Skole Delivers Walk-Off in Extras; Doubledays Pull Off Sweep

In game one of Thursday night's doubleheader at Falcon Park, the Doubledays not only provided two innings of free baseball, but they walked off on an RBI hit by Matt Skole, giving Auburn a come-from-behind 6-5 win. Game two saw Auburn lead from the start in a 6-3 win in front of 2,059 fans at Falcon Park.

In game one, the Doubledays used a comeback late in the contest to pick up the win.

Trailing 4-0 heading to the bottom of the fifth, the Doubledays didn’t panic. With two outs and nobody on, Auburn turned a single by Angelberth Montilla and a fielding error by Tigers third baseman Jason King into two runs on a two-run triple by Billy Burns.

But the Tigers added a run in the top of the seventh, and the Doubledays went into their last at bat trailing by three runs.
Against Brennan Smith, the Connecticut starter, Auburn got the first two men on base on walks and then drove in a run on a base-hit by Angelberth Montilla. The Tigers made a call to the bullpen and brought in Melvin Mercedes who walked Jeremy Mayo and gave up RBI singles to Billy Burns and Caleb Ramsey, tying the game at five.

In the eighth, Auburn loaded the bases with one out courtesy of two walks and a hit-batsman but failed to score, leaving the bases loaded.

But the ninth inning would be different.

With the bases clear and two outs, Bryce Ortega doubled down the left-field line, putting the winning run in scoring position for Matt Skole. Unlike the eighth, when the Doubledays failed to come through with a clutch hit, Matt Skole delievered. A line drive down the right-field line plated Ortega from second and gave the Doubledays their fifth straight win.

Game two saw Auburn grab the early lead, scoring all six runs in the first three innings while drawing seven walks in that span. Of the seven walks, three turned into runs.

The Doubledays managed only six hits in the nightcap, with RBI hits belonging to Carlos Alvarez, Justin Miller, and Caleb Ramsey. But the Doubledays didn’t need much offense behind their pitching.

Christian Meza worked four innings, giving up five hits, and Travis Henke and Aaron Barrett combined to throw three scoreless innings, scattering two hits. Henke picked up the win, his third of the year while Barrett notched his fourth save.

With the sweep of the doubleheader, the Doubledays put themselves in a tie for first-place with Mahoning Valley, who defeated Staten Island on Thursday night.

Auburn heads to Mahoning Valley tomorrow and will play four straight games against the Scrappers, the first two on the road before two at Falcon Park on Sunday and Monday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm Friday night at Eastwood Field in Niles, OH. Fans are invited to tune into 89.1 FM in Auburn or at www.auburndoubledays.com to listen to the ‘Voice of the Doubledays,’ John Miller, deliver the live play-by-play.