Adley Rutschman’s biggest night as a member of the Aberdeen IronBirds led the team to a 6-2 win Monday night at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium.
Rutschman was a perfect 5-for-5, a double short of the cycle and his four RBIs led the ‘Birds to the come-from-behind win over the Vermont Lake Monsters. The five hits also pulled the batting average over .300 to .325.
The win improves Aberdeen to 35-28 in New York Penn League play, one game out of first place in McNamara Division play and half game back of the one wild card spot.
The team will is now off for two days due to the league’s all-star game and will resume play Thursday at Staten Island in the biggest series of the season. The ‘Birds and Yankees will enter the series tied.
In Monday’s win it was Rutschman’s first home run in an Aberdeen uniform that put the IronBirds on the scoreboard. The blast, a solo shot, came in the bottom of the sixth after Vermont had taken a 2-0 lead in the top of the inning.
The one-run Vermont lead stayed that way until the bottom of the eighth. Aberdeen scored five times to surge ahead 6-2 and win.
The inning started with a walk to Andrew Daschbach, who was pinch run for by Mason Janvrin. Kyle Stowers flew out for the first out, but Janvrin stole second base in the process.
Andrew Fregia then walked, before Dalton Hoiles popped out for the second out. Clay Fisher followed with an RBI single to plate Janvrin with the tie run.
Lenin Rodriguez walked, but in doing so, a wild pitch allowed Fregia to score the go-ahead run. Jean Carmona also walked to load the bases and Rutschman cleared them with a triple to right field, also his first three-bagger as an IronBird.
Fisher (2-4) was the only other Aberdeen hitter with multiple hits.
Houston Roth (4-0) pitched 3.1 innings in relief to get the win. Roth gave up four hits, four walks and both Vermont runs, while striking out one.
Dan Hammer made the start and worked 4.2 innings. He gave up three hits and two walks and also struck out five.
Kade Strowd threw one inning, the final inning, striking out two.
‘Birds, Lake Monsters split two
Back home off an 4-1 road trip, the Aberdeen IronBirds split the first two games with Vermont at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium.
The ‘Birds won big Saturday, 8-2, but dropped Sunday’s game, 6-5.
On Sunday, Aberdeen starter Jake Lyons (1-4) just wasn’t as sharp as usual and the Lake Monsters took advantage. Lyons worked four innings, allowing five hits and three runs (two earned). He walked two and struck out two. “First of all, I think Lyons really didn’t look his normal self today, it looked like he was out of sorts a little bit,” Aberdeen manager Kevin Bradshaw said. “He kept the damage down with one run each inning, but it could have been a lot worse.”
Vermont scored single runs in each of its first three at bats. Aberdeen, meanwhile, scored single runs in the second and fourth innings. Hoiles singled in Stowers in the second and and in the fourth, Fisher drew a bases loaded walk to bring Toby Welk in to score.
Down 3-2 in the fifth, Aberdeen reliever Marlon Constante came on to pitch two innings. Unfortunately, in his first inning of work, Constante (3H, 3K) was touched for a two-run home run and the Lake Monsters pushed the lead back out to three, 5-2.
Vermont also added a run in the seventh off another reliever, James Ryan. Ryan also pitched two innings, giving up three hits and the run. He struck out one.
Aberdeen made it a game again in the bottom of the seventh with three runs. Fisher reached on an error to open the inning. Maverick Handley singled, as did Rutschman, who collected the RBI with one out.
Welk then singled to load the bases and Daschbach lined a single to left field to plate both Handley and Rutschman, pulling Aberdeen back to within a run, 6-5.
Stowers then stepped in and drilled a shot right to the shortstop near the bag for an easy inning-ending double play.
The IronBirds were victimized by their own hard hit balls twice more with runners on and no outs.
