Cyclones fall to Aberdeen in semi-finals
After beating the Iron Birds in the first game of the South Atlantic League’s North Division semi-final, the Brooklyn Cyclones headed to Maryland to wrap up the division in Game 2 at Aberdeen.
After a strong 8-1 win at home, the Cyclones put their top second-half pitcher, Dominic Hamel, on the mound to close out the series. But the Iron Birds set the tone early, taking a 2-0 first-inning lead on a long home run by Aberdeen’s MVP, T.T. Bowens. William Lugo scored Brooklyn’s only run for the Cyclones on a solo home run, and the Iron Birds won 6-1 to force a Game 3 back at Ripken Stadium.
In Game 3 the following night, the Iron Birds jumped out to a 3-1 lead to begin the fifth inning. Bowens struck again with an RBI single to end the inning 5-1. In the sixth, Brooklyn battled back on a two-run homer by Stanley Consuegra to cut Aberdeen’s lead to 5-3. Jose Peroza’s eighth-inning homer off the center field batter’s eye narrowed it to 5-4.