AUBURN, NY - After a disappointing Game 1 loss, the Doubledays (33-25) came back in style for a Game 2 victory over Batavia (26-32). Auburn walked it off in the eighth inning to split their doubleheader against the Muckdogs and retain sole possession of first place in the Pinckney division.
AUBURN, NY - After a disappointing Game 1 loss, the Doubledays (33-25) came back in style for a Game 2 victory over Batavia (26-32). Auburn walked it off in the eighth inning to split their doubleheader against the Muckdogs and retain sole possession of first place in the Pinckney division.
Doubledays starter Francys Peguero dominated on the mound to start off the night. He settled down excellently after back-to-back starts with three earned runs, tossing a five-inning gem without allowing the Muckdogs to score. His scoreless start was his best since June 25 when he blanked the West Virginia Black Bears over five frames.
The Doubledays were able to tack an early run on Batavia starter Peyton Culbertson but did very little offensively after the fact. Auburn stranded runners in each of the next two innings after Kyle Marinconz recorded the first run of the game by swiping home on a double steal in the second inning.
Jameson McGrane took over for Culbertson in the fourth and continued to deal. The six-foot-four righty threw two innings of shutout ball and picked up his first win of the season after the Muckdogs offense exploded with a four-run sixth inning off of Colin Morse.
Morse was tagged with a blown save after entering in the sixth inning of the 1-0 contest. Slugging first baseman Sean Reynolds continued his power tear throughout the league, connecting with his 12th home run of the season to put Batavia on top, 2-1. Communication between Morse and catcher Adalberto Carrillo was also an issue, as three wild pitches inadvertently ended up in two runs being scored.
While Morse rebounded in the ninth inning, the Doubledays were blanked in the home half and dropped the first game, 4-1.
Game 2 featured more or less the same storyline, with starters Angel Guillen and Bryce Howe exchanging scoreless frames to open up Game 2. With five combined hits and very little offensive action by both teams, the Doubledays threatened to score for the first time in the fifth inning after Cody Wilson hit a two-out single to keep the inning going. A Jacob Rhinesmith single almost assured runners at the corners for Israel Pineda the next at-bat, but Wilson was caught in a pickle after making too big a turn around 3rd to end the inning.
The Muckdogs ended up breaking the stalemate on a towering home run by Michael Donadio in the seventh. But behind 2-0, the Doubledays bats finally came alive.
With two speedsters on base in Carson Shaddy and Justin Connell, a single right up the middle by Jose Sanchez evened the score back up at 2-2 in the bottom half of the seventh. Though the rally would end there, it was enough to force extras and give Auburn some momentary momentum going forward.
Both the Doubledays and Batavia benefited from their placed runner at second base scoring in the eighth inning, but only Auburn was able to tack on something extra to win the game. Tied up at 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth, the Doubledays quickly loaded the bases with no outs. Justin Connell took ball four to walk it off for the Doubledays after pitcher Tyler Mitzel tossed his eighth straight ball.
The Doubledays will be back in action Saturday at 6:30PM against the Muckdogs, where all general admission seating is just $1. Family 4-pack is also available where families can get 4 GA tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 popcorns and 4 fountain drinks for only $44. Any additional person is only $11 more.
