For 13 innings of Thursday's match up between Aberdeen and the visiting Vermont squad, things were very close, with both teams scoring just twice, but the Lake Monsters pasted the host-team IronBirds for six runs in the top of the 14th frame to hand Aberdeen a disappointing 8-2 loss.
With the defeat, Aberdeen fell to 6-21 on the season and sits at the bottom of the New York-Penn League's McNamara Division.
As has been their habit lately, the IronBirds did not wait to put runs on the board, as they scored during their first at-bat.
Martin Serrata was the first Aberdeen batter to get on, reaching first via a one-out walk, and he moved over to second when the Vermont pitcher uncorked a wild pitch. Mychal Givens grounded to short for the second out, but Serrata was running on the play and made it over to third. Next up was Joe Velleggia, Aberdeen hottest bat in the previous night's victory over Vermont, and he did not disappoint, singling on a soft liner past the Lake Monster first baseman to push Serrata home.
The IronBirds bats would not produce another run for the next four innings..
Vermont was quick to answer their hosts' challenge, tying the game up 1-1 in the visiting half of the second. Aberdeen starter Jake Cowan, who had gotten out of a two-out, two-on jam in the first with an inning-ending strikeout, started the inning by issuing a pair of walks. After setting the third batter down on strikes, Cowan surrendered an RBI single to left. With one down and two runners on, the IronBirds hurler induced back-to-back groundouts to short.
Wynston Sawyer kicked off the bottom of the sixth by smacking a 2-2 pitch into the left field corner for a double, and Connor Narron followed with hard, sinking liner to left that looked like it might drop in, but the Lake Monster outfielder was able to chase it down for an out. Pinch hitter Austin Knight moved his teammate over to third with a perfectly placed bunt single up the third base line, and Kyle Hoppy came up next, lofting a fly ball to deep left field that allowed Sawyer to tag up and score the go-ahead run.
Needing just three outs to seal the one-run victory, Aberdeen faltered in the top of the ninth. Reliever Angel Cespedes surrendered a leadoff single, and was quickly replaced by Enrico Jimenez, who allowed a base hit to left, a bunt single that loaded the bases, and a walk that drove home the tying run. Jimenez got the inning's first out on a short fly to left before Jose Mota was called on to retire the final two hitters, which he did on a pair of pop outs.
In the top of the 10th, Mota was perfect, striking out the final two hitters after retiring the first on a groundout.
Glynn Davis led off Aberdeen's half of the 12th by lacing a double into the right-field gap and eventually moved over to third on a wild pitch, but he was left stranded.
Reliever Devin Jones, whose longest appearance prior to Thursday was one inning, had his best outing of the season, holding the Lake Monsters to one hit and striking out two in a three-inning stint.
"For me, that's what I like to do," Jones said. "I don't like coming in during blowout games. I like it when things are tight, because that's the way I've always played baseball, was in those exciting moments. So, it felt really good tonight."
The Lake Monsters blew things open in the top of the 14th, however, scoring six times on five hits and two walks to make the score 8-2.
Cowan, making his sixth start of the season, went five innings, striking out four, walking two and scattering six hits for one earned run.
"I felt okay tonight," Cowan said. "I struggled with my control a little bit in that one inning, there were some runners on base, but I battled through it and was able to get out of it. I was mixing it up pretty good, and the changeup was working well for me; it was cutting down pretty well, so they were getting the top half of the ball, and I was able to get some ground balls in important spots. I was a little bit stronger than in my last start."
Alex Schmarzo came out of the Aberdeen bullpen in the sixth and tossed two innings of perfect relief, striking out two of the six batters he faced.