Doubledays clinch Pinckney division with 9-7 win

WILLIAMSPORT, P.A. - The Auburn Doubledays (46-29) scored two runs in both the eighth and ninth innings on Tuesday, to come away with a 9-7 win over the Williamsport Crosscutters (29-46) at Historic Bowman Field. The win clinches the Pinckney division title for the Doubledays for the second straight year, and it is the eighth time Auburn has won the Pinckney division since 2002.

The game on Tuesday was a back-and-forth affair, with two ties and four lead changes. The Doubledays were down 7-5 heading into the eighth. Right Fielder Brandon Miller led off the eighth by hitting a line drive off the glove of 3B Mitch Walding, which caused the ball to trickle into left field allowing Miller to end up with a double. Two batters later DH Craig Manuel walked, and Narciso Mesa came in for him to pinch run. Catcher Spencer Kieboom drove both Miller and Mesa home with a line drive single to center field, tying the ball game at 7-7.

Auburn also got the leadoff batter aboard in the ninth. Second baseman Tony Renda began the inning by lining a single up the middle. Two batters later LF Estarlin Martinez singled to center field as well, putting runners on the corners with one out. Miller then drove home Renda with an infield single to third. Martinez was driven in on a sacrifice fly by Mesa, providing the Doubledays with their winning margin.

Williamsport posted four runs in the bottom of the seventh to take the 7-5 advantage. The Crosscutters batted around in the frame, taking advantage of two Auburn errors. The first error was a missed catch by Martinez, and led to a string of four consecutive hits for Williamsport. The biggest of the hits was the last, a two-run double by RF Cameron Perkins that put the Crosscutters ahead by two.

The Doubledays had their biggest offensive output in the fourth. Manuel was hit by a pitch to begin the frame, but that was followed by a strike out and a fly out. Then, 3B Mike McQuillan came through with an RBI double to left. McQuillan's double was followed by a double by Renda, and Renda scored on a single from 1B Shawn Pleffner to put Auburn ahead 5-3.

Each team put up two runs in the first. For the Doubledays it was McQuillan and Renda who scored on a one-out single by Martinez. The Crosscutters countered with an RBI double from CF Jiandido Tromp. Tromp also scored on a groundout to short by Perkins. Williamsport went ahead 3-2 in the third thanks to an RBI single from 1B Chris Seritella.

In the end it was RHP Travis Henke (7-1) who came away with a blown save and the win for Auburn. Henke pitched 2.2 innings and allowed one earned run on two hits, walking one and striking out two. LHP Blake Monar started for the Doubledays and went three innings, giving up three earned runs on four hits while walking two and striking out three. RHP Geoff Broussard (2-1) suffered the loss and blown save for Williamsport. He went 1.1 innings and surrendered two earned runs on five hits.

The Doubledays conclude the regular season against the Crosscutters on Wednesday September 5. Auburn will send RHP Ivan Pineyro (3-1) to the mound for his eighth start of the season. He will match up against RHP Jeb Stefan (1-4) for Williamsport. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm. All Doubledays road games can be heard on WAUB 98.1FM and 1590AM, and online at www.fingerlakesdailynews.com by clicking on the WAUB stream under the "listen" tab.