AUBURN - One thing is clear - hitting the long ball has not been a problem for the Auburn Doubledays this season. Before Monday's game, they had 28 of them - nearly double the amount they had this time last year.

The problem has been hitting those big home runs when they were behind. In 17 losses this season, 10 of them have been by three runs or less and in only four of those games have the Doubledays hit a home run.

So it was a nice change on Monday, when down by four runs, left fielder Ben Zeskind capped off a five-run rally in the sixth inning with a two-run homer that sealed the 7-6 win over Jamestown at Falcon Park.

“It felt good, especially when I had a tough time early on in the game,” Zeskind said. “I just tried to have a good at-bat and help the team, especially that late in the game. It turned out that I got a good pitch to hit and I hit it.”

With a seven-game hitting streak, Zeskind has been getting a lot of good looks lately. The stretch matches the leadoff hitter's longest of last season, which occurred in late August.

“It feels good,” said Zeskind, who was unaware of the hit streak. “But it's a marathon, not a sprint. I'm just trying to pace myself and get better. That's the reason why we're here is to get better. I've been working hard and trying to get as good as I can.”

A Doubledays infield error in the second, fourth and sixth innings prodded two Jammers runs each time.

Leadoff hitter Ryan Curry led with three hits and two runs by the top of the sixth. But when Javier Nieves entered the game in the middle of the sixth and Cody Crowell relieved him in the eighth, there was just one Jamestown hit and three walks and no player got in scoring position. Nieves got his third win and Crowell, his second save.

Second baseman Darin Mastroianni paced the Doubledays offense early when he got his first home run of the season, a two-run shot to tie the score in the bottom of the second. Jammers starter Hector Correa, who entered the game with 26 strikeouts and six walks, fanned the first five Auburn batters and seven in the first three innings.

He finished the game walking one, striking out 10 and scattering nine hits in 5 2-3 innings.

“It didn't look good early, their starting pitcher was throwing very well,” Auburn manager Dennis Holmberg said. “He was throwing a heck of a ballgame until Carlos Vasquez's hit. That was a gem, the really big hit that got him out of the ballgame and helped bring us back.”

Vasquez's two-run triple in the sixth that scored Mastroianni pushed Jammers manager Darin Everson to substitute Carlos Faria on the mound.

Faria earned his first blown save and his third loss of the season after lasting only the remainder of the inning. Auburn third baseman Wes Stone, who went 3-for-3 with a double, brought Vasquez in to pull Auburn within one before Zeskind's fourth blast of the year eventually turned in the win. After splitting their second straight six game road series, the big win was more than welcomed.

“It's pretty big,” Zeskind said. “Our lead (in the division) isn't that big right now, so every game that we win is big, especially in this fashion. (Jamestown) got off to a quick lead and we were able to battle back, especially since I don't know if we even played that well. We just battled at the end and found a way to win.”

The Doubledays, who have a 12-7 record in Falcon Park, are glad to be home for six straight games.

“We play pretty well here,” Holmberg said. “We play well at home, but every ballclub should. If you don't play well at home, it's tough to play better on the road. We've got some nice wins here, when things looked their darkest after about five innings, we started to square some balls up and get some big hits. A two run triple and a two run home run - those are tough hits to slip away from.”

With a 3.5 game lead in the Pinckney Division, Auburn (23-17) hosts Jamestown today.

D-days Today

Record: 23-17

Standings: First place, 3.5-game lead

Streak: 1 win

Next: vs. Jamestown, today, 7 p.m.