Aberdeen 7 - Brooklyn 5

The Cyclones blew an early lead, this time a 5-1 advantage, en route to a 7-5 loss to the Aberdeen IronBirds on Thursday night.

The Cyclones entered tonight’s game having not scored in 17 innings, but they wasted no time putting that streak to an end on Thursday evening. In the top of the first inning, Gavin Cecchini got the rally started with a line drive double to right field, and moved to third when Jorge Rivero followed suit with a single that put runners on the corners. Matt Oberste was next and hit a booming double over the centerfielder to plate Cecchini and give Brooklyn a 1-0 advantage. The Cyclones tacked on another run when Jared King reached on a throwing error, allowing Rivero to score and push Brooklyn’s lead to 2-0.

Aberdeen quickly sliced into the lead after an RBI double from Manny Hernandez made it 2-1 after the first inning, but Brooklyn’s offense responded in their next turn at-bat. After starting the really in the first inning, Cecchini capped the rally in the second frame. The 19-year-old shortstop laced a line drive single into left field scoring Eris Peguero and pushing the Cyclones advantage to 3-1 after two innings.

But Brooklyn didn’t stop their, tacking on two more runs in the top of the third. Jared King started the threat with a two-out walk and Colton Plaia kept the inning going with a single up the middle, before Juan Gamboa pushed both runners across with a double and pushed Brooklyn’s lead to 5-1 after three.

Cyclones starter Carlos Valdez seemed to settle down after first inning trouble, putting up zeroes over the next three innings, but the southpaw ran into trouble in the fifth inning when the IronBirds responded in a big way. After striking out Scott Kalush to start the frame, three straight hits from the IronBirds pushed two runs across and chased Valdez from the game. David Wynn(0-2) was next on the mound for Brooklyn and retired Connor Bierfeldt for the second out of the frame, but then issued back-to-back walks to load the bags for Anthony Vega. The IronBirds centerfielder connected on what proved to be the biggest swing of the game, ripping a double to left field scoring three runs and giving Aberdeen a 6-5 lead after five innings.

Brooklyn had a chance to pull even in the seventh inning, loading the bases with two outs, but Aberdeen reliever Jimmy Yacabonis was able to retire Juan Gamboa for the third out, leaving the bags full.

Akeel Morris tossed 2.0 shutout innings of relief, striking out four, before giving way to Kevin McGowan, who made his professional debut. The righthander from Franklin Pierce University struggled in his first outing, allowing a run on one hit with a walk. Press Release