AUBURN - By the time many fans arrived at Falcon Park on Saturday, Auburn seemed in command against Williamsport in the second of a three-game homestand.
Jason Rearick / The Citizen
Doubledays' first baseman Manny Rodriguez digs the ball out of the dirt to get the Crosscutters' Freddy Galvis out at first during their game at Falcon Park Saturday evening.
Doubledays' first baseman Manny Rodriguez digs the ball out of the dirt to get the Crosscutters' Freddy Galvis out at first during their game at Falcon Park Saturday evening.
Weekend games this season will start at 6:05 p.m. instead of the usual first pitch an hour later. A number of fans could be heard remarking that they didn't know of the new time, and those late arrivals missed most of the Doubledays' scoring as Williamsport rallied in the eighth inning with four runs to down Auburn, 7-6, before 1,457 fans.
The loss was especially disappointing for Doubleday's reliever John Tritz who made his second appearance of the year. Tritz only pitched the eighth, and he gave up four runs - three of them earned - as the Crosscutters stunned the relatively sparse crowd by taking a 6-5 lead.
The visitors upped their lead to 7-5 in the top of the ninth before Auburn rallied in their half. The Doubledays scored one run with no outs but then an easy double play took away their momentum.
Auburn's impressive start began as Manny Rodriguez built on his .467 average in the second inning when he drove Bill Harris' first pitch over the right field wall for a 1-0 lead. The Doubledays then added three runs as Williamsport got sloppy with a walk, a passed ball and a balk. Scoring for Auburn to make it 4-0 were Baron Frost, Victor Santana, and Leance Soto.
That lead was narrowed to 4-2 in the top of the third when Williamsport scored two on a difficult play for Rodriguez after he fielded a grounder 20 feet from first and his throw to starting pitcher Luis Perez was too high to handle.
Auburn, though, added another run in their half of the third when catcher Caleb Magnum tried to pick off Victor Santana at first and Baron Frost was able to score from second.
From there, both teams found their defensive rhythm as only Williamsport showed even a hint of offense with a meager two hits over the next four innings. And neither of those were for extra bases.
Reliever Brett Cecil made an impressive debut for Auburn, The 20-year-old, who will turn of legal age on July 2, showed good control and threw hard as he gave up just one hit, and struck out four, in three innings. At the University of Maryland, Cecil was the Terps all-time leader in saves despite having played just two years.
The decisive eighth inning began with a walk from Tritz to D'Arby Myers. A fantastic bunt by Freddy Galvis, and then a sharp single from Domonic Brown, loaded the bases. Designated hitter Michael Taylor, a strapping six-foot-six 250 pounder from Stanford University, then rocketed a double in the left-center field gap to collect three RBIs. Taylor later scored himself on a passed ball.
In the Auburn ninth, Santana got a broken-bat single and third baseman Derrick Mitchell got the Crosscutter's fourth error of the game with a wild throw over first, a throw he should never have tried to make. Sota singled to left to score Mitchell, but pinch hitter J.P. Arencibia then swung on his first pitch and was easily thrown out at first to complete the double play.
The game ended with Luis Sanchez swinging on a third strike.
Auburn fell to 3-2 while the Crosscutters improved to 3-2. The two teams are now tied for second place in the Pinckney Division of the New York-Penn League. Mahoning Valley won 6-5 over Batavia to move into first place at 4-1.
The loss was especially disappointing for Doubleday's reliever John Tritz who made his second appearance of the year. Tritz only pitched the eighth, and he gave up four runs - three of them earned - as the Crosscutters stunned the relatively sparse crowd by taking a 6-5 lead.
The visitors upped their lead to 7-5 in the top of the ninth before Auburn rallied in their half. The Doubledays scored one run with no outs but then an easy double play took away their momentum.
Auburn's impressive start began as Manny Rodriguez built on his .467 average in the second inning when he drove Bill Harris' first pitch over the right field wall for a 1-0 lead. The Doubledays then added three runs as Williamsport got sloppy with a walk, a passed ball and a balk. Scoring for Auburn to make it 4-0 were Baron Frost, Victor Santana, and Leance Soto.
That lead was narrowed to 4-2 in the top of the third when Williamsport scored two on a difficult play for Rodriguez after he fielded a grounder 20 feet from first and his throw to starting pitcher Luis Perez was too high to handle.
Auburn, though, added another run in their half of the third when catcher Caleb Magnum tried to pick off Victor Santana at first and Baron Frost was able to score from second.
From there, both teams found their defensive rhythm as only Williamsport showed even a hint of offense with a meager two hits over the next four innings. And neither of those were for extra bases.
Reliever Brett Cecil made an impressive debut for Auburn, The 20-year-old, who will turn of legal age on July 2, showed good control and threw hard as he gave up just one hit, and struck out four, in three innings. At the University of Maryland, Cecil was the Terps all-time leader in saves despite having played just two years.
The decisive eighth inning began with a walk from Tritz to D'Arby Myers. A fantastic bunt by Freddy Galvis, and then a sharp single from Domonic Brown, loaded the bases. Designated hitter Michael Taylor, a strapping six-foot-six 250 pounder from Stanford University, then rocketed a double in the left-center field gap to collect three RBIs. Taylor later scored himself on a passed ball.
In the Auburn ninth, Santana got a broken-bat single and third baseman Derrick Mitchell got the Crosscutter's fourth error of the game with a wild throw over first, a throw he should never have tried to make. Sota singled to left to score Mitchell, but pinch hitter J.P. Arencibia then swung on his first pitch and was easily thrown out at first to complete the double play.
The game ended with Luis Sanchez swinging on a third strike.
Auburn fell to 3-2 while the Crosscutters improved to 3-2. The two teams are now tied for second place in the Pinckney Division of the New York-Penn League. Mahoning Valley won 6-5 over Batavia to move into first place at 4-1.
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