Bowling Green pulls ahead late, takes down Aberdeen 6-4

Bowling Green, Kentucky – In a back-and-forth affair, the Bowling Green Hot Rods (18-14, 51-45) outlasted the Aberdeen IronBirds (38-58, 14-17), 6-4 on Wednesday night at Bowling Green Ballpark in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Bowling Green began the scoring in the second inning off starter Sebastian Gongora. Ryan Spikes led off the inning with a double and moved to third on Blake Robertson groundout. Hunter Haas drove home Spikes on a groundout to put the Hot Rods ahead, 1-0.

Aberdeen evened the score in the fifth inning off starter Gary Gill Hill. Griff O’Ferrall reached on a single and scored on an Austin Overn two-run blast, pushing the IronBirds ahead, 2-1.

Bowling Green tied the game in the bottom of the fifth and regained the lead in the sixth off reliever Ty Weatherly. Aidan Smith smacked a leadoff double in the fifth and Noah Myers singled him home, balancing the score at 2-2. Haas reached on a single in the following inning, stole second, and scored on a Bryan Broecker single, giving the Hot Rods a 3-2 lead.

Aberdeen countered with one run in the top of the seventh off reliever Seth Chavez. O’Ferrall singled, moved to third on a double from Overn, and scored on an error to knot the game at 3-3.

Bowling Green regained the lead in the bottom of the seventh against Weatherly. Smith singled, stole second and advanced to third on an error. Émilien Pitre drove in Smith on a sacrifice fly, putting the Hot Rods ahead, 4-3.

The IronBirds responded with a game-tying run off Chavez in the top of the eighth. Thomas Sosa led off the frame with a double and scored on an Anderson De Los Santos single, evening the score at 4-4.

The Hot Rods reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the eighth off reliever Riley Cooper. Robertson began the inning with a single and moved to third on a double from Jhon Diaz. Broecker drove home Robertson on a fielder’s choice and Diaz scored on an error to push Bowling Green’s lead to 6-4. Aberdeen failed to score in the top of the ninth, resulting in a 6-4 Hot Rods victory.

Chavez (1-1) earned the win for the Hot Rods, allowing two runs (one earned) over 2.0 innings. Aberdeen’s Cooper (0-5) took the loss, allowing two runs (one earned) over 1.0 frame. Junior William (1) earned his first save of the season for Bowling Green, throwing a perfect ninth inning.

The Hot Rods and IronBirds play the third game of a six-game set Thursday at 6:35 p.m. CT. Bowling Green will send RHP Garrett Edwards (5-3, 3.06) to the mound to face Aberdeen RHP Jacob Cravey (0-1, 0.79).