Dylan Beavers blasts two homers, robs one in series split with Cyclones

By: Michael Marcantonini

The Aberdeen IronBirds continued their strong month of June as they split a six-game series with the Brooklyn Cyclones, in a series highlighted by three walkoff wins. The Birds went 7-5 in their 12-game homestand against Asheville and Brooklyn and now sit at 31-31 on the season.

Game 1 featured a lot of late-inning drama and set the tone for the series. The IronBirds erased a four-run deficit and scored five runs over the final three innings to win, 8-7, in walkoff fashion. Dylan Beavers led the way with a 4-for-5, 4-RBI night. His solo homer in the seventh started the late rally and he followed that with a two-run double in the eighth to pull the IronBirds within one run. Jackson Holliday tied the game in the ninth with an RBI single to left-center and two pitches later, Isaac De Leon scored the winning run from third on a wild pitch. It was the IronBirds’ second walkoff win of the season and first win when trailing after both seven and eight innings. The Cyclones evened the series at one game apiece with a 5-4 win in Game 2. The IronBirds got within one run on three separate occasions, but that’s as close as they got. Beavers hit a solo homer and Holliday went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the loss.

Aberdeen responded with another come-from-behind victory in Game 3. After Brooklyn took a 3-2 lead in the top of the 10th, the IronBirds loaded the bases with one out, and Creed Willems smacked a first-pitch fastball into right field for a walkoff, two-run single. Gold-glove defense was on full display all night for the Birds in the 4-3 win. Luis Valdez threw out a runner at the plate from center field in the fourth, Beavers robbed what would’ve been a two-run homer over the right field wall in the fifth, and Valdez saved at least one run with a two-out diving catch in the 10th.

The IronBirds kept the walkoff vibes rolling with a 3-2 win in Game 4. The Birds trailed 2-1 entering the bottom of the ninth but they loaded the bases with one out for Beavers, who came off the bench and delivered a walkoff, two-run single to left-center. The ninth-inning rally came after Dan Hammer worked the Birds out of a first-and-third, one-out jam in the top of the inning. Jacob Teter hit a game-tying solo homer in the second, Maxwell Costes reached safely in all four of his plate appearances, and starter Ryan Long gave up just one run in five innings.

After losing heartbreakers each of the previous two nights, the Cyclones bounced back to win 5-0 in Game 5. In a game dominated by pitching, Alex Pham tossed a career-high six innings with nine strikeouts and took a no-hitter into the sixth. But the only hit he allowed was a solo homer and he was handed the hard-luck loss. The Birds managed just four hits, and Jud Fabian’s double was their only extra-base hit. Brooklyn came right back and won Game 6 as well. The game was scoreless through six innings when the Cyclones jumped on the board for three runs in the top of the seventh. The Birds answered with two in the bottom of the seventh, but the Cyclones tacked on four more runs over the final two innings and won 7-3. Kyle Virbitsky worked a season-high five shutout innings with five strikeouts and Luis Valdez went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple and two RBI in the loss.

Following Sunday’s series finale, outfielder Jud Fabian and pitchers Jean Pinto, Alex Pham and Keagan Gillies were all promoted to Double-A Bowie.

The IronBirds head out on the road this week for a six-game series with the Wilmington Blue Rocks from Tuesday through Sunday, June 19-24. After that, they’re right back in The ‘Deen from Tuesday, June 27 through Sunday, July 2 for six against the Winston-Salem Dash. Head over to ironbirdsbaseball.com for tickets and more information on upcoming promotions.