The Aberdeen IronBirds (1-5) won 5-4 after 10 Innings against the Brooklyn Cyclones (2-3) on Saturday night and by doing so, record the 1st win of the 2013 season while avoiding the potential sweep after dropping the first two games of the series against Brooklyn. The IronBirds led the game 4-0 going into the bottom of the 9th after DH Hector Veloz hit RBI single's in the top of the 3rd and the top of the 7th ( Aberdeen put up two more in the 7th off of an error and a double play ball) before the Cyclones put up four runs against Williams Louico to tie the game and send it to extra innings. The game didn't stay tied long after SS Jared Breen walked to start the inning and then stole second before being knocked in on a go-ahead (And eventually game-winning) RBI single from 3B Kris Richards with two outs to give Aberdeen a 5-4 lead, while LHP Jorge Rivera closed out the game effectively and picked up the W in the bottom of the 10th to give the IronBirds their 1st win of the 2013 season!!!!
IronBirds starter Sebastian Vader was absolutely dominant last night and deserved the W that the IronBirds bullpen let slip away in the 9th. Vader pitched 8 scoreless Innings while allowing 0 runs on 3 hits while allowing 0 walks and racking up 10 K's! Vader's 8 Innings and 10 K's are 2013 team-highs for Aberdeen starters so far, while the 3 hits allowed is also the lowest amount an IronBirds starter has allowed in a game so far this season. At one point, Vader had retired 13 batters in a row, that's the definition of dealing! If Vader keeps up his outstanding pitching performances on the mound, it won't be long before he is called up to the next level. Other than Veloz (2-4, 2 RBI) and Richards (2-4, GW RBI), Catcher Scott Kalush and SS Jared Breen both crossed the plate twice after getting on-base with walks.
A couple notes on last night's game:
- Sebastian Vader is now has the 4th lowest ERA (1.38) in the NYPL among pitchers that have started two or more games in the beginning stages of the 2013 season, while leading the league in Innings (13.0) and tied for 1st in K's (13). He also has a microscopic 0.54 WHIP
- Hector Veloz continues to hit everything. After going 2-4 with 2 RBI last night, he now has a 6-game hitting streak. Veloz has started the year on a ridiculous tear, going 11 for 23 (.478-2nd highest in the NYPL) with 2 doubles, 1 HR, and 6 RBI.
- Kris Richards played the role of hero after driving in the go-ahead and game-winning run on a single in the top of the 10th, and with his 2 for 4 game last night, he now has a 3-game hitting streak, and is 6 for 11 (.545) during that streak
- SS Jared Breen played the spark-plug role last night, reaching 1st base two times on walks, stealing 2nd base both times, and then eventually crossing the plate both times (One in the 7th, the other the GW run in the 10th). He also robbed L.J Mazzilli of a single in the 4th, going deep in the hole at short to field the ball, then firing a laser to Trey Mancini at 1B to get Mazzilli by a half-step. Sometimes it's the little things that decide between a Win and a Loss, and in last night's case, this was definitely true.
- The IronBirds pitching staff racked up 12 K's last night, and now have a superb 60 K's through 6 games, 7 more than the team with the 2nd most, The Tri-City Valleycats, who have 53 K's.
- After having 5 errors in the first two games of the season, The IronBirds have just 3 errors in their last 4 games. That is a big positive!
- Last night's win was Manager Matt Merullo's 1st win as the IronBirds manager!!!!
- Last note, ending on a big positive, The IronBirds hitting is getting better! After just chalking up 13 hits in the first series against the Renegades, the IronBirds put up 23 hits in the series against the Cyclones
That's all I have for now, stay posted at IBN today! In a couple hours we will bring you today's game preview, along with the line-up's! The IronBirds will play the first game of a 3-game series and the 4th game of a six-game road trip against the Staten Island Yankees at 4:00 PM. David Richardson will make his 2nd start of the season for the IronBirds, and the Yankees will send RHP Philip Walby to the mound. Walby will be making his professional debut after being a 12th round pick by the New York Yankees out of San Diego State in the 2013 MLB draft. I will see you all in a bit but until then, take it easy IronBirds Nation!
- Logan Quick