Staying Hot! Sizzling Doubledays Bats Secure 10-8 Win Over Muckdogs

AUBURN, NY - The hot summer weather definitely did it's job in keeping both the Doubledays and Muckdogs loose during Sunday's Father's Day matchup at Falcon Park. In an offensive tug-of-war between both teams, the Doubledays came away victorious after a pulse-pounding four-run eighth inning to secure the 10-8 lead.
"We were down several times and fought back with big innings and quality at bats, the guys never gave up," said Doubledays manager Jerad Head. " The defense was much better today and we had some guys at the end to pick us up on the mound."
While the final score might not show it, the first three innings of the ballgame were a shootout between Auburn lefty Nelson Galendez and Muckdog southpaw Dakota Bennett. Galendez surrendered only one hit over his first three innings while striking out three and issuing one walk. The Doubledays were able to put three men on base during that span but stranded them all.
Ricardo Cespedes delivered Batavia's first blow of the game after barrelling up on a single to right field to score runners from second and third. Following a single to Matt Brooks and a walk to Harrison White, Galendez balked in a Batavia run before striking out Demetrius Sims to end the inning.
The Doubledays were able to get a run back on the board in the bottom of the inning thanks to a sacrifice fly from catcher Israel Pineda, but it was quickly erased in the top of the fifth after Denis Karas hit a sharp double to bring in Sean Reynolds.
Jose Sanchez kicked off the bottom of the fifth with his first double of the season, and Juan Pascal quickly followed suit with a single to put runners at the corners with no outs. After seeing just one pitch, left fielder Jacob Rhinesmith singled in Sanchez, and designated hitter Telmito Agustin kept the ball rolling with a sacrifice fly to score Pascal.
It was then Jamori Blash--who came up big last night with a pinch-hit double--who added a security run with a thundering home run over the right field wall for the Doubledays' first lead of the game, 5-4.
"Blash had a big game tonight," Head said. "He's really starting to execute what he's been working on and putting all his time into this spring."
But even for how sunny it at Falcon Park, shades of last season began to creep in. Batavia came right back with three runs in the sixth, and another in the seventh. For a moment it seemed as if the Doubledays were to lose yet another winnable game as they did so often last year.
But this year's squad had no such plans to follow in the footsteps of season's past. The Doubledays put up a run in the seventh and then exploded for four runs in the eighth. Agustin, who hit his first home run the previous night, knocked in the go-ahead RBI with a two-run double to give the Doubledays their final 10-8 score.

 
But for all of the Doubledays' offensive dominance, Batavia's Brooks - an Auburn, NY native- stole the show, going 4-for-5 with an RBI in his first start of the season. Despite being an absolute nightmare in the batter's box for the Doubledays, Brooks was still met with thunderous applause from his home community.
The Doubledays will now hit the road for the first time this year for a six-game road trip and will make their return to Falcon Park on June 24 against West Virginia.