BATAVIA - They were two teams heading in opposite directions. At 43-14, the Auburn Doubledays were sitting on the best record in baseball, their Pinckney Division title within their sights. Then there were the Batavia Muckdogs, losers of 11 straight, and challenging the Jamestown Jammers for last place in the division.
A piece of cake for Auburn, right? Not exactly.
Batavia's pitching all but silenced the Auburn bats (which had scored 30 runs in the previous three games) in a 3-2 victory for the Muckdogs at Dwyer Stadium on Saturday.
"I think that other teams elevate their game when they play against us," said Auburn manager Dennis Holmberg, whose career win total as a manager remained at 999. "They had good starting pitching and they showed that nobody's a pushover."
Batavia starter, Derek Griffith, came in with a 1-6 record and an ERA of 5.00. Although he didn't get the decision, he threw an effective six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits while striking out five.
The Doubledays got on the scoreboard first in the second when Curtis Thigpen led off with a walk and Jarad Mangioni doubled to center. Thigpen was content to stop at third, but centerfielder Sean Gamble had trouble fielding the ball, allowing Thigpen to score for a 1-0 lead.
Auburn added one more in the third when Griffith hit Eric Nielsen with the bases loaded, bringing Aaron Mathews plateward. That was all Auburn would get, however, as Mangioni grounded into an inning-ending double play.
The Muckdogs tied it in the fourth. Greg Isaacson singled in Nick Shimer to start the rally. Isaacson later scored on a Joe Dirnberger double, making it 2-2.
A Kevin Hardy sac fly in the seventh gave Batavia a 3-2 lead.
Auburn squandered scoring opportunities in the fifth, eighth and ninth innings.
Ryan Klosterman led off the fifth with a single. A balk and a wild pitch put him on third, but his teammates could not bring him home.
A single, an error and a two-out walk loaded the bases in the eighth, but Vinny Esposito, swinging on the first pitch, popped the ball straight up for catcher Jason Jaramillo, ending the threat.
The Doubledays made one last try in the ninth, when Mathews hit a two-out triple to right-center, but Thigpen struck out to end the game.
"We were a little anxious and impatient at the plate today," Holmberg said. "But we were coming off a very emotional series with Mahoning Valley. There's never an excuse for losing, but we did expend a lot of energy over the last three games."
Staff writer Matt Becker can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 258 or citizensports@lee.net
DOUBLEDAYS BOX
Saturday's Game
Muckdogs 3, Doubledays 2
AUBURN BATAVIA
ab r h bi ab r h bi
Klosterman ss 5 0 1 0 Gamble cf 3 1 2 0
Mathews cf 5 1 2 0 Hardy ss 3 0 0 1
Hall 2b 4 0 2 0 Jrmillo c 2 0 0 0
Thigpen c 4 1 1 0 Frith rf 4 0 0 0
Nielsen lf-rf 3 0 0 1 Orr dh 4 0 1 0
Mangioni rf 3 0 1 0 Shimer lf 4 1 1 0
Lind ph-lf 1 0 0 0 Isaacsn 2b 3 1 2 1
Mtrpls 1b 2 0 0 0 Drnbrgr 3b 4 0 1 1
Cannon ph-1b 0 0 0 0 Buffone 1b 2 0 0 0
Armstrong 3b 3 0 0 0
Esposito ph-3b 1 0 0 0
Corrente c 3 0 0 0
Totals 34 2 7 1 29 3 7 3
Auburn 011 000 000 -- 2
Batavia 000 200 10x -- 3
E - Gamble, Dirnberger. DP - Auburn 1, Batavia 1. LOB - Auburn 11, Batavia 8. 2B - Mangioni; Gamble, Shimer, Dirnberger. 3B - Mathews; Gamble. SF - Hardy.
IP H R ER BB SO
Auburn
Jackson 3 1-3 5 2 2 1 2
McLaughlin 2 2-3 1 0 0 2 3
Rodriguez L,40-2 1 1 1 1 1 1
Yates 1 0 0 0 1 0
Batavia
Griffith 6 5 2 1 2 5
Rose W,5-2 3 2 0 0 3 3
WP - McLaughlin, Griffith. HBP - by Griffith. BK - Griffith.
