TROY – The Tri-City ValleyCats suffered a 3-2 loss against the Aberdeen IronBirds to open their three-game series on Saturday night at Bruno Stadium.
The IronBirds struck first in the third inning when Markel Jones drew a walk, then reached second base on a wild pitch, before being driven in by Jean Carrillo on an RBI single to take a 1-0 lead.
The ‘Cats answered in the sixth inning with some small ball. Tri-City got runners on second and third base with no outs, before bringing one home on a wild pitch and another on a balk by Josh Keaton to make it 2-1.
However, the IronBirds were able to respond with a two-run home run by Ryan Ripken, the son of baseball great Cal Ripken, to take a 3-2 lead. From there, Aberdeen held on to win.
The ‘Cats got a strong start by Carlos Hiraldo, who went five innings, allowing four hits and one run, while striking out one. The IronBirds were able to get to Tyler Ivey, who allowed two earned runs on four hits while striking out four over three innings of relief.
Josh Keaton (1-2) picked up the win for the IronBirds in relief of starter Cameron Ming, while ValleyCats’ pitcher Tyler Ivey (0-3) took the loss in relief of starter Carlos Hiraldo.
The two teams will square off again on Sunday at 5:00 p.m.
This story was edited for clarity by 518 Sports
