Aberdeen 2
Cyclones 1
July 5 at MCU Park
They couldn’t bring ‘em home!
Clones batters stranded no less than nine runners on base last night, failing to crawl out from a two-run defecit and letting the Ironbirds fly to victory in Brooklyn’s third consecutive loss.
The Cyclones showed promise in the bottom of the fifth, after Aberdeen put its two runs on the board in the top of the inning, when Nick Meyer, Chandler Avant, and Angel Manzanarez loaded the bases with three singles in a row.
But after they packed the diamond, our boys’ luck at the plate ran out. Jose Miguel Medina smacked a single that forced Meyer out at home, and then Carlos Cortes popped a fly ball to Aberdeen left fielder Doran Turchin, who caught it and hurled it to catcher Alfredo Gonzalez to tag Avant out at home in an inning-ending double play.
Brooklyn didn’t give up, however, and crept in on the Ironbirds in the seventh when Manzanarez knocked in Brian Sharp with a sacrifice fly, after Sharp singled to right and moved to second and third on two consecutive base hits following an Aberdeen pitching change.
But that would be the Cyclones lone run, which wasn’t enough to take victory from the Ironbirds.
Clones skipper Edgardo Alfonzo acknowledged his players have struggled to round home lately following the match.
“It’s been happening the last couple of games,” Alfonzo said. “The guys get two inches from home plate. It’s hard to perform the way we’re supposed to.”
The Cyclones’s third-straight loss puts the team at 11-9, still in second in the New York-Penn League McNamara Division, but barely, with the Ironbirds just behind at 10-10.
Brooklyn’s Boys of Summer hope to avoid an Aberdeen sweep, and keep their hold on second place, tonight at 6:40 pm at MCU Park.
