Ortiz drives in seven in Doubledays' loss

It may not have produced a win on Tuesday night, but if Oliver Ortiz's output is a sign of things to come, it should be an exciting summer for Class A Short Season Auburn.
The Nationals outfield prospect drove in a career-high seven runs in his first four-hit game as a pro, but the Doubledays dropped a 19-18, 11-inning decision to Batavia at Falcon Park.

Most of the scoring in Tuesday's track meet came after the seventh inning, but Ortiz got started before that. After being plunked by a pitch in the bottom of the second, he clubbed a three-run homer to right-center field in the fourth.
Gameday box score
Ortiz singled to right in the fifth and struck out in the seventh before coming through again in the eighth. With two outs, the 21-year-old hit a two-run single to left to cap a four-run outburst.
With an 11-6 cushion, Auburn was poised to seal its first win of the year, but Batavia ensured the night wasn't over. The Muckdogs plated five in the top of the ninth, with Lazaro Alonso's two-out, two-run double to left forcing extra innings.
Batavia plated a pair in the 10th, but given another opportunity with two outs and runners at the corners, Ortiz delivered again. The native of the Dominican Republic drove a double to right to knot the score with his sixth and seventh RBIs. His previous best was four for Auburn last July 2.

Even at 13-13 after 10 innings, the Muckdogs and Doubledays had more in store for the final frame. Batavia's first four hitters walked in the 11th to plate the go-ahead run against Auburn first baseman Conner Simonetti, pressed into duty on the mound. Simonetti departed after his fourth straight walk, but infielder Andres Martinez didn't fare much better on the hill, throwing a wild pitch to score a run and balking in another. Only one of Batavia's six runs in the 11th came on a hit, when Marlins No. 29 prospect Samuel Castro singled to right with two outs.
Facing a six-run deficit, Auburn nearly came all the way back. The Doubledays sent eight men to the plate in the bottom of the 11th and got within a run when Simonetti, who moved back to first after his stint on the mound, belted a three-run homer. But with Ortiz in the on-deck circle, Omar Meregildo flied to right to bring the four-hour and 43-minute affair to a close.
"Yeah, I think if you asked coaches on both sides, I don't think anyone's ever seen anything like that," Doubledays manager Jerad Head told auburnpub.com. "Neither team took care of the baseball particularly well and we ran out of pitching. We had to throw two position players on the mound and were a pitch away from a third."
Terry Bennett also set a career best with six RBIs for Batavia, going 2-for-5 with a grand slam, two walks and four runs scored. 
Both teams committed four errors, with the Muckdogs totaling 15 hits and Auburn 16.