It started in the second inning. Daschbach (2-3) and Stowers were aboard with singles, with Joey Ortiz at the plate. Ortiz hit a sharp, low liner to second baseman Yerdel Vargas. Vargas snagged the liner just off the dirt for one out. He raced to second for the second out and then fired to first for a potential triple play. The throw, though, sailed high and out of play.
It happened again in the fifth. A Janvrin (2-5) single and walk to Rutschman had Aberdeen runners at first and second with no outs. Welk then hit a scorcher, but right at Vargas again, who easily turned the double play.
“We hit, we hit three double play balls, each of those three balls were hit hard and you know, you go five, six feet either direction, those balls get through,” Bradshaw said. “And we score. Baseball’s a game of inches and I just like the fact they hit the ball hard. Those balls were hit hard.”
Aberdeen then went down in order in the eighth and ninth innings, the final five batters by strikeouts.
Homers lead Saturday win
Welk and Stowers both hit home runs to lead Saturday night’s win.
Welk’s, a two-run shot, was his fourth and came in the third inning, while Stowers hit his team leading fifth homer, a solo shot, in the sixth.
Welk, Daschbach, Stowers and Fisher all had two hits in the win.
On the mound, Kevin Magee was sharp again. Magee (4-5) pitched six innings, scattering four hits, four his third straight win and fourth since July 17. Magee struck out two and lowered his ERA to 2.38.
Shelton Perkins threw two innings in relief and he allowed one hit, a home run and both runs. He walked two and struck out three.
Morgan McSweeney threw the final inning, allowing one hit, while striking out one.
Thursday loss
The Aberdeen IronBirds late inning magic came up a little short Thursday night, just some 24 hours after Andrew Fregia’s three-run dinger propelled the ‘Birds to a come-from-behind win.
Aberdeen fell behind Tri-City again Thursday and despite rallying for two runs late, fell 4-3 to the ValleyCats in New York Penn League play.
In the loss, Aberdeen starter Ryan Conroy (4-4) wasn’t as sharp as he’s been. The ValleyCats tagged Conroy for eight hits, three walks and four earned runs over 3,2 innings.
Conroy was knocked out of the game, literally, in the fourth. Tri-City’s Luis Santana hit a line drive that deflected off Conroy’s arm. Conroy left the game.
Two Aberdeen relievers, Griffin McLarty and Connor Gillispie, shut the Valleycats out the rest of the way. McLarty allowed three hits over 2.1 innings, striking out six. Gillispie allowed one hit over 2 innings and struck out four.
Those efforts gave the offense chance to get back in the game.
Down, 2-0, Aberdeen scored its first run in the third. Janvrin (14th round, Central Missouri), getting his first start for Aberdeen and batting leadoff, hit a two-out single. Rutschman followed with an RBI double.
The ‘Birds didn’t score again until the eighth. Janvrin, Rutschman and Welk hit consecutive doubles to plate two runs and put the tie run in scoring position.
Welk made it to third, but unfortunately, he was stranded there. In the ninth, Fregia, Handley and Janvrin all went down on strikes.
Janvrin (2 runs), Rutschman (run, 2 RBIs) and Welk (RBI) all had two hits. Stowers and Fregia also had a hit each.
The NYPL All-Star Game
Aberdeen will send six players to the All-Star game set for tonight (Wednesday) night in Staten Island, NY.
Pitchers Conroy and Leonardo Rodriguez will be joined by position players Stowers (OF), Welk (INF), Fregia (INF) and Hoiles (OF).
“Actually, I thought we might have more, as far as more pitching. The ERA (league leading 2.51) we have as a team, the jobs everybody has been doing,” Bradshaw said. “Hopefully, they can go up there and represent the IronBirds and do well.”
Fregia, in his first full professional season, is pleased. “You know going into it, I expected a bunch of guys to go, but them choosing me, I can’t be anything but blessed,” Fregia said. “I’m going to make the most of my opportunity up there and represent the IronBirds like I know how to.”
The IronBirds all-stars will play for the Red team, opposing the Blue team. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.
