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Blowout win, dominant pitching highlight IronBirds series split with Renegades 

May 16, 2023

By: Michael Marcantonini The Aberdeen IronBirds wrapped up their third homestand of the season with a series split against the Hudson Valley Renegades from Tuesday through Sunday, May 9-14. The IronBirds entered the series with three wins in their last four games and stayed hot by winning the first three

By: Michael Marcantonini

The Aberdeen IronBirds wrapped up their third homestand of the season with a series split against the Hudson Valley Renegades from Tuesday through Sunday, May 9-14. The IronBirds entered the series with three wins in their last four games and stayed hot by winning the first three games against Hudson Valley, before the Renegades won the final three.

The IronBirds cruised to an 11-0 win in Game 1, setting season-highs with 11 runs and 16 hits, while four pitchers tossed the team’s second shutout of the season. Eight of Aberdeen’s nine starters had at least one hit and six had multiple hits, including Dylan Beavers, who became the first IronBird to collect four hits in a game this season. Jackson Holliday went 2-for-5, scored three runs, and hit a solo home run in the eighth inning in his Leidos Field debut. TT Bowens and Jud Fabian also went deep as the Birds exploded for nine extra-base hits. Jean Pinto started for the Birds and struck out seven over 4.1 hitless innings. Nick Richmond, Hayden Nierman and Carson Carter finished off the two-hit shutout as the four arms combined for 15 strikeouts and only one walk.

The IronBirds followed up the blowout win with a pair of 3-2 wins over the next two days. The Renegades grabbed an early 2-0 lead in Game 2, but a three-run sixth sparked by Max Wagner’s leadoff homer carried the Birds to victory. Three Birds pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts, including nine from Jake Lyons, who tossed four no-hit innings in relief. Game 3 was a similar story early on, as the Birds came back to erase an early Renegades lead. Holliday scored the Birds’ first run and drove in the second, while another dominant pitching performance sent the game to the 10th inning, when Isaac De Leon raced home from third on a two-out wild pitch. Ryan Long and Ignacio Feliz combined for six shutout innings of relief with eight strikeouts to help secure the win.

The Renegades flipped the script and returned the favor with three straight wins to end the series. Game 4 featured back-and-forth scoring in the late innings, including eight runs from the Renegades over the final three frames in their 9-7 comeback win. Alex Pham, who racked up a career-high 11 strikeouts in five shutout innings, was the standout star for the IronBirds. Pham allowed just one hit and one walk and extended his scoreless streak to 17.1 innings. In Game 5, Frederick Bencosme’s two-run triple brought home the Birds’ only two runs of the night as Hudson Valley took home a 6-2 win. Bencosme went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI to follow up his three hits from the previous night. Fabian and Wagner each hit their second home run of the series in Game 6, but the Renegades’ bats and arms stayed hot in their 8-3 win.

The IronBirds return home for a seven-game, six-day series against the Jersey Shore BlueClaws from Tuesday through Sunday, May 23-28. Friday is Marvel’s Defenders of the Diamond Night, and Saturday is First Responder’s Night presented by University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health. As always, Saturday’s game features pregame Catch on the Field presented by Constellation Home and Sunday is Military Appreciation presented by Leidos with postgame Kids Run the Bases presented by The Highlands School. For tickets or more information on upcoming promotions, head over to ironbirdsbaseball.com.