Streaking Doubledays win third straight

Thanks to a solid starting outing from Colin Bates and an offensive surge, the Auburn Doubledays won their third straight game and improved to 4-0 on the road.
Led offensively by a three-hit performance by Hendry Jimenez, the Doubledays blew out the State College Spikes, 9-0 at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Tuesday night.
For the fourth time this year, the Doubledays were the first to score as they plated two runs in the top of the first. An RBI groundout by Adrian Nieto scored Seth Bynum from first and a fielding error by Spikes’ third-baseman Brian Sharp one batter later allowed Hendry Jimenez to scamper home and put the Doubledays up 2-0. Auburn would add another in the top of the second.
After Roberto Perez singled to right with one out in the second, Connor Rowe doubled to deep center to put two men in scoring position for rehabbing Seth Bynum. A base hit to left off the bat of Bynum gave Auburn a 3-0 lead and took the State College crowd out of the ballgame. Auburn added another on an RBI single by Perez in the third, and the Doubledays led 4-0 through three.
Meanwhile, RHP Colin Bates, in his second appearance of the year, was phenomenal. Bates pitched five innings for the Doubledays and allowed just one baserunner, a second inning leadoff single by Derek Trent. He walked none and struck out four en route to his first win of the season.
Auburn added three more runs in the sixth inning, keyed by an RBI double by Connor Rowe and an RBI single by Nieto. In the eighth, the Doubledays took advantage of two walks and a hit-batsman as Russell Moldenhauer singled in a run with the bases loaded, putting Auburn up 8-0. A ninth run was added in the ninth when Hendry Jimenez singled in Connor Rowe, bringing the score to its final tally, 9-0.
Aside from Bates, the Auburn pen got two innings a piece from Chad Jenkins and Manny Rodriguez who pitched very effectively in the three-hit shutout.
With the win, the Doubledays have won their first two series of the year for the first time since 2008. They will go for the three game sweep of State College tomorrow night in a 7:05pm first pitch at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The audio play-by-play of tomorrow night’s game can be heard live at www.auburndoubledays.com, with John Miller delivering the play-by-play.
The Doubledays return home this Thursday, when they take on the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in a 7:05pm game at Falcon Park. Thursday is the first of many “Dollar Thursdays” at Falcon Park this year, where fans can purchase a 12 oz. beer, 12 oz. soda, hot dog, and peanuts for only $1 each. It is also “American Gladiators Night” as fans are invited to dress up in their best American Gladiators attire. For tickets, call the ticket office at (315) 255-2489 or purchase tickets online at www.auburndoubledays.com.