The Citizen
Chet Susslin / The Citizen
Shortstop Ryan Goins, right, reaches for a ground ball and is backed up by second baseman Jon Fernandez against the Crosscutters at Falcon Park Friday night.
Shortstop Ryan Goins, right, reaches for a ground ball and is backed up by second baseman Jon Fernandez against the Crosscutters at Falcon Park Friday night.
AUBURN - “You don't win ball games,” Auburn Doubledays manager Dennis Holmberg said. “You lose ball games.”
That's been the case for Holmberg's team for much of July, but of late, the Doubledays are losing far fewer contests.
While Thursday night's blowout win over the Williamsport Crosscutters had been somewhat of an offensive anomaly, Friday night's 3-2 victory over the former first-place team was a simple case of Auburn's pitching staff dominating.
The two-game sweep of the Crosscutters not only helped the Doubledays climb a little higher out of the Pinckney Division basement, it stretched their winning streak to five games.
After a nine-game stretch where they lost every night, the turnaround is remarkable.
“Needless to say, when you go through a span of losing eight, nine games, whatever it was, you're struggling and you almost forget how to win and you lose a little bit of your confidence,” Auburn pitcher Casey Beck said. “Hopefully, we've got a little bit of that back.”
The Doubledays have the right to walk around with a touch of swagger, after starter Dave Sever threw lights out for seven shutout innings to earn his third win of the season, lowering his season ERA to 2.75.
“He had been pitching really well,” Holmberg said. “I don't know if he had his best stuff tonight, but he threw seven innings of shutout ball. He was making some quick outs. He endured. He was getting very close to his pitch count going out into the seventh inning, but he felt that he had just enough fuel left in the tank.”
Sever gave up just two hits and a walk, while fanning seven batters as he broke his two-game losing streak. The righty leads the team in wins. Austin Armstrong relieved Sever in the eighth, but lasted just 2-3 of the inning after giving up a David Ross single and a first-pitch two-run home run to Carl Uhl to make the game uncomfortably close. Armstrong then struck out Michael Dobbs, but walked Jeremy Barnes before Holmberg pulled him in favor of the standout closer Beck.
“The home run obviously turned the game from a three-run lead to a one-run lead,” Holmberg said. “We had to pitch situationaly from then on.”
Beck struck out Sebastian Valle to get out of the mini-jam and then with two outs in the ninth, Stephen Batts belted a single to once again make the Doubledays sweat. But an Adam Buschini ground out to Jon Fernandez at second base completed the win streak.
“That was just me getting ahead and using my breaking ball,” Beck said. “I was just trying to stay ahead of the count and it worked for me.”
The save is Beck's fourth of the season.
“Casey has been doing a great job and we've been trying to get him better save situations, but the home run made it tough tonight,” Holmberg said. “He threw strikes and with two outs in the eighth, I liked the matchup of him versus Valle. He came in and he threw very well.”
For the third straight game, Auburn scored the brunt of its runs in one inning as they piled on three in the second. Joshua Zeid threw extremely well for Williamsport, lasting five innings and striking out seven, but he gave up five of Auburn's six hits - four in the second inning. Sean Ochinko kicked off the inning with a double, Yan Gomes followed with a single, before Brad Glenn and Lance Durham contributed back-to-back RBIs. Markus Brisker drove in the eventual winning run on a single with two outs. But the difference with the Doubledays as of late might have something to do with a player that didn't get a hit, though he made a highlight reel catch at shortstop in the sixth inning.
“With the addition of (Ryan) Goins to the club, offensively and defensively - maybe he's the lucky charm, maybe he's the rabbit's foot, maybe he's the shamrock,” Holmberg said.
“Baseball's funny, if the ball bounces one way, the umpiring goes one way, but it never stays that way for long. It's going to turn, it's going to switch and it's going to go against the other team eventually. You just have to hang in there. Gou have to persevere.”
The Doubledays (14-21) head to Jamestown (13-22) for a two-game set starting today.
That's been the case for Holmberg's team for much of July, but of late, the Doubledays are losing far fewer contests.
While Thursday night's blowout win over the Williamsport Crosscutters had been somewhat of an offensive anomaly, Friday night's 3-2 victory over the former first-place team was a simple case of Auburn's pitching staff dominating.
The two-game sweep of the Crosscutters not only helped the Doubledays climb a little higher out of the Pinckney Division basement, it stretched their winning streak to five games.
After a nine-game stretch where they lost every night, the turnaround is remarkable.
“Needless to say, when you go through a span of losing eight, nine games, whatever it was, you're struggling and you almost forget how to win and you lose a little bit of your confidence,” Auburn pitcher Casey Beck said. “Hopefully, we've got a little bit of that back.”
The Doubledays have the right to walk around with a touch of swagger, after starter Dave Sever threw lights out for seven shutout innings to earn his third win of the season, lowering his season ERA to 2.75.
“He had been pitching really well,” Holmberg said. “I don't know if he had his best stuff tonight, but he threw seven innings of shutout ball. He was making some quick outs. He endured. He was getting very close to his pitch count going out into the seventh inning, but he felt that he had just enough fuel left in the tank.”
Sever gave up just two hits and a walk, while fanning seven batters as he broke his two-game losing streak. The righty leads the team in wins. Austin Armstrong relieved Sever in the eighth, but lasted just 2-3 of the inning after giving up a David Ross single and a first-pitch two-run home run to Carl Uhl to make the game uncomfortably close. Armstrong then struck out Michael Dobbs, but walked Jeremy Barnes before Holmberg pulled him in favor of the standout closer Beck.
“The home run obviously turned the game from a three-run lead to a one-run lead,” Holmberg said. “We had to pitch situationaly from then on.”
Beck struck out Sebastian Valle to get out of the mini-jam and then with two outs in the ninth, Stephen Batts belted a single to once again make the Doubledays sweat. But an Adam Buschini ground out to Jon Fernandez at second base completed the win streak.
“That was just me getting ahead and using my breaking ball,” Beck said. “I was just trying to stay ahead of the count and it worked for me.”
The save is Beck's fourth of the season.
“Casey has been doing a great job and we've been trying to get him better save situations, but the home run made it tough tonight,” Holmberg said. “He threw strikes and with two outs in the eighth, I liked the matchup of him versus Valle. He came in and he threw very well.”
For the third straight game, Auburn scored the brunt of its runs in one inning as they piled on three in the second. Joshua Zeid threw extremely well for Williamsport, lasting five innings and striking out seven, but he gave up five of Auburn's six hits - four in the second inning. Sean Ochinko kicked off the inning with a double, Yan Gomes followed with a single, before Brad Glenn and Lance Durham contributed back-to-back RBIs. Markus Brisker drove in the eventual winning run on a single with two outs. But the difference with the Doubledays as of late might have something to do with a player that didn't get a hit, though he made a highlight reel catch at shortstop in the sixth inning.
“With the addition of (Ryan) Goins to the club, offensively and defensively - maybe he's the lucky charm, maybe he's the rabbit's foot, maybe he's the shamrock,” Holmberg said.
“Baseball's funny, if the ball bounces one way, the umpiring goes one way, but it never stays that way for long. It's going to turn, it's going to switch and it's going to go against the other team eventually. You just have to hang in there. Gou have to persevere.”
The Doubledays (14-21) head to Jamestown (13-22) for a two-game set starting today.
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