Wild Game Ends in Heartbreak

WAPPINGERS FALLS, NY (August 3, 2013) - There are simply no words to describe the bottom of the 10th inning of Saturday night's ballgame between the Renegades and Doubledays. With the winning run at third and one out, Auburn manager Gary Cathcart ordered pitcher Silvio Medina to intentionally walk the next two hitters to load the bases for Granden Goetzman. Cathcart then brought in center fielder Greg Zebrack to act as a fifth infielder, leaving just two outfielders while Zebrack stood in front of second base. Goetzman hit a sinking line drive into left center and Isaac Ballou slid to make the catch before throwing to Zebrack to complete the inning-ending double play with Julian Morillo caught off the base. The play deflated the Renegades and later allowed Cody Gunter to hit the game-winning RBI single in the top of the 13th for a 4-3 victory.

Auburn struck first against Chris Kirsch in the third inning after two straight one out singles by Ballou and Wilman Rodriguez. Jean Valdez' double down the left field line scored both runners and gave the Doubledays a 2-0 lead. With the score still 2-0 in the sixth, three straight singles starting at the top of the batting order brought up Valdez again. Another single made it 3-0 before Matt Foat grounded into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.

The Renegades got on the board in the sixth after being limited to just three hits through the first five innings. Ariel Soriano's leadoff single forced Ryan Ullmann to send a few pickoff attempts over to first before one got away, allowing Soriano to move to second. Two batters later, Oscar Hernandez' RBI double cut the deficit to 3-1. With two outs, Darryl George's line drive into center field got behind Zebrack, who tried diving to make the catch but could not get a piece of the ball. George's first triple of the season made it 3-2 but Goetzman flew out to left to end the inning.

In the seventh, James Harris hit a one out single into center and moved to second on a groundout to first by Julian Ridings. Soriano then tied the game with a single into left and got all the way to third on a high throw that sailed over home plate from Ballou. But Johnny Field struck out swinging to end the frame, and the score would remain tied at three to send it into extras.

Aside from that golden opportunity in the 10th, the Renegades had one more chance in the 12th against Medina. A four pitch walk to Soriano and a wild pitch put the winning run at second base with one out. Doubledays manager Gary Cathcart called for another intentional walk to Hernandez, and Medina's second wild pitch of the inning put runners at second and third. The erratic righty then struck out Morillo and George to send it to the 13th.

Auburn finished the job the following inning against Cory Jordan (1-2) following a one-out single by Valdez. Brenton Allen then came in as a pinch-runner and stole second base, setting the stage for Gunter to poke the game-winning RBI single off the end of his bat into right field on a 2-2 pitch. Medina (1-3) walked John Alexander with the Renegades down to their final three outs but retired the side to give the Doubledays the first two games of the series.

NOTES: The extremely rare double play to end the bottom of the 10th went from the left fielder Ballou to the center fielder Zebrack…Kirsch pitched six innings and did now allow a walk for the first time in his last five starts…Ty Young left the game for Morillo after taking a hard grounder into his midsection in the top of the 10th…Anthony Tzamtzis and Rick Teasley threw five scoreless innings out of the bullpen, with Teasley tossing a season-high four frames…Harris had his first three-hit game of the season.

The series concludes Sunday night at 5:05 PM as the Renegades look to avoid the sweep. Aaron Griffin (3-0, 2.66 ERA) will look to keep his perfect record intact against the Doubledays Jake Johansen (0-1, 0.99 ERA). Great seats are still available, so call 845-838-0094 or visit www.hvrenegades.com to purchase your tickets now.

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