As bats come alive early, Aberdeen earns first win of series

Wappingers Falls, N.Y. (April 19, 2024) -- The Aberdeen IronBirds got off to a strong start and didn’t look back, winning their first game of the series with the Hudson Valley Renegades 6-2 at Heritage Financial Park on Friday night.

After Tavian Josenberger walked and stole two bases, Creed Willems smashed an RBI double to right to open the scoring in the top of the first. In the bottom half, the Renegades tied the game at 1-1 on a pitch clock violation walk to Anthony Hall with the bases loaded.

Aberdeen immediately responded with an RBI single in the top of the second by Adam Retzbach, scoring Carter Young. In the third, Willems followed up with another RBI double, this time a bloop hit down the left field line, scoring Josenberger after another walk and steal earlier in the inning.

The Renegades built a rally in the fourth, when Hall singled and Rafael Flores was hit by a pitch. After Hall stole third, Beau Brewer notched his first RBI of the season with a single to left, cutting the deficit to 3-2. Hall finished the night 1-for-2 with a run scored, an RBI and two walks.

In the following frame, the visitors reestablished their three-run lead. After inheriting runners on second and third with no outs, Renegades reliever Leonardo Pestana nearly escaped without allowing a run. However, with two strikes and two outs, an RBI single by Ryan Higgins knocked in two runs, extending the lead to 5-2.

Hudson Haskin extended the lead to four in the seventh with his first long ball of the season. The Aberdeen bullpen tallied 5.2 scoreless innings to close out the Renegades with a 6-2 victory.

The IronBirds and Renegades continue their six-game clash on Saturday at 5:05 p.m. at Heritage Financial Park, with coverage beginning with the Heritage Financial Credit Union Pregame Show beginning at 4:45 on the Renegades Baseball Network. Aberdeen will start RHP Moises Chace (1-0, 0.00), while LHP Kyle Carr (0-0, 1.59) toes the rubber for Hudson Valley.