While the Doubledays certainly made things interesting in the latter half of Saturday night’s contest against Mahoning Valley, a six-run first inning by the Scrappers was ultimately too much for Auburn to overcome.
The Doubledays were bested, 8-4, after the Auburn offense was unable to overcome a sloppy start by Pedro Gonzalez. The 18-year-old from Chitre, Panama was tagged for six runs – all earned – in only two-thirds of an inning. Gonzalez struggled to find the zone in his short outing, walking four batters and allowing a run to score on a wild pitch.
Auburn’s offense wasn’t given any chance to retaliate in the early going as Scrappers starter – and No. 3 prospect of the Cleveland Indians -Ethan Hankins completely shut down the Doubledays. Hankins struck out eight batters while walking only one in 4.2 innings of work.
Shaky work by Mahoning Valley reliever Brian Eichhorn, however, allowed the Doubledays to get back into the game. An RBI single by shortstop Jose Sanchez and a wild pitch during the sixth inning put Auburn’s first two runs on the board, while an RBI single by third baseman Jake Alu and a fielder’s choice in the seventh cut the Scrappers’ lead in half.
Fausto Segura stabilized what was a less-than ideal day for Auburn on the mound. He threw three shutout innings for the Doubledays while striking out four, and set the stage for Brady Dragmire to toss a stress-free eighth inning.
But the action stopped there for the Doubledays. The team was unable to put anything together off of Jerson Ramirez, who came in and secured the Scrappers’ 8-4 win after two scoreless innings of work.
The Doubledays will be back in action Sunday against Mahoning Valley. First pitch will be at 4:05 PM.
By Chris Valentino Tril / Auburn Doubledays
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