IronBirds split weekend games, finish series against Rome with 2-4 mark

Randy McRoberts, The Aegis, Bel Air, Md.
·2 min read

Jun. 28—The Aberdeen IronBirds split the final two games of its series with the Rome Braves, winning Saturday, but losing Sunday in High-A East play at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium.

The split left the 'Birds with a 2-4 mark in the series and a 25-21 overall record. Aberdeen trails Hudson Valley (30-17) by 4.5 games atop the North Division standings.

Aberdeen will be back in action at home Tuesday, hosting Brooklyn in the first of six games. Game time is 7:05 p.m.

In Sunday's game, an 8-4 loss, Aberdeen had a 3-1 lead late, but the bullpen couldn't hold it. Rome (24-22) scored three times in the eighth inning and four more times in the ninth.

The runs squandered a solid effort from starting pitcher Jake Prizina. The lefty allowed three hits and an unearned run over five innings. He struck out three.

Reliever Xavier Moore added two innings of scoreless baseball, striking out one, but the next two 'Birds on the mound struggled.

Jonathan Pendergast (0-1) allowed three hits (one HR) and three earned runs over an inning of work. He struck out one.

Nick Roth came on and couldn't get past a third of an inning. Roth gave up two hits, two walks and four earned runs. Easton Lucas (one hit) came on to get the final two outs.

Aberdeen had taken a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Walks to Adam Hall and Zach Watson (2-3), with a single by Andrew Daschbach (2-3) in between, loaded the bases.

A.J. Graffanino hit a two-run single and with an error added on the play, Watson scored a third run.

Aberdeen added its fourth run in the ninth. Shayne Fontana (2-5) tripled and scored on an errant throw.

JD Mundy also had two hits for the IronBirds.

Saturday shutout

On Saturday, two Aberdeen pitchers combined to throw a shutout in a 5-0 Aberdeen win.

Starter Connor Gillispie (4-3) pitched five innings for the win, allowing three hits and a walk, while striking out five.

Ryan Conroy added four innings, giving up one hit and two walks. Conroy struck out two.

Offensively, Fontana had three of the IronBirds six hits, but it was Jordan Westburg who had the biggest hit. Westburg hit a grand slam in the third inning.

The bases were loaded with unearned runs after Graffanino reached on an error with two outs. Fontana then singled and Mundy walked to set up the big hit.

The IronBirds added their final run in the fifth on Hall's RBI single.