‘Cats fall 3-2 in 11 innings

ABERDEEN — The Tri-City ValleyCats (25-21) fell to the Aberdeen IronBirds (19-26) in 11 innings Thursday night, a 3-2 final at Leidos Field.

Preston Palmeiro singled to lead off the bottom of the 11th, and Ronarsy Ledesma reached on a throwing error by pitcher Howie Brey. Brey intentionally walked Guillermo Salas to load the bases, and Jaylen Ferguson lifted a sacrifice fly to score Palmeiro, giving Aberdeen the win to even the series at one game apiece.

Making his team-leading sixth start of the season, Sebastian Kessay struck out nine batters (54) in five innings, and now sits in third place in the New York-Penn League in punch outs.

In relief, Angelo Serrano and Abdiel Saldana combined for five innings of one-run ball. Brey suffered the loss (0-1), his first of the season.

Alex DeGoti led the way offensively for the ‘Cats, knocking three hits and scoring on a force out in the 7th. Chuckie Robinson added a double (10) in the first inning, scoring Marcos Almonte. The ‘Cats were 1-9 with runners in scoring position.

The IronBirds tied it up in the bottom of the fifth when Salas and Ferguson smacked back-to-back doubles. After DeGoti scored in the 7th, Aberdeen’s Ryan McKenna singled in the 8th, plating Jason Heinrich to even the score again.

For the IronBirds, Yi-Hsiang Lin (3-0) earned his third win of the season, tossing one scoreless inning of relief in the 11th. Cody Sedlock made the start, and allowed a run and three walks in three innings.

Aberdeen hosts Tri-City in game three tomorrow night, August 5, before the ‘Cats come back to Troy to host the Brooklyn Cyclones for a three game set.