Batavia (9-6) tried to hang on but couldn’t match Auburn’s (6-9) six runs as the Muckdogs fell to the Doubledays 6-5.
Auburn took their first lead in the 5th inning when Kyle Gilligan led off with a double and came home to score on a Kevin Nolan single. Batavia answered with one of their own after Jairo Martinez struck out but reached on a wild pitch. Ivan Castro then singled before both runners were advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Beau Riportella. Martinez then came in to score on a ground ball by Guillermo Toribio.
But the Doubledays took a 3-1 lead right after on a two-run homerun by Bradley Glenn. They added four more runs in the 8th to increase their lead to 6-2.
Batavia rallied late in the 8th when they scored three to make it 6-5. The inning started with back-to-back walks by Alan Ahmady and Xavier Scruggs. Both came home the next at bat when Ryde Rodriguez hit a double down the right field line. Rodriguez then came home himself on a sacrifice fly by Riportella. But, the inning ended there as Toribio went down looking to end the rally.
Auburn tried to add some insurance in the top of the 9th after a lead-off triple by Lance Durham. However, Josh Squatrito got the next two batters to ground out and Scruggs had a remarkable catch in foul territory to end the threat.
Tyler Lavigne went five innings in the start with one run, three hits, one walk and eight strikeouts. Deryk Hooker (1-1) suffered the loss in his three innings of relief. He ended the night allowing five runs on two hits with five walks and one strikeout.
Rodriguez and Castro were the only ones with multi-hits. Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and one run. Castro finished 2-for-3 with a run and a walk.
Batavia now travels to Auburn for a doubleheader tomorrow and closes the series away on Monday.
