double to left and Creed Willems crushed a two-run home run to right to finish the job. The IronBirds collected seven extra-base hits in the win, including three from Willems and two from Horvath.

The Birds stayed hot with a 6-4 comeback win in Game 4 for their third straight win. Bradfield Jr. and Coby Mayo, who was on a rehab assignment, hit back-to-back solo home runs in the first inning and Adam Retzbach joined the party with a solo shot in the second. Tied at 4-4 in the seventh, Horvath smoked an RBI triple to left-center and Prado tacked on a run with an RBI single. Zach Fruit went four and one-third innings of shutout ball with six strikeouts in relief for the win, and the Birds held off the Crawdads by stranding two runners in the ninth. The Crawdads ended the Birds' hot streak with a 4-3 win in Game 5. Aberdeen starter Levi Wells retired the first eight batters that he faced and picked up six strikeouts with only one walk in his team-leading 13th start of the season. Not much happened offensively, but Retzbach, Mayo and Douglas Hodo III each hit a double in the loss.

In one of the craziest games you will ever see, the IronBirds fought back from their biggest deficit of the season to beat the Crawdads, 15-12, in Game 6. Down 8-0 entering the bottom of the fourth, the Birds exploded for a season-high 15 runs over the next four innings, which included a seven-run seventh to take their first lead. Aberdeen had seven of its nine starters reach base safely at least three times and five of the nine had multiple hits. Carter Young led the way with a three-run home run and four RBI, Mayo hit two home runs to end his rehab series with six extra-base hits, Prado scored four runs, and Florentino had three hits. The two teams combined for 25 runs on 20 hits and used a total of 12 pitchers, with every run scoring between the third and seventh innings.

The IronBirds are on the road this week for a six-game series with the Wilmington Blue Rocks from Tuesday-Sunday, June 18-23. After that, The Birds are back at home for nine games in nine days from Tuesday, June 25 through Wednesday, July 3. The homestand starts with six games against the Brooklyn Cyclones and ends with three against the Greensboro Grasshoppers. Then it's our annual independence day festival, "Red, White, and Boom", on Thursday, July 4th at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium! For tickets and more information, visit goironbirds.com.

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South Atlantic League Stories from June 18, 2024


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