Fruit’s gem, two walkoffs carry IronBirds to five wins in six games over Dash

By: Michael Marcantonini

Powered by two shutout wins and back-to-back walkoff wins to end the series, the Aberdeen IronBirds won five out of six games over the Winston-Salem Dash this past week at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium. The IronBirds collected seven wins on their 12-game homestand and enter the final two weeks of the regular season just three games out of a playoff spot.

The IronBirds opened the series with two straight shutout wins, blanking the Dash 1-0 in Game 1 and 5-0 in Game 2. In the opener, Zach Fruit turned in the best outing of his career with six no-hit innings and four strikeouts on just 69 pitches, and two relievers finished the job. The Birds came right back with another dominant pitching performance. Levi Wells and Nestor German each tossed four scoreless innings with five strikeouts, and Hayden Nierman added two more strikeouts in the ninth inning. The three arms didn’t walk any batters, just the second time the Birds have done that this season, and Jake Cunningham powered the offense with two doubles and four RBI.

The IronBirds kept rolling with a 9-4 win in Game 3. The Birds scored seven runs in the first innings on five hits, including Jalen Vasquez’s two-run double, and five walks. Eight of the nine starters had at least one hit and one run, and six of the nine reached base safely at least two times. Winston-Salem bounced back with an 8-0 win in Game 4, which ended the Birds’ four-game winning streak.

Aberdeen and Winston-Salem battled hard in the final two games, which both ended in extra-inning, walkoff wins for the IronBirds. Aberdeen won 2-1 in 10 innings in Game 5, which featured a star-studded starting pitching matchup between Trey Gibson and the Dash’s Hagen Smith, who was making his professional debut. Smith grabbed all the headlines, but Gibson stole the show. Gibson tied a career-high with eight strikeouts, didn’t walk anyone, and allowed just one run in four innings. Evan Yates, making his professional debut for the Birds, followed with five strikeouts in two scoreless innings. Aron Estrada finished off the win with a walkoff sacrifice fly.

The IronBirds stayed hot in the series finale with a 7-6 win in 11 innings. The Birds erased four separate Dash leads in the game, and this is how they did it: Douglas Hodo III’s two-run home run in the second, Leandro Arias’ RBI double in the eighth, a wild pitch in the 10^th, and Aron Estrada’s RBI single in the 11^th. After Estrada tied it, Thomas Sosa flicked a single into left field to drive in the winning run, capping off the Birds’ eighth walkoff win of the season.

The IronBirds, who have won six of their last seven games, are on the road this week for a six-game series against the Wilmington Blue Rocks, before returning home next week. The IronBirds will take on the Jersey Shore BlueClaws for six games from Tuesday through Sunday, September 3-8, for their final homestand of the regular season. To purchase tickets and for more information on upcoming games and promotions, visit www.goironbirds.com. You can also view the IronBirds’ 2025 season schedule by clicking here.