Gunter's blast earns Doubledays the split

WILLIAMSPORT, PA - It was the 24th inning the Doubledays were playing in the past 24 hours. Cody Gunter figured he might as well put a stop to it.

Up 3-2 with two out in the top of the 8th inning of Game 2, Gunter launched a three-run homer over the right field fence at Susquehanna Bank Park at Historic Bowman Field, and the Doubledays held on for a 6-4 win and a twin bill split in front of 1,232 fans on Independence Day.

Gunter's home run was the exclamation point, but Auburn had rallied before he stepped to the plate. Tied 2-2 and playing an extra eighth in the seven-inning game, Clay Williamson and Diomedes Eusebio both reached on singles, and Jeff Gardner drew a walk to load the bases against Feliberto Sanchez (0-4) with one out. Bryan Langlois hit a sacrifice fly to right that brought in Williamson and put the Doubledays ahead for the first time in either game.

The Doubledays got their first two runs in the second. After Langlois and Gunter singled to lead off the frame, Adderling Ruiz was hit by a pitch, Christopher Riopedre hit into a fielder's choice to score Langlois, and Osvaldo Abreu's groundout to third brought home Gunter.

That tied the game at 2; Williamsport's Jiandido Tromp hit a two-run home run off Doubledays starter James Bourque in the top of the first. Other than that early blemish, Bourque was fantastic. Following the Tromp homer, Bourque retired 11 of the next 13 to face him, and finished his four innings scattering five hits and just the two runs without walking a batter. He struck out three. Mario Sanchez earned the win with three shutout innings in relief.

Travis Ott (0-1) pitched the first game for the Doubledays and was excellent, allowing just four hits and two runs while walking one and fanning five over five innings. His only hiccup came in the fourth, when the Crosscutters scored on a walk, a sac bunt that turned into an error on catcher Raudy Read (who hit baserunner Aaron Brown in the back with his throw), a sacrifice fly and an infield single.

That was enough to drop Game 1 for the Doubledays. Cutters pitcher and former Phillies 1st-round pick Mitch Gueller threw a complete game four-hit shutout, the first in the New York-Penn League in 2014, and Williamsport topped Auburn 2-0.

The Doubledays and Crosscutters play a regularly-scheduled nine-inning game on Saturday night at Susquehanna Bank Park at Historic Bowman Field. LHP Connor Bach (0-0, 18.00) toes the rubber for Auburn against Williamsport RHP Alejandro Arteaga (1-1, 4.56). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05, and Doubledays Pregame gets fired up on 98.1 FM and 1590 AM WAUB at 6:50.