IronBirds take 2-of-3 in Greenville; playoff tickets now on sale
Jul. 25—Back on the baseball diamond fresh off a four-day break, the Aberdeen IronBirds won two-of-three games over the weekend in Greenville, SC over the Greenville Drive in High-A South Atlantic League play.
The IronBirds (56-34 overall, 13-11 second half) won the opener on Friday, 9-5, and Sunday's finale, 7-5, while Greenville took Saturday's middle game, 8-6.
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The 'Birds are to begin a six-game series at Asheville on Tuesday. The series will run until Sunday and the road trip will resume Tuesday (Aug. 2) at Wilmington. Aberdeen will be home at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium for a brief three-game series against Wilmington Aug. 5-7.
In Sunday's win, former IronBirds fan favorite Toby Welk (3-for-4, RBI) slugged a pair of doubles to lead the win. Welk (rehabbing from AA-Bowie) went 5-for-11 with six RBIs over the weekend.
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John Rhodes homered, as did Collin Burns, who finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs.
Peter Van Loon (9-1) pitched three innings in relief for the win, allowing five hits and three runs, while striking out four. Carlos Tavera made the start and also pitched three innings. He allowed three hits, two walks and one run, while striking out four.
Nick Richmond pitched two scoreless innings for his second save. He walked a batter and struck out three,
Saturday loss
The 'Birds and Drive were locked in a 6-6 tie through six innings, but Aberdeen failed to score again and Greenville added single runs in the seventh and eight innings for the win.
Burns (2-for-5) added a leadoff home run Rhodes went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Daniel Lloyd (0-2) was dealt the loss. Lloyd gave up six hits, one walk and two runs over two innings. Lloyd struck out two.
Welk drives in four on Friday
Welk (2-for-4) hit a three-run, home run and drove in four runs total in Friday's win.
Aberdeen scored three in the first, five in the fifth and one in the seventh to lead 9-0 before Greenville got on the scoreboard. The Drive scored twice in the seventh inning and three times in the ninth.
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In addition to Welk, Darell Hernaiz (HR), TT Bowens (RBI) and Burns (RBI) all had two hits, while Ryan Higgins added a solo home run.
Ryan Hartman (rehab start from AAA-Norfolk) pitched three innings, allowing a hit and a walk, while striking out four.
Houston Roth (6-3) added three relief innings for the win, allowing two hits and striking out five.
Playoff tickets on sale
Because the IronBirds won the season's first half championship, the team is guaranteed to host Game 2 of the South Atlantic League semifinals. The game is scheduled for Thursday, September 15th at 7:05 p..m. and tickets are now on sale.
Any additional playoff games are subject to change and if necessary.
All tickets purchased for playoff games that do not occur, will be credited to the 2023 IronBirds season.
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For tickets go to tickets@sb1.glitnirticketing.com