Auburn Slugs Its Way to Victory in Season Finale

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AUBURN, NY -- The Auburn Doubledays, Short Season Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, defeated the Batavia Muckdogs, Short Season Class A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, 9-5 on Thursday evening. Auburn and Batavia split the season series at five games apiece.
Batavia (30-45) opened the scoring early with two runs in the top of the first. Matt Brooks walked to start the frame and promptly came home to score when the very next batter, Brayan Hernandez, tripled to centerfield. Tyler Curtis then drove home Hernandez with a groundout to second to complete the scoring in the inning.
Auburn (30-45) tied it right back up in the second on a two-run home run by Armond Upshaw. It was the 21-year-old's first home run of the season. The Doubledays continued their power surge with a two-run home run from Chance Shepard to take a 4-2 lead in the third inning. Shepard finished the season with seven home runs.
Batavia briefly cut the lead down to one with a run in the top of the fourth, but Auburn put the game out of reach with four runs in the bottom half of the fourth. Four hits coupled with a walk, two errors, and a sacrifice fly brought home the four runs. Jonathan Pryor had an RBI triple in the frame, while Shepard contributed an RBI double.
The Muckdogs crept closer with two runs in the top of the eighth. Bubba Hollins was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and the next batter, Jared Barnes, promptly cracked a two-run home run to left field to make it an 8-5 game. The Doubledays responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the eighth to up the lead to 9-5. Auburn had a hit from every batter in its starting lineup tonight. Jake Cousins pitched a scoreless ninth to end Auburn's season with a victory.