IronBirds’ season ends 1 win short of a championship

The Aberdeen IronBirds’ best season in 20 years came to a close Wednesday night one win short of a High-A South Atlantic League championship.

The IronBirds were shut out 4-0 by Bowling Green at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium in Game 3, giving the Hot Rods the title in the best-of-three series.

“It was tough. We had some opportunities early on, and I mean they had some great pitchers out there that threw really well,” Aberdeen manager Roberto Mercado said. “You’ve got to give credit to those guys, the way they executed their pitches and did a great job keeping us off-balance.”

Aberdeen, which recorded just four hits, had its leadoff batter reach base in four of the first five innings, but nothing came from it.

The best scoring chance was squandered in the first inning. Dylan Beavers led off with a single, and with one out Heston Kjerstad and Jud Fabian drew consecutive walks to load the bases.

But Bowling Green pitcher Ben Peoples struck out Max Wagner and got Connor Pavolony to fly out to right to end the threat.

Aberdeen starting pitcher Peter Van Loon was sharp over four innings, keeping the Hot Rods off the scoreboard and keeping his team in it. The right-hander allowed one hit and a walk while striking out four. However, Van Loon left early with a blister developing on his throwing hand.

Connor Gillispie relieved Van Loon in the fifth, and he ran into trouble. Logan Driscoll belted a leadoff double, and two batters later Michael Berglund (3-for-4) singled Driscoll to third. Gillispie, who struck out a batter between the hits, walked Abiezel Ramirez to load the bases, and that ended his night.

Kade Strowd took over and struck out the next two batters but was called for a balk, which brought Driscoll home.

Strowd pitched into the seventh but was chased after giving up three hits and two runs. Mason Auer doubled in the pair, knocking Strowd out of the game. Nick Richmond came on and induced a groundout, but Tanner Murray drove in another run with a single.

“It was a great learning experience for our guys,” Mercado said. “We’ve got a lot of young guys that just got here and [had] this experience of playoff baseball and competing.

“Again, it’s about the player development. It’s about those guys getting better and getting these different experiences of high-pressure situations, and those opportunities will hopefully one day prove that they’re prepared one day to play in Camden Yards.”