Hickory Splits with Aberdeen on Saturday Night

Hickory, NC- The Hickory Crawdads split a pair of games at LP Frans Stadium on Saturday night, winning the opener 6-1 before falling to the IronBirds 2-1 in the nightcap.

In game one, Ian Moller put the Crawdads on the board in the second inning with his second home run of the season. The homer for the catcher from Iowa was part of a three run frame that saw Cam Cauley plate two runs with a double to left center field, stretching the Dads lead to 3-0.

In the sixth, the Crawdads would put game one away with a three-spot in the sixth inning, highlighted by a two-run single by Marcus Smith, to give Hickory the eventual 6-1 win.

DJ McCarty earned his second victory of the year with five steady frames, allowing one run on four hits, striking out seven Iron Birds.

Jacob Maton closed out the contest with two scoreless frames to claim his fourth save of 2024.

In game two, Theo Hardy drove home a run with a fourth inning sacrifice fly that gave the Crawdads a 1-0 lead going into the latter innings. Hardy added a hit in the sixth to complement his productive night at the plate.

In the end, Aberdeen would take the lead for good in the fifth, as the Iron Birds answered with a pair of runs off Hickory starter Kohl Drake to go up 2-1.

The bullpen combo of DJ Peters and Josh Mollerus were stellar this evening, striking out seven hitters over 2.2 innings, to keep Aberdeen off the board in the sixth and seventh.

Unfortunately for Hickory, the Aberdeen bullpen was equally water tight, preventing a Hickory baserunner from getting past second base in their final three times to bat.

The split of the doubleheader gives the Crawdads (22-19,50-57) an opportunity to clinch a series win tomorrow in the finale. Tomorrow's 2pm matinee will feature the final game of the weekend as the Hickory Dickory Docks. The Crawdads Pregame Show will air at 1:45pm on MiLB.TV, the Bally Live app and hickorycrawdads.com.