U - Michael Weinstein (home), Arthur Thigpen (field).
T - 2:39. A - 780.
Batavia's pitching all but silenced the Auburn bats (which had scored 30 runs in the previous three games) in a 3-2 victory for the Muckdogs at Dwyer Stadium on Saturday.
"I think that other teams elevate their game when they play against us," said Auburn manager Dennis Holmberg, whose career win total as a manager remained at 999. "They had good starting pitching and they showed that nobody's a pushover."
Batavia starter, Derek Griffith, came in with a 1-6 record and an ERA of 5.00. Although he didn't get the decision, he threw an effective six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits while striking out five.
The Doubledays got on the scoreboard first in the second when Curtis Thigpen led off with a walk and Jarad Mangioni doubled to center. Thigpen was content to stop at third, but centerfielder Sean Gamble had trouble fielding the ball, allowing Thigpen to score for a 1-0 lead.
Auburn added one more in the third when Griffith hit Eric Nielsen with the bases loaded, bringing Aaron Mathews plateward. That was all Auburn would get, however, as Mangioni grounded into an inning-ending double play.
The Muckdogs tied it in the fourth. Greg Isaacson singled in Nick Shimer to start the rally. Isaacson later scored on a Joe Dirnberger double, making it 2-2.
A Kevin Hardy sac fly in the seventh gave Batavia a 3-2 lead.
Auburn squandered scoring opportunities in the fifth, eighth and ninth innings.
Ryan Klosterman led off the fifth with a single. A balk and a wild pitch put him on third, but his teammates could not bring him home.
A single, an error and a two-out walk loaded the bases in the eighth, but Vinny Esposito, swinging on the first pitch, popped the ball straight up for catcher Jason Jaramillo, ending the threat.
The Doubledays made one last try in the ninth, when Mathews hit a two-out triple to right-center, but Thigpen struck out to end the game.
"We were a little anxious and impatient at the plate today," Holmberg said. "But we were coming off a very emotional series with Mahoning Valley. There's never an excuse for losing, but we did expend a lot of energy over the last three games."
Staff writer Matt Becker can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 258 or citizensports@lee.net
DOUBLEDAYS BOX
Saturday's Game
Muckdogs 3, Doubledays 2
AUBURN BATAVIA
ab r h bi ab r h bi
Klosterman ss 5 0 1 0 Gamble cf 3 1 2 0
Mathews cf 5 1 2 0 Hardy ss 3 0 0 1
Hall 2b 4 0 2 0 Jrmillo c 2 0 0 0
Thigpen c 4 1 1 0 Frith rf 4 0 0 0
Nielsen lf-rf 3 0 0 1 Orr dh 4 0 1 0
Mangioni rf 3 0 1 0 Shimer lf 4 1 1 0
Lind ph-lf 1 0 0 0 Isaacsn 2b 3 1 2 1
Mtrpls 1b 2 0 0 0 Drnbrgr 3b 4 0 1 1
Cannon ph-1b 0 0 0 0 Buffone 1b 2 0 0 0
Armstrong 3b 3 0 0 0
Esposito ph-3b 1 0 0 0
Corrente c 3 0 0 0
Totals 34 2 7 1 29 3 7 3
Auburn 011 000 000 -- 2
Batavia 000 200 10x -- 3
E - Gamble, Dirnberger. DP - Auburn 1, Batavia 1. LOB - Auburn 11, Batavia 8. 2B - Mangioni; Gamble, Shimer, Dirnberger. 3B - Mathews; Gamble. SF - Hardy.
IP H R ER BB SO
Auburn
Jackson 3 1-3 5 2 2 1 2
McLaughlin 2 2-3 1 0 0 2 3
Rodriguez L,40-2 1 1 1 1 1 1
Yates 1 0 0 0 1 0
Batavia
Griffith 6 5 2 1 2 5
Rose W,5-2 3 2 0 0 3 3
WP - McLaughlin, Griffith. HBP - by Griffith. BK - Griffith.
U - Michael Weinstein (home), Arthur Thigpen (field).
T - 2:39. A - 780.
