Aberdeen 5
Cyclones 4
Sept. 1 at MCU Park
It will take a miracle now.
The Cyclones rallied from a 5–1 deficit in the bottom of the ninth, but came up just one short and lost a crucial games to the Aberdeen IronBirds and fall a game and a half back in the division with just three to play.
The Clones struck first in the seventh inning when Jared King walked and reached second base on a fielder’s choice. Alex Sanchez hit an RBI single to send King home for the late-game lead. But Aberdeen’s Conor Bierfeldt homered in the next inning to quickly tie the score.
The IronBirds’ bats then caught fire in the top of the ninth when Jared Breen singled, Federico Castagnini walked, and Tanner Rust reached first on a sacrifice bunt attempt. Mike Yastrzemski then hit a bases-clearing double before scoring on a wild pitch and a throwing error by catcher Colton Plaia.
Down 5–1 in the bottom of the ninth, the Clones made a furious rally, starting with back-to-back singles by L.J. “Mini-Maz” Mazzilli and King. Mazzilli scored on a throwing error and King scored his second run of the inning on another RBI by Sanchez. James “Papa” Roche, who reached first on the throwing error, then came home on an RBI single by Tomas Nido. But the next two Cyclones to come to the plate both flew out to come up just short of a comeback.
With the two losses, the Cyclones fall deeper into second place. They finish the season with a three-game set against the Stedlar-Division-leading Tri-City Wildcats starting tonight at 5 pm, and basically must sweep the set and hope for an Aberdeen collapse to make it to the playoffs.
The Cyclones must win at least one game to guarantee an above .500 season.
