High-Scoring Affair Leads To 10-7 Loss For Wilmington

WILMINGTON, DE - The Wilmington Blue Rocks (7-14) fell to the Aberdeen IronBirds (9-12) by a final score of 10-7 in the series finale at Frawley Stadium. Despite the loss, Wilmington still came away with a 4-2 series victory.

Aberdeen got on the board off the very first pitch of the game. Vance Honeycutt tripled to center field and was awarded home plate after the throw to third base went into the dugout. Wilmington’s starter and Nationals No.5 prospect Alex Clemmey responded by striking out two batters and limiting the damage to one run.

Wilmington responded in the bottom half of the first. After Marcus Brown led off with a double, Seaver King hit a chopper over the Aberdeen’s first baseman’s glove and into right field, tying the game up at one. The base knock also increased King’s hit streak to eight games, his longest streak as a professional.

Consecutive singles by Branden Boissiere and Elijah Green loaded the bases for Caleb Lomavita, who hit a grounder to shortstop that resulted in a force out at second but still drove in King from third and gave the Blue Rocks a 2-1 lead. In the next at-bat, Brandon Pimentel struck out and the scoring was limited to two runs.

Aberdeen put together a big inning in the third. With the bases loaded and one out, Aron Estrada singled to center field to tie the game up at two. After Clemmey struck out the next batter, back-to-back IronBird batters walked to make it a 4-2 game and end Clemmey’s day on the mound. In the next at-bat, Aberdeen’s Anderson De Los Santos singled down the left field line and although two more runners scored, T.J White was able to throw out De Los Santos trying to stretch a single into a double. The five run inning put Aberdeen ahead 6-2.

The Blue Rocks began to mount a comeback in the 4th inning. After Lomavita and Armando Cruz reached base with two outs, Johnathon Thomas doubled down the right field line to score Lomavita and cut the deficit to three, while ending Aberdeen’s starter Trey Gibson day on the bump. Gibson gave way to Jared Beck, who promptly threw a wild pitch during the next at-bat that allowed Cruz to score from third. A Marcus Brown hit-by-pitch brought White to the plate, where he would single to score Thomas and make it a one-run game. Wilmington couldn’t add on any more runs and the inning ended with Aberdeen clinging on to a 6-5 lead.

Aberdeen added some cushion to their lead in the top of the sixth, with IronBird Ryan Stafford scoring from first base on a wild pitch and throwing error to increase their lead to two. Wilmington’s Yeuris Jimenez buckled down on the mound from there, allowing only a walk the rest of the inning to ensure the Blue Rocks only trailed 7-5.

Wilmington answered in their half of the inning, After consecutive singles by Pimentel and Cruz to start the inning, a Thomas sacrifice bunt resulted in a throwing error, allowing Thomas to advance to second and score Pimentel. A Marcus Brown sacrifice bunt scored Cruz from third and tied the game up at seven apiece. The Blue Rocks couldn’t score Thomas from third however and the game remained 7-7 headed into the seventh inning.

Aberdeen gained the lead back in the seventh. With the bases loaded and one out, Stafford hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring the runner from third and putting Aberdeen ahead 8-7. The damage was limited to one run as reliever Samuel Vasquez was able to record the final out of the inning.

The IronBirds added one run each in the game’s final two innings. An Estrada single to left field made it 9-7 in the eighth while an Anderson De Los Santos fielder’s choice in the ninth increased the Aberdeen lead to three.

Wilmington couldn’t threaten in the final inning, as Aberdeen’s Cohen Achen got the last three outs to seal the 10-7 IronBirds victory. Achen was credited with the victory after pitching the final five innings of the game in relief.

Wilmington will travel to face the Brooklyn Cyclones in their next matchup. The first game of the series will take place on Tuesday, April 29. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.