AUBURN - Thursday night's game at Falcon Park left many Auburn Doubledays shaking their heads. Not because of the game's outcome, but because nobody can explain the late-inning rallies that have almost become routine.
Glenn Gaston / Special to The Citizen
Auburn's Cory Patton makes contact with a pitch during Thursday evening's game.
Auburn's Cory Patton makes contact with a pitch during Thursday evening's game.
Auburn came from behind once again, posting six runs in the eighth inning, to defeat the Jamestown Jammers 7-1 and extend their Pinckney Division lead to four games after Mahoning Valley's 18-4 loss to Batavia.
With the score tied 1-1 in the eighth, Joey Metropoulos drove in the go-ahead runs with a double ripped down the third-base line.
"I don't know how many times Joey Metropoulos has come up huge," Doubledays' manager Dennis Holmberg said.
"If a guy gets hurt for the (New York-Penn League All-Star game) next week, we should send Metro down to fill in."
Although the Auburn offense was held in check for a bulk of the game, Metropoulos' double sparked the rest of the bats. Brian Bormaster delivered a two-run single and recently-promoted shortstop, Chris Gutierrez, drove in his first run as a Doubleday with a double later in the eighth. Sean Shoffit also had an RBI single in the inning.
Metropoulos could not explain the late-inning power surge, but he knows why a different player comes through at the plate each game.
"We have confidence in all guys; one through nine," he said. "We have confidence that a guy will come up and get that run in, no matter what the situation. Everybody, not just one or two guys, can come through with that big base hit."
Auburn starter Kristian Bell kept the Doubledays close for seven innings, allowing only one unearned run and three hits. Bell has dazzled lately, not allowing an earned run and only seven hits in his last two outings.
Bell looked a bit shaky in the first inning though. After walking two straight, Doubledays' pitching coach Tom Signore paid a visit to the mound to try and calm Bell down.
"My heart was pumping," Bell said. "My emotions got the best of me early. After the visit I calmed down and continued with my game."
Bell regained command of his fastball and retired the next five batters after the visit.
Bell's impressive start could not earn him the win though, as Auburn's bats didn't heat up until after he left the game and the score tied. Reliever Josh Sowers (2-0) pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth to preserve the Auburn win. Despite the no decision, Bell was in no way discouraged.
"That's my job, to keep the team in the ballgame," Bell said. "Whether I get a win at all, it doesn't matter. It only matters that we win."
Jamestown's Landon Brazell pitched nearly as well as his counterpart. Brazell surrendered one run and gave up only four hits. It was after Brazell was pulled that the Auburn offense started piling up hits.
Jammers' reliever Travis Talbott entered in the seventh inning and immediately served up a game-tying RBI double to Brian Pettway, a run that was charged to Brazell.
"Early on, things just weren't happening for us," Holmberg said. "We hit some hard balls that were caught, (Nick) Thomas hit a hard ball up the middle that was turned into a double play. It had a look like it was just one of those nights where things weren't going our way. Everything changed when they brought in the lefty to face Pettway."
Talbott immediately got Jermy Acey to fly out in the eighth but after Acey, Talbott imploded on the mound. Cory Patton singled to right, then Ryan Patterson and Thomas had back-to-back walks to set the stage for Metropoulos.
"Whenever you see a new (pitcher) it doesn't take long to get a feel," Metropoulos said of facing Talbott. "Their starter pitched well. He mixed the pitches in and out, we hit a few balls hard, but nothing worked out. They brought in (Talbott), we had one big hit and everything changed."
Holmberg was pleased with his team's effort and with the direction his team is heading.
"It was a good team effort," he said. "We played good defense, Shoffit made some nice plays, Gutierrez made some plays. We combined a few ingredients in terms of pitching, fielding and clutch hitting and that usually equals success."
D-days
Today
Record: 33-24
Next Game: Vs. Jamestown, today at 7
With the score tied 1-1 in the eighth, Joey Metropoulos drove in the go-ahead runs with a double ripped down the third-base line.
"I don't know how many times Joey Metropoulos has come up huge," Doubledays' manager Dennis Holmberg said.
"If a guy gets hurt for the (New York-Penn League All-Star game) next week, we should send Metro down to fill in."
Although the Auburn offense was held in check for a bulk of the game, Metropoulos' double sparked the rest of the bats. Brian Bormaster delivered a two-run single and recently-promoted shortstop, Chris Gutierrez, drove in his first run as a Doubleday with a double later in the eighth. Sean Shoffit also had an RBI single in the inning.
Metropoulos could not explain the late-inning power surge, but he knows why a different player comes through at the plate each game.
"We have confidence in all guys; one through nine," he said. "We have confidence that a guy will come up and get that run in, no matter what the situation. Everybody, not just one or two guys, can come through with that big base hit."
Auburn starter Kristian Bell kept the Doubledays close for seven innings, allowing only one unearned run and three hits. Bell has dazzled lately, not allowing an earned run and only seven hits in his last two outings.
Bell looked a bit shaky in the first inning though. After walking two straight, Doubledays' pitching coach Tom Signore paid a visit to the mound to try and calm Bell down.
"My heart was pumping," Bell said. "My emotions got the best of me early. After the visit I calmed down and continued with my game."
Bell regained command of his fastball and retired the next five batters after the visit.
Bell's impressive start could not earn him the win though, as Auburn's bats didn't heat up until after he left the game and the score tied. Reliever Josh Sowers (2-0) pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth to preserve the Auburn win. Despite the no decision, Bell was in no way discouraged.
"That's my job, to keep the team in the ballgame," Bell said. "Whether I get a win at all, it doesn't matter. It only matters that we win."
Jamestown's Landon Brazell pitched nearly as well as his counterpart. Brazell surrendered one run and gave up only four hits. It was after Brazell was pulled that the Auburn offense started piling up hits.
Jammers' reliever Travis Talbott entered in the seventh inning and immediately served up a game-tying RBI double to Brian Pettway, a run that was charged to Brazell.
"Early on, things just weren't happening for us," Holmberg said. "We hit some hard balls that were caught, (Nick) Thomas hit a hard ball up the middle that was turned into a double play. It had a look like it was just one of those nights where things weren't going our way. Everything changed when they brought in the lefty to face Pettway."
Talbott immediately got Jermy Acey to fly out in the eighth but after Acey, Talbott imploded on the mound. Cory Patton singled to right, then Ryan Patterson and Thomas had back-to-back walks to set the stage for Metropoulos.
"Whenever you see a new (pitcher) it doesn't take long to get a feel," Metropoulos said of facing Talbott. "Their starter pitched well. He mixed the pitches in and out, we hit a few balls hard, but nothing worked out. They brought in (Talbott), we had one big hit and everything changed."
Holmberg was pleased with his team's effort and with the direction his team is heading.
"It was a good team effort," he said. "We played good defense, Shoffit made some nice plays, Gutierrez made some plays. We combined a few ingredients in terms of pitching, fielding and clutch hitting and that usually equals success."
D-days
Today
Record: 33-24
Next Game: Vs. Jamestown, today at 7
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