Aberdeen 7, Brooklyn 0

The Cyclones opened up their final home series of the 2013 season with a dud on Saturday night, as they were blanked by the Aberdeen IronBirds by the score of 7-0.  It marked the eighth time this season that the Cyclones have been shutout, the second highest total in the NYPL.  With the loss, Brooklyn falls 0.5 a game behind Aberdeen in the McNamara Division standings, setting the stage for a must-win on Sunday in Brooklyn’s 2013 regular season home finale.

After a scoreless first inning, the IronBirds drew first blood in the top of the second thanks to an unlikely source. IronBirds thirds baseman Tanner Rust, who came into Saturday’s game with only two extra-base hits in 92 at-bats, sent the first pitch he saw into the right field bleachers to give Aberdeen a 1-0 advantage.

That was all the offense that Brooklyn starter Akeel Morris would allow, as the righthander struck out seven, allowing just three hits over his 5.0 innings of work. For the season, Morris has allowed just one earned run in 35.0 innings on the mound at MCU Park.

With Morris out of the game in the sixth, the IronBirds quickly expanded their lead. Conor Bierfeldt started the frame with a leadoff double, and moved to third on a groundout. With the infield drawn in, Austin Wynns laced a single to left field pushing Bierfeldt home with the second run of the game. After Wynns swiped second base, Jared Breen lofted a soft liner that was just out of the reach of a leaping L.J. Mazzilli, bringing Wynns around to score and pushing Aberdeen’s lead to 3-0.

That was more than enough as Aberdeen ace Sebastian Vader kept the Cyclones batters off balance all night. The 18th round selection in the 2010 MLB Draft out of San Marcos High School in California, tossed 7.0 shutout innings, allowing just four hits, and did not allow a runner to reach third base all night.

In the eighth, the IronBirds added a pair of insurance runs off of Kevin McGowan, who was charged with four runs on eight hits over his 3.0 innings of relief, to extend their lead to 5-0  Cameron Griffin came in to pitch the ninth and didn’t fair any better, allowing a pair of runs in as Aberdeen’s lead ballooned to 7-0.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Cyclones mounted their first threat of the game, loading the bases with two outs, but Matt Oberste struck out looking to end the game.

The Cyclones will look to rebound on Sunday afternoon in their regular season finale at MCU Park. Fans be sure to arrive early, as the Cyclones players will be signing autographs at the front gates from 3:30-4:00 PM as part of the Fan Appreciation Day Celebration. LHP Dario Alvarez will toe the rubber for Brooklyn, who can move back into first place with a win in Sunday’s finale.

Key Stats

Jared King: 2-for-4, 1 2B

James Roche: 2-for-4, 1 SB

Alex Sanchez: 1-for-3, 1 BB

Akeel Morris: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 1 ER, 7 K

Cameron Griffin: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 ER, 1 K

(Cyclones’ Team Report)